A Portent of Beans and Orange Skies on the Kansas Line

I survived the first night in coach reasonably well, managing to sleep off and on, finagling myself into various contortions to try and find the best position of comfort from which to sleep. If my head was comfortably placed, then my back was just slightly twisted, giving off the sensation of annoyance like a fly that won't buzz away. But all was well during the morning as I ate my oats and strawberry yogurt for breakfast and prepared to pull into Chicago. About 20 minutes prior to the station, this passenger, who I suspect is deliberately nomadic, pulled out what was either a trumpet or French horn (I couldn't see) from his jumble of army green travel bags and began to serenade the cabin. He was neither a virtuoso or a novice, but for a few brief moments the conversational noise of the cabin subsided as the other passengers just listened.

I met with reasonable temperate weather at Union Station in Chicago and was very pleased that I was able to store my bicycle and bags at the station while I explored the city for a few hours. I made my way straight to Millenium park to see the world famous bean. I'm likely to eat more than my fair share of beans while traveling through Mexico and so far as omens are concerned, I say it's a good one. Throughout the past year I've purposely cooked meals with beans far more than I had in the past so I could develop a good sense for the meals I can make with a simple camping stove and simple ingredients like rice, beans, and cut vegetables. While they may give some of us bodily aroma that we would rather not contend with in a public setting, beans are some of the best food we can put into our bodies as part of a healthy diet. If anyone has any simple bean dishes they would like to share, comment below!

Although it was a short visit, I enjoyed walking around Chicago. I had lunch, grabbing a sandwich from a local shop, and then I bought a few other things from Walgreens and then made my way back to Union Station to catch my train. Passing another night, I wake up just outside of Dodge City, Kansas. The blood-orange of the sky coalesces beautifully with the charcoal shadow across the flatlands of Kansas. The starless sky welcomes the dawn, and bit by bit the contours of the land transfigure into the details of stacks of hay, still wind wheels, and even a lone coyote who watches the flight of the plains birds silhouetting their dozens against brightening horizon. The land is flat, yet beautiful.

A round 28 hours remain until I arrive in LA. Although clearly this is not the most comfortable mode of travel, I have actually enjoyed it a bit more than I anticipated. Updates to come!