9/6 day 3 of East coast trip

This morning I was awaken by the announcement of our pending arrival in Minneapolis. Unlike the first night on the train, I slept very soundly on the second night and was a little disoriented by the voice. We decided it was a good time to get up anyway and stretch our legs a bit. After the twenty minute stop, we were back on the train and had breakfast. I have to say that the French toast on the first morning was much better than the scrambled eggs and the desiccated potatoes we had this morning.  Not even ketchup could soften then up. 

We sit in our roomette watching the Mississippi river go by. Rich has spotted numerous eagles. We passed lock number 5, one of the 29 locks between St Paul and  St Louis and before our stop in Winona, Minnesota. Winona is Sioux for 'firstborn daughter', in case you wanted to know or not.

We rode through Pewaukee, Wisconsin, home of the famous Clark bar candy, and for all of you sailors, it is also the home of Harken, makers of sailboat gear. The stop was very brief at Milwaukee. It was almost a 'tuck and roll grandma' stop, as the conductor wanted to get to Chicago as soon as possible so that folks like us can make their connecting trains. Another piece of trivia, Milwaukee is the only major city in the US to have elected 3 socialist mayors. 

We arrived in Chicago with plenty of time to get our luggage and find our next train, the Capitol Limited. We will take this until Pittsburg, where we will get off and change trains to the Pennsylvanian, to Philadelphia. We were able to wait in the Metropolitan lounge in the train station before boarding. It is available to passengers who are traveling in a roomette or bedroom. 

This train is newer and has things like LED lighting and upgraded bathroom and shower facilities. For dinner we had Maryland crab cakes, rice pilaf, steamed veggies, salad and a small raspberry sorbet. It was not bad and certainly better than this morning's breakfast. 

On this leg of the journey we pass through some interesting places. South Bend, Indiana, the home of the Studebaker Corporation. Elkhart, IN, the town that was the inspiration for the musical, "The Music Man", and the place where Miles Laboratories developed Alka-Seltzer. Bryan, Ohio, where the Ohio Art Company made the Etch-a-Sketch. Unfortunately, we are passing all of these places in the dark, so we can't see anything.

I need to get some sleep. We are supposed to arrive at Pittsburg at 4:30 am. Yawn.