Our Great Train Adventure - Part 5

Our final day on the train started out on a high note. Unfortunately due to a serious medical emergency on the train the night before and the serious flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota due to the Red River, we were four hours behind schedule. The kids were doing great on the trip but you can imagine what the additional hours meant to Matt and my sanity. =)

We spent the day much like the day before, playing and enjoying family time. Chloe and I went to breakfast, just the two of us, and enjoyed some much needed Mother-Daughter time. After that Chloe and I headed to the Lounge Car to do her homework. We got her all caught up for the week. Than we joined Matt, Aidan and Brenna who spent the morning sleeping in.











There are some pictures of the smaller rooms on the train and the dining car.

We were supposed to get off the train at 4:00PM but due to all the delays we didn't get off until 7:20PM. This completely screwed up our plans. We had a rental car set up for us to pick up at the station but the rental car place at the station closed at 7:00PM--No exceptions. There was a nearby rental place where we could get a car but it was a few blocks from the station but it closed at 8:00PM. We were left with a serious problem. How could we get off the train, get our luggage, catch a cab (with all the kids and our luggage) and make it to the rental place on time? So after some discussion (and a lot of prayer) Matt got off the train immediately with everything he could carry and ran to a taxi to head to the rental place. I had no choice but try to navigate through Union Station Chicago, on my own with three kids and way too much luggage.

God's hand was definitely on us. The kids and I were able to get a red cap to take us to the station and we quickly managed to find baggage claim. All the kids were incredibly cooperative, especially Aidan, which was a miracle because we didn't take a stroller with us, so he could of run all over the place but didn't. With the help of some very nice women who saw me trying to manage three kids and our luggage, we managed to get everything loaded onto two carts and situated in a safe (if there is such a place) place in the station. He continued to keep us safe while we waited for Matt.

Matt was busy getting a taxi and trying to get to the rental place in time. He got the car and than unfortunately got lost in the maze of one-way streets and construction in downtown Chicago next to the train station. It took him almost an hour and a half to find a place to park near the station. Yet, even though he was worried about us being alone in at the station, he had complete peace-totally God's hand on this situation. He found us and we got loaded into the car, which was an adventure since it was dark and he was parked on the street but we managed to do it and get on our way.

Once on the tollway we were making good time despite it being so late at night. Suddenly about 30 minutes from our destination both sides of the tollway came to a complete stop. Nothing was moving in either direction, we could see a lot of lights in the distance but had no idea what was going on. After sitting for a good twenty minutes, Matt climbed out of the car to see what was going on and someone told him to turn on a radio station for news. Than we found out what was going on. An ambulance, driving East, had a patient fall out of the back of the ambulance onto the highway. As you can imagine this caused a huge accident as people swerved to avoid this person. Cars were all over the median and a semi truck jack knifed. Crazy accident. So please pray for this person, we don't know if they survived or not. Once the medivac helicopter took off we were able to keep going. What a night!