All Aboard! (Departure)

Today is finally the day! Yesterday afternoon we boarded the Peoria Charter busses for a ride to Champaign that I will never forget. The weather was much chillier than usual, and unfortunately when we boarded the bus we didn’t have any heat. As I sat in my seat with my sweatshirt pulled as tight as I could get it to stay warm, I knew right then that I was in for an adventure. Halfway throughout our bus ride our bus driver was forced to pull over to the side of the interstate because the windows were so fogged over due to no heat in the bus. At this point most of us were worried for not only our safety, but for the bus driver’s safety as well. Thankfully my wonderful roommate took one for the team and went up to the front of the bus to wipe the windows off (I even got a picture!). 

Megan cleaning the windows

 As we traveled the rest of the way to Champaign, Megan wiped the windows and we soon were safely at the train station. Once we got to the train station we had about an hour layover. Unfortunately, Subway was closed but the granola bars and crackers that I brought along with me tasted pretty good at that point! Around 10:30 we were able to board the train and finally head towards New Orleans. It was a long night, as sleeping on a train isn’t the easiest task in the world. The most difficult part of being on the train so far has been traveling from train car to train car without falling, and this has been quite humorous as well! This morning we were able to wake up early and view the sunrise over Tennessee! This was very beautiful, as I am usually never up this early on a normal day to see the sunrise. 

 The scenery has been very beautiful throughout the entire trip so far. Right now, I am sitting in the observation car that has many windows for viewing the scenery. The further south we get the more I notice the difference in the colors of the trees and the grass. The trees are now very rustic and the grass is much greener as well. One thing I have noticed while traveling in the train is that there is not many houses around the train tracks. There are many older buildings with unique signs which create a retro feel as we travel down the tracks. Even though I am still exhausted at the point, I am enthused to be in New Orleans in only a few short hours from now!

View from the observation car

Until next time,

Hannah