Each day we rode the Metra Milwaukee District West Line (Chicago Union Station to Elgin/Big Timber) from the suburb of Itasca into Chicago. We avoided traffic congestion, outrageous parking fees, and enjoyed the sights of Chicago more. On the other hand we had to wait for buses/trains, coordinate times for transfers from Metra to CTA L trains, and do tons of walking everywhere between. To me it’s a toss up as to if it’s better to drive or use mass transit in Chicago. As the third largest city in the United States, getting around town isn’t the simplest of matters no matter what you choose. If you plan to use buses at all, choose bus stops carefully so you don’t end up waiting on the street in any of the roughest areas of Chicago, as we accidentally did.
This guy struck up a conversation with me after noticing my odd antics with the camera. This photo was taken in stealth fashion before we even talked. He’s from Elgin and works as some form of internet consultant for up and coming businesses. I had a real hard time grasping the nature of his business, it sounded hard to explain. Real nice guy though. Mostly we discussed my photography habit and internet related topics.
Don’t worry about me, just taking pictures of the magazine.
These poor people have to go to work today.
Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I think that it was good
Sunday, June 15th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I am hoping you can help me. Our 5 year old grandson is visiting us and we would like to take him on a train ride from Elgin to a Metra stop where we could get off, have lunch or an ice cream treat, and then head back to Elgin. We do not want to walk far from the station. Would Itasca fit the bill for us?
Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I don’t beleive the station is within walking distance to restaurants/eateries. All the places I remember were quite a bit further than you probably want to walk, maybe a mile or two. I’d recommend finding the address of this station in Itasca, and looking it up on mapquest.com. Select restaurants under categories to show blips for places with food.
I don’t think Itasca is the perfect stop for this trip. But there are tons of other suburban stops on this line. Check out this page for the exact stops on this line, the Milwaukee district West - Elgin to Chicago http://www.metrarail.com/Sched/md_w/md_w.shtml
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 12:59 am
ARF ARF WUTANG!
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 at 7:57 am
I like Metra I mever knew what ricon was
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I live on the heritage corridor line, so your lucky to have the opportunity to take the train everyday because that line has really no trains.