We were up before 5, with maybe 4 hours sleep, to stand in line for a 12 hour train to Chicago. The Panorama lounge didn't open until time for the train to leave, and we have no class today anyway. The train is ultra deluxe compared to the one from Niagara Falls, but still just a fancy bus. The scenery is flat brown scrub oak. Good day to sleep. Lisa woke up shortly before we entered the US and went through customs, which was scheduled to take two hours. She tried to get a sandwich at the snack car, but the attendant told her that she should return to her seat or the customs agent would get suspicious. He didn't need any encouragement. There were many Eastern Indians or Pakistani on the train. Most were ordered to disembark, dragging all their luggage off the train and up the customs stairs unassisted. (I think they were all permitted to reboard.) He was perturbed that I didn't have a birth certificate. When we told him that the reason for our trip was to celebrate our 25th anniversary, he eyed us one last time and said, "Ok." and went on. No "congratulations", no "welcome home", no "have a nice day". He just implied, "Ok, we'll let you by this time. Next time we'll catch you." When he was off the train Lisa and I whispered to each other, "If I was a smuggler, I'd breeze across this border. My clothes a bit conservative, my papers all in order." Thank God I was dressed nice, since my papers were questionable.

As we sat waiting for the customs gestapo to finish with us, I was wondering why we weren't just on a plane. With the time change, it was over 13 hours in really uncomfortable chairs. At least the guy manning the snack car was amusing. He kept telling us things to do in Chicago and encouraging us to change our return tickets (and to read Gospel by ? (it's written down somewhere), "It's wicked funny."). No chance. Its been a wonderful vacation, but we're tired. We're ready to be home.

The Great Hall the next day, with light, without crowd.

Well, not quite ready. Union Station in Chicago is fantastic. Beautifully renovated, they were celebrating Mardi Gras with live loud music reverberating through the enormous Great Hall. A very weird carousel was riding itself in the corner.

Einstein was my favorite. There was also John & Yoko in bed, fat Elvis, the TV Dinner, Satchmo, Annette & Moondoggy, etc.

When our cab arrived at the Drake, the bellboy whisked away our luggage to magically reappear in our room. The desk clerk told us that we had been upgraded to an executive room with access to the 11th (top) floor lounge. (And I booked this one over the internet. Our travel agent hadn't told them about our anniversary. Maybe I did?)

Lisa assuming her normal pose. No, she really is posing.

The room was outrageous! It was actually more like 5 rooms. A closet/dressing room was bigger than some places we've stayed. Then there was an entry room, a living room and a bedroom with another walk in closet. The Drake was built in 1920 and some of the furniture was from that period.

Right down to the finest details.

We had a view of the nicest beach (on Lake Michigan) in Chicago and a string of newer hotels along Lakeshore Drive. We had been debating whether to find an interesting restaurant or get room service. No question. Our room is nicer than any restaurant. And we get to wear Drake Hotel Robes! Other restaurants might have frowned on that. I was reminded that Chicago was a big beef town because I kept remembering the scene from Robin and the 7 Hoods where the gangster tells someone to open the window, "No the other window, that side's the stockyard." So I ordered a big, juicy steak and a baked potato. Lisa had been drooling over our tablemate's teppanyaki lobster in Toronto, so she got a couple of sea roach, I mean lobster, tails and some creamed spinach. It probably didn't hurt that everything else we'd eaten that day had been nuked in it's own cellophane, but I swear it was the most delicious dinner we've ever had.

Best restaurant in town.

We drank enough coffee to have some energy to check out the hotel and close down the Executive Lounge. Lisa taught Alejandro how to make a Vodka Gimlet. He was a quick learner. I had some hibiscus tea and a few dainty cookies. We were studying some old photos of the Drake so closely that Alejandro brought out a photo album of various parts of the hotel over the last 80 years. It was fascinating. Lisa is convinced that she'd been there in her last life. If we had studied the pictures longer, I think we would have seen her in them.

The Drake coat of arms and motto: "An eagle does not catch flies."

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My Kind of Town.