A Tribute to Chicago (no, not the band)

I just returned from a week long training held in Chicago and let me just tell you, if you have the opportunity to visit you definitely need to go. The city was clean, the people weren't rude and there was plenty to do and eat.

Now getting there was another story. I decided to take the Amtrak from Western Kentucky. The train I jumped was on route to Chicago from New Orleans. It only cost $130 round trip but I had to catch it at 1 AM. Because the station is very literally a single wide trailer in the middle of a corn field, the local police allowed me to park my car at the station and they drove me over in the cruiser. They were extremely welcoming although the policeman who picked me up on the way home was a little agitated because of a drug bust he had just left.

The trip took 7.5 hours. If you figure the time it takes to get to an airport, go through security, make a connect, air time and cab time - I figure that I spent just as much time for about a third of the cost. Plus, I had the opportunity to sleep on the train so that made the travel even more pleasant.

The food was great and relatively inexpensive. The highlight was Portillo's home of the world famous Chicago style hot dog (which includes just about everything you would expect to see on a hamburger). They were fantastic! I ended up eating there twice during the week. The Chicago style pizza was delicious also.

My one regret is that I didn't make it to a Cub's game. A couple of guys in the group went the first night but I just wasn't interested. Maybe next time.

So - for your next vacation plan a trip up to Chi town. You won't regret it!