As I said in an earlier post, I live about in a small Illinois town, about 4 hours away from Chicago.  My brother, who is a freshman this year at Loyola, and I have been looking forward to this holiday for some time.  For me, it means getting a break from some work, and for him it means catching up on sleep!  He supposedly stayed up 40 hours straight working on papers and finishing up those last assignments before Thanksgiving break.

Loyola gives us Wednesday off, but since my classes end fairly early on Tuesday, my brother and I were able to catch an early train home.  Amtrak makes a stop in our hometown Galesburg, and because the route is more direct than the highways, gets us home in about 3 hours!  I was also thankful to have him along for the ride, as I automatically get to sit with him and not some random person.

Also, the train departs from Union Station.  The Great Hall at Union Station is super gorgeous, and even if you don’t travel Amtrak or Megabus, it’s definitely worth a visit.  Some notable movie scenes have been filmed there, like The Untouchables or Public Enemies, (with Johnny Depp!).

As I recall, the Damen Ball, a semi-formal dance/ reception for LUC students to celebrate the end of the school year,  was hosted at the Great Hall at Union Station last spring.  I had friends that went and the pictures looked amazing.

Traveling home for the holidays is always a great experience.  If you aren’t able to make it home, there are other options which give you some of the comforts of home.  The residence halls always host a Thanksgiving dinner, or you can always plan some kind of dinner with your friends.

Sometimes a student’s family will visit them.  Loyola offers accommodations for guests called The Flats at Loyola Station. My brother was invited by a friend to a Thanksgiving dinner her mom was going to prepare while in Chicago.

However, I prefer to be home for the holidays.  Nothing is better than taking some time away from school and the city!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!