Inner journey
Wow where do I start? All of the planning, worrying, and
preparation was going to be coming together today. With class starting at 8am
on the 2nd and heading to the train station that night. I knew I would need to
go to bed at a decent time. However, that did not happen, and I was up until almost
6 am and running on about an hour and a half of sleep for class. I had spent so
much time packing and repacking my bags that once I finally finished it was pretty
much time to head to class. I struggled though the day on hardly any sleep and
was not feeling the best, procrastination had gotten the best of me. We got out
of class a bit sooner than planned which allowed me to have some extra time to take a fast 30-minute nap, and shower. Before I knew it my two friends Kayleigh
and Hope were on their way to pick me up. I was feeling more and more nervous anticipating
their arrival. Once they got to my house and we got everything into the car and
got on our way I started to feel a lot better. Having my two really good
friends on this trip helped me a lot to get more and more excited. On the way to
the station we talked and planned some more of our trip out. By the time we got
to the train station in Champaign Il, I was super excited, and my nerves began
to fade.
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| Kayleigh, Hope, and I getting ready to check all our bags in. |
Outer journey
We arrived at the train station around 8:20 pm and started to
unload the car. Once inside I weighed my bags and grabbed a seat while waiting
to board the train. We had about two hours to kill and in this time, it was
nice to catch up with some of my fellow classmates and just relax. When looking
around I saw all the other students and a few families as well as some people
traveling alone. It was bright and loud in the station and you could feel the
excitement and anticipation in the air. The attendant called overhead and said
the train would be to the station in about 10 minutes and called our group to
line up. It was finally time as we lined up on the train platform, I was anxiously
awaiting to see the train pull in. We were outside so It was chilly and much
darker than it was inside. The luggage cart holding all of the classes checked
bags was next to our line and I made a comment to the attendant asking him if he
thought we packed enough. He laughed and said that he was expecting more like
40 bags from us and we had 22. The next thing I remember was the train pulling
in and it being much bigger than I had anticipated. It was a double decker and
we will be sitting in the top car. We boarded in a single file line and two at
a time. Once on the train we had to head up the smallest stairway I think I
have ever seen. It winded around and I was not sure if I was going to fit with
my bags. I did and when I got to the top, I saw how much room we actually had.
The seats are in rows of two and a lot roomier than I had imagined. I unpacked
my pillow and blanket and keep my backpack at my feet and put my carry on in
the luggage rack above my head. It was cozy, warm, and clean, and I had not
issues falling asleep. I did toss and turn all night as the train bounces
around and sways a lot. I noticed that most of my classmates were having the same
struggles. I gave up around 6am and woke myself up and enjoyed watching the scenery
out the window. It has been raining on and off for the most part since we left Memphis,
TN. I have also noticed how the landscape started to change. There are a lot of
tall pine trees, some type of tropical looking plants and lots of flooded fields
around us as well as houses and businesses every so often. So far I have really
enjoyed taking in the experience of riding the Amtrak and besides trying to use
the tiny bathrooms I think overall it was a good experience.
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| All of the bags our group took waiting to get loaded. |
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| Me and Kayleigh trying to get comfy in our seats and so were the girls behind us! |
