Wanna hear about our trip? (part one--getting there)

It's funny, but I have this mental image of somebody invited over for dinner, then being made to watch their guests' family vacation slideshow when they don't really want to see it. The truth is, when we're at somebody's house, I love to see their photo albums and hear the stories behind the photos. So, in that spirit, I'll go ahead and tell you about our trip to Michigan!

(It's gonna take more than one post, hence the "part one" part of the title above... just to warn you.)


Remember my planes, trains & automobiles post before our trip? Our day of travelling to Michigan was like that, and it was very enjoyable. Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure...



Plane...

I had the privilege of sitting by the "first timers" on our flight to Chicago. Well, Jesse had flown four years ago, but with no memory of it, this was just like his first flight.

Naomi knew her only flight before was while in my belly, when she wasn't able to see anything. So she was glad to see what was happening on this trip. :)

It was a delight to share this flight with them!


Train...

We walked (which took a lot longer than I'd realized it would!) through the O'Hare airport and found the station to get on the Chicago Transit Authority train (also known as the "el") downtown to catch Amtrak. It was a fun journey of about 45 minutes and gave us a very different view of Chicago than driving on the freeway would have.


We'd ridden on the el before, but it was fun to do again. When we got downtown, we had to be ready, waiting by two different doors, and get off the train quickly because those doors don't stay open for very long!


Another train...

In Chicago, we took Amtrak to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I am originally from. Here we all are, kicked back and enjoying the jazz & blues

music, courtesy of a fellow passenger on Amtrak, who played his guitar & sang nearly the whole trip! He was quite good, the sort of musician you would pay money to hear, and we got the whole 3-4 hour concert for free! :)


Automobile...

Our train was delayed by an hour, so we arrived in Grand Rapids at 11:30 p.m. My cousin Heidi picked us up in her van, and we spent the night at their house. My parents' van (the other automobile in our adventure!) was waiting for us there at Nathan & Heidi's house. It was so exciting to be in Michigan after a whole year away!


I'll be posting more about our trip this week, if you want to check back in...