Science, a thunderstorm and a train

Friday 23 July

Breakfast was a square bagel called (naturally) a squagel... A few more postcards to write and then I headed off for the final attraction on my Citypass, the Museum of Science and Industry.

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

This museum was a little outside the city centre in the university district, so it involved a ride on Chicago's commuter rail system, called the Metra. The train was a double-decker and after about fifteen minutes I was there. The weather was hot and humid so a good day to be in air-conditioning.

Like the others I went to yesterday, this museum was first-rate with displays about weather, transportation, anatomy and astronomy. They had an entire German U-Boat that was captured by the US Navy in WWII.

I had a bit of time to kill so I went back into downtown Chicago and had a beer in a bar. Very nice, but I didn't notice that while I was in there a storm had gathered and I had to walk back to the hotel in pouring rain and enormous thunder and lightning strikes. My umbrella was pretty useless and so I was soaked by the time I got there so had to change once I had picked up my case from the bag store.

The Lake Shore Limited

I got a taxi to Union Station to catch the overnight train, the Lake Shore Limited, to Buffalo. My sleeper ticket enabled me to go into a nice lounge with comfy seats and TVs, etc. and at about 8.30 we were led through to the platform and on to the train. I was shown to my "roomette" which was a little cabin with nice wide seats and a sink and loo. The carriage manager invited me to go through to the dining car for wine and cheese and there I got talking to a nice couple from Buffalo who apparently use the trains to do all their travel. It was certainly a lot more civilised than flying.

By the time I got back to my cabin, the seats had been turned into a bed and the train left the station at exactly 9.30 as scheduled.