were able to travel with Ed to Chicago on his Train called Railcruise America. We were met at the train
by Ed who was suitably dressed as the Conductor that he was. These images are from Jan's computer.
Here I am at the train which as you can see had an Innsbrook design. The train had a dining car as well
as a party car.
The train took off from St Louis and crossed a bridge to Illinois on a late Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving and went nonstop to Chicago. I remember passing through Springfield, Illinois after dark and the capital was all lit up. I had grown up in La Grange, Illinois two blocks from the Burlington route (that goes from Chicago to Denver) so I have always loved riding the train. Our Railcruise America train passed just south of my hometown near Chicago. The train cars were a treat. There is nothing as wonderful as the dining car.
We arrived in Chicago and were whisked to a wonderful hotel where we stayed Friday and Saturday nights. When we got to the hotel we were greeted in our rooms by this chocolate train. It did not last long.
On the train among many new Innsbrook friends we met fellow Innsbrook Property Owners Mariette and Dick Palmer. It turned out Mariette and Jan knew each other at Mizzou and that separately unbeknownst to each other Dick and I had been playing tennis together for years. We spent Saturday with the Palmers walking and shopping Chicago' Miracle Mile and ate dinner at a seafood restaurant that night. We became best friends.
The next day we took our train back to St. Louis. The scenery of course was classic Illinois farmland. I never tire of it.
But my favorite part of train travel is standing at the back of the train
and between cars looking at what we are passing by. There is the undeniablethrill of going though a train crossing and waving at people stopped at the gates who are watching and waving back.
Several years later Ed offered the trip again. It was different and as much fun as the first trip. One difference
was that in our hotel room the gift was a small wooden train which still graces our Innsbrook mantel on Lake Aspen.
We have many things to be thankful for and Innsbrook and Ed Boyce are always high on the list.
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