Trains and Music

In a few hours, I will be on my way to pick up my friends visiting me from Sweden. They are flying in to Chicago, and we are planning on staying in the city for a week. I am going to take the Amtrak train from Bloomington, Illinois to Union Station in Chicago and meet them at our hotel. I take the train quite often, as it is extremely economical and convenient. It is about a two and a half hour train ride, although it usually takes up to three or even three and a half hours to reach Union Station due to interferences. For example, there are multiple freight trains sharing the rails with Amtrak trains, so if one is approaching, we must exit the rails and wait for the freight train to pass us by. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to a full hour. Regardless, as long as you do not have a time deadline to reach, or if you plan ahead early enough so that delays will not bother your schedule, the train is great. I usually try to arrive in Chicago an hour early so that I will not have to worry about tardiness. 

Anyway, I really love taking the train, especially by myself, because it gives me a wonderful excuse to become lost in music. I always take my iPod with me for the journey. Sometimes I will upload a new album I have been wanting to check out or create a specific playlist for the ride. This time, it was a mixture of both. There are a few bands that I love that I have not kept up with in the past years – The Decemberists and Jimmy Eat World. Their most recent albums I have only listened to once or twice and I have not given enough time to fully digest the music or to make up my mind on which tracks I like the most or how I feel about the album in general. I mixed their albums in a play list, along with some other bands and tracks I enjoy, and am prepared for my ride!