A lovely bright morning for our last run in New York. It was early Monday morning and we found Prospect Park just as busy as Saturday evening. Runners, bikers and dog walkers were everywhere, doesn't anyone go to work? We went on a different route through the park which took us through woods, up hills and was all very scenic with squirrels and chipmunks chasing around.

It was time to pack our bags and go on to Chicago. The local subway train took us straight to Pennsylvania Station where we were getting the Amtrak train to Chicago. There were some very dodgy people on the train this morning just as well it was our last trip. We dropped off our bags and had a couple more hours in New York.

A friend had recommended the Highline Garden walkway, which was close by. The disused overhead railway system had recently been converted into an overhead garden walkway, with seating and picnic areas. It was very pleasant but incredibly busy. It was mainly tourists walking the mile long path but some workman off the nearby building sites were using it in their lunch break. It really is a peaceful alternative to the streets below and a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours.
The station was next to Madison Square Gardens and the General Post Office which was one of the grandest old buildings we had seen in New York, with twenty white pillars along the frontage. The building was huge and apparently is going to become the main entrance for the station.

It was very exciting waiting for the train departure platform to come up on the board. Everyone was shuffled on at the far end of our train and then we realised that there were no sleepers here so we had to get off and go back to the front of the train . We eventually made it to our little sleeper compartment with its own sink and toilet (this should be very interesting) and we were soon out of the city chugging through the US countryside along the Hudson River. We sat back and enjoyed the scenery and it wasn't long before dinner time. We were joined by a very nice American lady on our table. The lady's favourite TV programme was Downtown Abbey so we had plenty to talk about and she was interested to hear that filming took place just down the road to us.
We were able to get off and stretch our legs at certain stops but it was soon time for our attendant to come and make up our beds and we snuggled down for a good nights sleep whilst chugging through the States.