Finale - Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains

Metra Commuter and Amtrak Rail Yards in Chicago

Finale - Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains - Tuesday, I drove to the Carbondale Amtrak Station and boarded the 7:30 AM Amtrak Illinois Train bound for Chicago. I rode in business class for the five plus hour trip to Chicago.  We arrived almost on time about 1:15 PM.  After checking into the Metropolitan Lounge for sleeping car and business class passengers, I walked outside crossing the Chicago River past the Willis(Sears) Tower and on to the Garrett Popcorn shop a few blocks away.  After purchasing a small bag of caramel popcorn, I walked back to Union Station to purchase a Chicago style hot dog for a late lunch.  I took the hot dog to the Metropolitan Lounge to eat while waiting for my 4:05 PM Amtrak Illinois train returning to Carbondale.  We boarded thirty minutes before departure and departed on time.  I did a lot of e-reading on the return trip.  We arrived Carbondale right on time at 9:40 PM.  I stopped at Burger King to pick up a Whopper hamburger on the way back to the Hampton Inn.

Wednesday morning I stopped at the nearby Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Marion, IL, for breakfast.  After breakfast I drove almost non stop home on I-57 and I-24 stopping only at the Tennessee Welcome Center near Clarksville, TN.

I have updated my Reagan's Photo Galleries to include two photo galleries in the sub Folder

2015 Amtrak Illinois Train Trip October.

Check out both of those galleries as you have time.  Meanwhile, here are just a few photos from the Tuesday trip to Chicago.

Boarding Amtrak train in Carbondale, IL

Rode Business Class from Carbondale to Chicago

Arriving View of Chicago Skyline

Arriving and exiting train at Chicago Union Station

Willlis(formerly Sears) Tower

Passing another train as we depart Chicago

Sunset somewhere in Illinois

A Touch of Tennessee in Illinois

Back Home in Tennessee - "The Soundtrack of America"

You can click on any of the small photos in this blog to open a full size photo. Also, click on the "blog title" at the top to view this blog on the web.

All my photos are available to view on Reagan's Photo Galleries website.

Next Travel Plans for Me -

Christmas in Louisiana December 22-29-  I will be driving to my Louisiana home in Shreveport/Bossier City/Benton to spend the holiday with my sisters and family.  My sister Pat continues to rehab and recover from her shoulder surgery late August and is doing very well.  My brother-in-law Bobby needs open heart surgery for several blocked arteries but needs to lose much weight and get healthy enough before surgeon will do the surgery.  Doctor has challenged him to do this and return early December for evaluation for the surgery.

2016 Travel Plans -  

Winter Amtrak Rail Adventure January 11-17 - Repeating my January 2015 Winter Amtrak trip except in reverse direction.  I will fly Southwest Airlines to New Orleans January 11 and ride Amtrak's City of New Orleans to Chicago where I will connect to Amtrak's California Zephyr traveling through Denver and Colorado Rockies and on over the Sierra Nevadas to Emeryville, CA, arriving January 15.  I will fly American Airlines from San Francisco to Nashville January 17.

Costa Rica February 9-23 is definite and American Airlines flights are already booked.  I will be visiting my friend Charlie Doggett who moved to Costa Rica in December 2014.  He is already planning a few overnight side trips and I'm hoping to experience some of his normal daily life in his town, Atenas and nearby San Jose.  

Via Rail and Amtrak Trip to Canada and Albany, NY, May 28 to June 15 - Traveling by Via Rail in Canada to Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Returning to USA via Amtrak for visits to Albany, NY and New Orleans, LA.

Day 2 - Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois TrainsIn

Mural Painted on Side of Building in Mattoon, IL

Day 2 - Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains - Fun enjoyable day riding the train from Carbondale to Mattoon today.  After a good night of sleep after watching most of the New Orleans Saints overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys, I was up early and at the Carbondale Amtrak Station by 7 AM for the 7:30 AM departure.  Got to see the train back into the station from the "Y" where its parks overnight.  The "Y'' is a track spur where the train pulls in and then backs out to via a "Y" set of tracks to turn the train around.  The ride to Mattoon went quickly and in just over two hours we arrived in Mattoon a few minutes late at 10 AM.

In Mattoon, I walked from the station about a block to the Downtown Diner for a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast.  Yes, it was very good.  After eating breakfast I took a short photo tour of the area right around the Mattoon Amtrak Station.  I was particularly impressed by a mural painted on the side of one of the downtown buildings.  That's the mural in the photo above.  If you look closely, you will see Abraham Lincoln.  

The train back to Carbondale was about 40 minutes late so we departed Mattoon about 11:45 AM and arrived back in Carbondale at 2:20 PM.  I came back to the Hampton Inn for a short rest time and then ate supper at McAllister's followed by a little shopping at Walmart.  Now, after I finish this update I'll be heading to bed to read a little and then get a good night's sleep as tomorrow(Tuesday) will be a fun day but very long.  Train departs again at 7:30 AM for Chicago.  Scheduled arrival time is 1 PM in Chicago.  After a quick 3 hours in Chicago, the return train departs at 4:05 PM and scheduled arrival back in Carbondale is 9:45 PM.  So no blog update tomorrow.  Since I will be driving home to Nashville/Franklin Wednesday, I'll update my photo galleries and post a final blog update Thursday or Friday.

Here are just a few selected photos from today:

All Aboard in Carbondale

Boarding my Coach Car in Carbondale

After I Got Off In Mattoon, others were boarding

Bench for Train Waiting in Mattoon

Indoor Waiting Room in Mattoon 

Downtown Diner in Mattoon, IL

Waiting for my food in the Downtown Diner

Doesn't this look good?  Eggs over medium, bacon, hash browns, and toast

Trains section of the building side wall mural

Mattoon, IL Amtrak Station

My Train from Chicago Arriving to take me back to Carbondale

Quick boarding in Mattoon, IL

Back on the train bound for Carbondale

Some of the Fall colors I viewed from the train

I hope you are enjoying keeping up with me.  Just thought you would like to know that if you "reply" to the email you receive, the reply address is "reagan.frazier@gmail.com".  So feel free to reply since I enjoy hearing from you.

Day 1 - Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains

Amtrak Illini departing Carbondale, IL

Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains - Day 1 - Just a short update to let you know I arrived this afternoon after a quick uneventful three hour drive from Nashville.  In fact, I arrived in time to catch the 4:15 PM departure of Amtrak's Illini train pictured above.  I'll be back at the station in the morning for the 7:30 PM departure to Mattoon, IL, and back arriving back here at 1:45 PM.  I checked into the Hampton Inn and settling in for the night.  I discovered the internet is so, so, so slow I will only post these very short updates tonight and tomorrow.  I will be out riding the rails from 7 AM to 10 PM Tuesday so final update will wait until I am back home Wednesday.

Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains

Amtrak's Saluki Train Departing Carbondale, IL northbound for Chicago

Road Trip to Carbondale, Illinois, to Ride Amtrak's Saluki/Illini Illinois Trains October 4-7 -  I'm departing in a couple days driving to Carbondale, IL, about 200 miles northwest of Nashville in southern Illinois.  The purpose of the trip is to spend two days riding Amtrak's Illinois trains Saluki and Illini.  Both of these trains travel the same route between Carbondale and Chicago.  Two separate trains depart from Carbondale and Chicago in the morning around 8 AM arriving the terminus city around 1 PM,  Then around 4 PM, those two separate trains depart from Carbondale and Chicago returning each to its original origin station arriving around 10 PM.   So that's two roundtrips each day.  So Monday I will ride the train from Carbondale about 2 hours north to Mattoon, IL for a brief 2 hour visit.  Around 11:30 AM, I will board the southbound train in Mattoon to return to Carbondale arriving around 2 PM.  On Tuesday, I will board the same northbound train and ride all the way to Chicago arriving around 1 PM.  After a brief 3 hour visit to Chicago, I'll board the 4:05 PM southbound train back to Carbondale arriving around 10 PM.  Tuesday's trip will be in Business Class both directions while Monday will be in coach class.  Lots of train riding but I literally love it.  Wednesday, I will be driving back home to Nashville/Franklin.

I did this same road/train trip last September 2014 and really enjoyed the adventure.  The photo above was from that trip.  Since I did not begin this travel blog until this calendar year 2014 you may not have seen my photo gallery documenting my 2014 trip.  So check it out:

Amtrak Saluki and Illini One Day Trip September 23, 2014

Here are just a few of the photos in that gallery:

Boarding my Business Class Car

Inside my Business Class Car

View from train crossing a rural highway

Arriving Chicago Area 

Passing Amtrak's Rail Yard while backing into Chicago's Union Station

Passing another Amtrak engine as we enter Chicago's Union Station

View from train as we exit Chicago

A last view of Chicago skyline as we depart returning to Carbondale

Amtrak's Arrival Back in Carbondale 

So long Amtrak--Last view of train as I approach my car in Carbondale

You can click on any of the small photos in this blog to open a full size photo. Also, click on the "blog title" at the top to view this blog on the web.

All my photos are available to view on Reagan's Photo Galleries website.

Next Travel Plans for Me -

Christmas in Louisiana December 22-29-  I will be driving to my Louisiana home in Shreveport/Bossier City/Benton to spend the holiday with my sisters and family.  My sister Pat continues to rehab and recover from her shoulder surgery late August and is doing very well.  My brother-in-law Bobby needs open heart surgery for several blocked arteries but needs to lose much weight and get healthy enough before surgeon will do the surgery.  Doctor has challenged him to do this and return early December for evaluation for the surgery.

2016 Travel Plans -  

Winter Amtrak Rail Adventure January 11-17 - Repeating my January 2015 Winter Amtrak trip except in reverse direction.  I will fly Southwest Airlines to New Orleans January 11 and ride Amtrak's City of New Orleans to Chicago where I will connect to Amtrak's California Zephyr traveling through Denver and Colorado Rockies and on over the Sierra Nevadas to Emeryville, CA, arriving January 15.  I will fly American Airlines from San Francisco to Nashville January 17.

Costa Rica February 9-23 is definite and American Airlines flights are already booked.  I will be visiting my friend Charlie Doggett who moved to Costa Rica in December 2014.  He is already planning a few overnight side trips and I'm hoping to experience some of his normal daily life in his town, Atenas and nearby San Jose.  

Via Rail and Amtrak Trip to Canada and Albany, NY, May 28 to June 15 - Traveling by Via Rail in Canada to Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Returning to USA via Amtrak for visits to Albany, NY and New Orleans, LA.

Weekend in Starkville, MS - September 10-13, 2015

My great niece Kellie and I at MSU

Visiting Kellie at MSU in Starkville, MS, September 2015 - Enjoyed a weekend driving from Nashville/Franklin on the Natchez Trace Parkway to Starkville, MS, to visit with my great niece Kellie at Mississippi State University.  Kellie is a third year student at MSU.  She invited me to visit to see the campus and also to enjoy attending the LSU at MSU football game on Saturday night.  Kellie's mom and dad also came from Haughton/Princeton, LA, for the weekend and game.  I was the "lone" LSU fan so was happy the Tigers won a close hard fought game 21-19.

I arrived on Thursday.  Friday Kellie took her parents and I walking and touring the campus and Davis Wade Stadium where the game would take place.  I enjoyed the tour.  MSU is a beautiful campus.  Lots of excitement was building for the game on Saturday as most of the open space near the stadium was already preparing for setting up all the tents, etc. for Saturday's tailgaters. Saturday, we went to the campus about six hours before the game. We ate lunch in the student union building and hung out before heading over the see the "Bulldog Walk" when the football players walked to the stadium pregame.  Since this was a late TV game, the game did not begin until 8:15 PM so the game ended just a few minutes before midnight.  I really enjoyed the experience of a game at MSU including all the "cow bell" ringing - an "only at MSU" tradition.  After the game, we got back to Kellie's apartment and finally made it to bed about 1:30 AM Sunday morning.  I got up around 7 AM Sunday morning and began my drive home to Franklin, TN, around 8:30 AM.

Here are a few selected photos.  See all the photos and a couple videos in Photo Gallery September 2015 Visit to Kellie at MSU in Starkville, MS

Ate Lunch at Oby's

Ate Lunch at Oby's

Union Building 

Great Niece Kellie beginning our tour of the campus

Flag at half staff for "September 11"

Campus Chapel

LSU Equipment Truck Arrived Friday

Kellie on a map of Mississippi at the stadium

State Emblem on Stadium

Kellie with her mom, Sandra

Mississippi State "Bulldog"

Kellie with friend Kyle

Joining the "madding" crowd waiting for the MSU players "Bulldog Walk"

Lots of tailgating before the football game

Sandra and Wayne on our way to our seats "way, way up"

Can you find Kellie and Kyle in this picture?  I can!

The Golden Band from "LSU" Tigers came to the game

Natchez Trace bridge over Tennessee River

Another Tennessee River View

I traveled on the Natchez Trace 

Home in Franklin in time to watch Titans defeat Tampa Bay 42-14

ALOHA TITANS!  Win Number 1 is in the book - I arrived home just before 3 PM so had time to do some unpacking, put out my Tennessee Titans yard flag and settled in to watch the Tennessee Titans first 2015 regular season NFL game and our rookie QB Marcus Mariota's first NFL game.  I was hopeful for a good turn around season and a win.  Not only did the Titans' win, Marcus played a near perfect game setting records throwing four touchdown passes all in the first half of the game.  No other rookie QB had ever done that all in the first half.  It was a TEAM WIN with both the offense and defense playing lights out.  A 42-14 victory while all the other three AFC South teams were losing. For this week, Titans stand alone at the top of the AFC South.  What is so good is that there is every indicator that this was not a one time win and the future for the Titans led by Marcus Mariota looks bright.  Go Titans!

Next Travel Plans for Me - 

Carbondale, IL October 4-7-  I will be driving to Carbondale, IL, staying in the Hampton Inn for three nights while I do some rail-fanning riding Amtrak's Illini/Saluki trains Monday to Matoon, IL, and back followed by riding Tuesday to Chicago Union Station and back.  

2016 Travel Plans -  

Costa Rica February 9-23 is definite and American Airlines flights are already booked.  I will be visiting my friend Charlie Doggett who moved to Costa Rica in December 2014.  He is already planning a few overnight side trips and I'm hoping to experience some of his normal daily life in his town, Atenas and nearby San Jose.  

Via Rail and Amtrak Trip to Canada and Albany, NY, May 28 to June 15 - Traveling by Via Rail in Canada to Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Returning to USA via Amtrak for visits to Albany, NY and New Orleans, LA.

You can click on any of the small photos in this blog to open a full size photo. Also, click on the "blog title" at the top to view this blog on the web.

All my photos are available to view on Reagan's Photo Galleries website.

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