I have taken the Amtrak for a few short trips with my children back in the day when I lived in Chicago, but since that time really never considered it an option during our weekend commutes into the Windy City of recent past. As time goes on, I realized that now we find ourselves visiting downtown Chicago and keeping our car in the hotel parking lots at a cost of upwards of $70 a day. It really didn’t make sense to us, especially when traveling as a couple, to do this especially when there is excellent Amtrak service between Milwaukee and Chicago. It’s a faster commute than traveling into the city with no concerns for sometimes long stop and go waits on the expressways due to insurmountable traffic. Within a little over an hour, we can be at Union Station on a Friday evening just in time to catch an Uber and head out for dinner in downtown Chicago. We made what I am certain will be the first of many trips there earlier this month and had a great “weekend getaway” in one of my favorite places to be.

We met some friends from Denver and enjoyed the weekend shopping, eating and drinking, and socializing with some very dear friends. It was a carefree way to travel and will make our future trips there even more enjoyable as we rid ourselves of the time and headaches associated with traveling by car.