* crossed over the Missouri river between Nebraska and Iowa
* rows and rows of Iowan corn
* swaths of deciduous forests
* houses with no fences
* gently rolling hills
* murky rivers slowly moving between and around all the fields
* fire right along the railroad tracks - I think there was a controlled fire in a field but not sure about the part that had spread right next to the tracks
* water towers with the city name on them
* a lot of silos
* little white and little red farmhouses as well as not so little farmhouses
* most homes have porches and look older with the need for paint
* my nutritious lunch for today:
* Burlington, Iowa - city of brick - brick buildings as far as I could see!
* crossed over the wide Mississippi river yo day from Iowa to Illinois.
* wildflowers on the side of the road
* Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana all have corn and soybeans as their top two crops - I can vouch, that's all I saw today
* brown lawns
* a gorgeous sunset over Indianapolis
Looking out over the rolling hills of Iowa I realized that what I am missing is the smells, feels, and sounds of the area. It's like I'm sitting in front of a huge television screen seeing all this. It's nice but a little incomplete.
I also realize again how much I like having mountains in my view. Looking as far as I can and not seeing any mountains rising in the distance looks like something is missing.
So today was an adventure. Because my train was late due to the rock slide outside Elmo, those of us needing to catch the Cardinal route from Chicago to New York were rerouted. The had us get off the train in Galesburg, Illinois and board a coach bus (it was very nice) which would then take us to Indianapolis to catch the train at 11:50. Basically, we were cutting across the bottom part of the triangle instead going north to Chicago and then back down south to Indianapolis.
All of my bus mates were many many years older than I am, which I have found overall I like to travel with. Usually they are patient and good humored, not in a hurry since they are on vacation and usually more adventurous souls being on a train. Then, the complainers are funny to hear and usually there is a husband or wife that calms them down or humors them. The interaction is quite interesting to watch.
A older man in front of me started to crack jokes using a lot of sarcasm because I could tell he was tired (as we all were) and not thrilled about the bus (we had been stopped on the highway about halfway through due to a major accident. We were completely stopped and all I could see were corn fields). We then rendezvoused with another bus that thought it was breaking down, but instead of taking on its passengers, we just followed it to the transportation center in Indianapolis.
We arrived at the station, and it was quite crowded being both for greyhound and Amtrak. It was nice to get off and walk around, and I had hopes for a real meal, but to no avail. I didn't want the greasy convenience store type of stuff they had to sell, so I settled for a bag of sun chips from a vending machine and a packet of my almonds, cashews, and cranberries (I had feasted on hard beef jerky and freeze dried berries on the bus).
I used a normal size bathroom (they seemed clean and large to me compared to the train) which was a nice change. I found the charging station since my iPad was almost out and chatted with Chris for while charging the iPad. I looked for ice cream (which I'd been craving since seeing a Dairy Queen early on), but they had none. So, I settled for half the pack of yogurt pretzel I bought from the machine. I used the bathroom to get ready for bed and change and then went to change my ticket from Chicago to LA for a day earlier.
Now here I sit waiting for my train which should be ready to board in just a few minutes. I'm looking forward to the ride tomorrow. We are in Kentucky around 5 in the morning, so I'm hoping there is enough light that I will be able to see if I can wake up for it. I'm excited to go through there and West Virginia, which is why I booked this train.
I will say, I did not choose a luxurious way to travel...I figure this is good for me, keeps me from getting too prissy and comfortable with the nicer things of life :) Well, the train is here because it sounded like the roof was going to cave in above me. Apparently the station is under the train tracks. Time to go!
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