Amtrak
A shout out to my father who celebrates his birthday on the day I departed Austin. The photo below was taken in Ontario in 1997 when I was cycling across Canada. My parents came up from Vermont and joined me in travel for a day or two.
Prior to my Canada trip, I had gotten my parents a dial up internet connection so they could follow along. In subsequent trips my parents were both fans and helped with logistical support, e.g. posting and formatting pages I sent from Australian outback via email into blog posts.
Three weeks before departure, I was glad I made a trip to visit then and see where I could help.
Last day before departure was more relaxed than hectic preparations with moving and cleaning. I went through my bike stuff and sorted what I was taking and not. There are a few extra things such as food for the train and an entire box of cliff bars but I should have most everything.
After packing and shopping, I dropped off my panniers at a motel downtown and then dropped off the rental car. Cycled over for a teeth cleaning and then back to drop my keys with a neighbor. After that overnight at the motel.
The train was on time. I put my panniers in a duffel and put it as checked luggage through to DC and dropped my bike off for the baggage car.
For the first leg to Chicago, I have a roomette shown below. The seats fold down to a bed for overnight. For the second leg, I have a coach seat. I can sleep in Amtrak seats overnight but prefer not to do it two nights in a row.
Have a safe trip!
Good luck on your trip. It sounds like a grand adventure. We had a brief chat about your trip at Union Station Chicago on April 27.
Love the picture of your parents!