Chicago - August 2020; Would a Pandemic and Looting Stop Amtrak?

Magnet #50

March 2020 brought madness unrelated to college basketball. The year also brought chaos, death, uncertainty, and most assuredly, travel nightmares.

Covid-19’s wrath created so many life changes, many still evident today, that I continue to plan travel more hesitantly in 2023. When Covid caused countries to shut down, I spent months trying to undo carefully made trip plans.

I found out the hard way which travel companies are user friendly.

Travelers Tip: When booking airfare outside of the US, use caution with sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. If you have a problem, you may find it extremely difficult to connect with a human who will go the distance to help you with your travel issues. I recommend going directly with an airline, especially when traveling internationally.

For instance, I booked round trip airfare for two tickets on KLM airlines from Amsterdam to Lisbon for April, 2020 using Orbitz. Obviously, my friend Kristin and I were not going to make the flight. At that time, Americans weren’t even allowed to fly into Europe. When I tried to get a refund for our pre-paid tickets, it took months and at least forty hours of phone time before being issued me a voucher good for KLM airfare. Lesson learned the hard way. I’ve also become more cautious about reading the fine print when booking with third party companies within the US.

Travelers Tip: The last car rented through Orbitz cost me additional fees not listed on my online reservation. At the arrival airport, I had to pay an unexpected $300 before being given the keys. My mid-size rental cost me over $800 for a five day period.

In the summer of 2019, I booked a fabulous Canadian Rocky Mountains train trip for August 2020 using a travel agency called Fresh Tracks. My original plan was to take Amtrak to Seattle, a bus to Vancouver, and from there start a week-long journey through the Rockies by train and rental car. I booked the two portions separately; using my computer for Amtrak tickets, and a Fresh Tracks travel agent for the second half of Pete’s and my dream vaca.

But by May of 2020, it became clear that Americans weren’t going to be allowed into Canada as the pandemic continued to roar across North America.

Fresh Tracks generously gave me the option of canceling my trip (I paid extra for trip insurance when first booking) or putting the trip on hold until 2021. If I didn’t cancel, Fresh Tracks offered to credit my account hundreds of dollars. I chose to delay the Canadian half of our dream vacation.

I still had a dilemma. Despite quarantining, masks, and reduced hours for businesses and restaurants, America’s Amtrak was still running!!

GO AMTRAK!

Rather desperate to get away after spending weeks at home, Pete and I felt we could safely manage train travel on Amtrak’s Empire Builder traveling from Chicago to Seattle including a three night stay in Whitefish, Montana.

Looking back, traveling by plane and train couldn’t have felt much safer. Pete and I had a private roomette on the Empire Builder. Amtrak enforced a mask policy for all passengers and staff. With less than 30 people on our flight from Philadelphia to Chicago, social distancing couldn’t have been easier.

No Worries about Finding a Table in Chicago - August, 2020

Pandemics are horrible and I hope to not live to see another one. However, there are a couple of perks of traveling during a time when the world is basically shut down. Crowds are rare and luxury hotel rooms come cheap.

But as it turns out, at a big price overall.

The Historic Drake Hotel on the Magnificent Mile

Chicago was a ghost town. Pete and I stayed at the beautiful 535 room Drake Hotel for the price of a Hampton Inn. I’m guessing there may have been less than 30 guests in the hotel that August 2020 weekend. We found our room stripped bare, not even a pen. In addition, we were informed at check in to forget about housekeeping and no hotel restaurants were open.

We Had the Walkway to Ourselves Along Lake Michigan

Fortunately, Chicago weather was spectacular that weekend. We spent Sunday visiting with friends in the city. Prior to sunset, we enjoyed a walk along Lake Michigan before venturing out to find dinner. As we strolled along the Magnificent Mile around 8 pm, we passed two Chicago policemen on foot. Passing by I said, “Stay safe”, referring to the health dangers of the pandemic. My comment ended up having a much more foreboding significance.

The American Girl Store Window Before The Chicago Looting Later that Night

On Monday morning August 10th, I strolled down to the front desk to mail my dear Uncle Ben a postcard from the Windy City. When I asked about the best way to get to the train station later that morning, he replied, “I just hope your train gets to Chicago”.

“Gets to?”, I asked. “Has something happened?”

He then informed me about the horrific looting that had occurred during the night, some of it happening directly across the street from our hotel.

After quickly fetching Pete, we went walking to assess the damage (don’t ask me why we weren’t more concerned for our safety at this point). I think the pandemic jaded us a bit.

Louis Vuitton - totally cleaned out by looters

Downtown Chicago looked like a war zone. Most high end store on the Magnificent Mile appeared damaged. Broken windows, emptied store window displays, and glass covered sidewalks created a surreal scene. We saw few people, and just a handful of police on horseback. Pete and I walked block after block in disbelief. We overheard someone say that the bridges had been raised to control further damage. This was crazy!!

Have people completely lost their minds?

Regardless, it felt time to go!

But— Was it even safe to go to the station?

Would Amtrak train #7 arrive on time if at all?

We had no idea what to expect. Pete and I just hoped it wouldn't go from bad to worse.