Today was our last day in Chicago. I was so heartbroken that our time in that amazing city had to end. After a wonderful breakfast with Mat, Jeffrey, and Jill, we were off to explore the Art Institute of Chicago before they opened their doors to the public. While gearing up to head to the institute, I received a text from one of the best Chicago photographers, Andrew Thomas Clifton. I invited him to join our group on this private tour and it was awesome! The institute has such a great design and is full of natural light! We roamed the empire exhibits for about an hour and a half before hitting the streets.

After leaving the Institue, Mat, Andrew, Jeffrey, and I took a scenic route back to the hotel to prepare to depart. When we first arrived, Julia from Amtrak's social media team invited me to tour the Operations Control Center for Amtrak's Chicago operation. Mat and I checked out early and headed to Chicago's Union Station for our behind the scenes tour! When we arrived, we met with Greg who oversees the dispatch center. He gave us a tour of their "floor" and "war room". We talked a little train and tracks with him before heading up to get a peak of the grand hall from the non-public balcony. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed during this tour but it was pretty freaking amazing.

We then boarded the train enroute for St. Paul. Aboard the train, we were able to hear from Dr. Jon Freeman and Pei Ketron. Dr. Freeman spoke about impressions and judging a book by its cover and Pei talked about Instagram and "selling out". Listening to Pei speak was probably one of the best moments of life. Haha. After our seminars, it was time for dinner. Mat, Danielle, Kyle and I enjoyed steak and salmon aboard Amtrak's finest diner car! When we arrived in St. Paul, we dropped our stuff off and headed to he GreatWaters brewing company for drinks and laughs!

Here are some photos taken during our train trip from Chicago to St. Paul.

Until next time my good friends!