23 December, 2009
Amtrak Adventure -- 20-21 Dec Train 98 to WAS
14 August, 2009
When You’ve Come to the End of the Road
12 & 13 August, 2009
This is the story of the final journey, the final train to the final stop (technically, Hollywood is the penultimate stop, but you get the drift) on the final day of travel – the end of the road. Our train, the southbound Silver Meteor #97 departed Washington, DC on time, and the crew seems eager to throw us off the train at the end of the road (read West Palm to Miami, where the train stops only to disburse passengers) ON TIME.
This would be an exception for the trains I've ridden this trip. The only one that met or exceeded its ETA, IIRC, was the westbound Empire Builder – and I have it on the good authority of one of the engineer's wives out there that they have the schedule sufficiently padded to allow such a thing. Oh, I must not forget Train 4, the Southwest Chief, which is always early to Albuquerque because they have an extra 30 minutes built into the schedule to allow lots of time for refueling.
Other trains, though, have been anywhere from 15 minutes to up to two hours behind schedule when I got off. Nevertheless, this record represents a serious improvement for Amtrak trains system-wide, since most of the trains arrived within an hour of the scheduled time, and none so late that my connections were threatened. On previous occasions, I've been much more extensively delayed by late arrivals.
Another thing I've noticed about this trip so far is that it typifies the professional, pleasant and overall improved service I've seen on most trains throughout my trip. In fact, the only train where I didn't feel satisfied with the quality of service was, surprisingly, train 30. On this train attendants seemed confused; passengers in coaches were basically ignored; at one stop six passengers were unable to get off because the conductor did not appropriately announce which doors would open and his assistants never got a chance to aid passengers in disembarking before the train pulled off.
Other trains however, were run in an orderly fashion; attendants and conductors interacted politely and even jovially with passengers; information was disbursed in a timely and ear-catching fashion. It was also obvious that some attention was being paid to customer comfort. People rarely had to ask for pillows, and the restrooms on all the trains were not only functional but CLEAN and constantly well stocked with the needed supplies. On one train, the #6 California Zephyr, the attendant in our coach, Tim Noel, made a point of providing informational comments at interesting moments in the trip, and he kept a very full train of people feeling like he was dealing with each individual and group on a personal level.
The service in Amtrak diners is usually very good, but even the snack bars, where one can sometimes receive very indifferent service, were mostly efficiently and cheerfully run. I observed a more positive attitude generally among Amtrak workers, and very little in the way of the slatternly, indifferent or overwhelmed attitudes I have seen among the employees on some train sets in the past. Little things can mean a lot, and the little things this time around made my travel more enjoyable.
It's now shortly after three p.m. on Thursday 13th August. My train, the southbound Silver Meteor, is actually approximating its name as we head south towards the Tri-County area. At this rate, we may even be early! We continued to run on time all night, when I got little sleep. I am beginning to think the lighting in the car is what is keeping me awake. I did much better when I was beside the window, and therefore not directly under the track lighting that helps people pass through the cars without tripping. Besides that, CSX seems to have the worst track quality of the four track owners whose tracks Amtrak makes use of to run its non" northeast corridor trains. All night long the train rattled and shuddered because the engineer was running the tracks at what is considered optimal safe speed.
Nevertheless I managed to doze off a few times, and as a result remember nothing between Fayetteville NC and Savannah GA. We were on time into Savannah and early into Jacksonville, which gave me a chance to stretch my legs and take a couple pictures of our train's engines. Later, as we neared Orlando, I had an opportunity to bid farewell to my friend, who was so excited to finally be at home, or almost there, that she nearly got off one stop too early. Sometime this afternoon she should get off a bus from Orlando to Port Charlotte.
While I may not be as eager as she was to get off, I'm looking forward to a warm shower and a real bed - and internet access - after more than three continuous days of train travel. But I admit the journey has been a lot of fun, a great adventure in some ways, if you will. I feel reenergized, despite the lack of sleep, and mentally I have found the travel and exposure to unfamiliar sights, experiences, and people to be stimulating.
As we head further south, approaching the orange grove town of Sebring, I notice the sky is becoming increasingly overcast. To the west it actually looks like it might be raining. I hope this is just a regular afternoon shower that will be gone by the time I get back to Fort Lauderdale, and not a lingering line of showers. Fortunately for me, aside from a brief shower through which the train rides without slowing, the threatening weather stays off to the west. Its only effect is to keep the evening sun from heating up the South Florida afternoon.
At about 6:15 or so, my train pulled into the Hollywood station. Once it pulled away, only those who were getting off at that final stop, Miami, were left on board. I gathered my things and went around to the other side of the station to wait for my ride. My trip was over, but I was looking forward to an evening of good food and conversation with friends, a warm shower and a comfortable bed, and within 48 hours, a brief flight that would bring me within sight of the glittering lights of my island home. Contentment personified, that's me.
12 August, 2009
Transition Station
It is about 4:10 p.m. and I am sitting in Washington's Union Station. I'm sitting in the Corner Bakery with a friend from Colombia.
We are waiting for our train to Florida.
Now I know you think I should be outside looking at the White House and the Capitol and the Mall and the Lincoln Memorial. But I have all this luggage I would have to drag behind me! Besides, there's no internet out there.
I did sleep on the train last night. I think it was because the car I was sitting in was so COLD. I think it was colder in that car than it was in any other location I've been in this summer, and this includes all the parts of the Rocky Mountains I've visited. Lucky for us we were able to convince the train attendant to turn the temperature up a bit; otherwise we would have come off the train looking like walking icicles. We were all there with jacket, blanket, and little hats, trying to stay warm.
I slept through all but three of the stops on the train: Martinsburg, Harper's Ferry, and Rockville. Rockville was interesting because the conductor announced the stop and told all the people who were getting off there to get off, then let the train pull off without opening any of the doors! So they all had to go all the way to DC then go back. Good thing Rockville is only 20 minutes ride from DC, and that this guy didn't do that say, between Denver and Glenwood Springs, which is a 6 hour ride…..
After I got off, I went downstairs with a couple of the other people who had been on my train to look for some food. I had some excellent sushi from the place I ate at before, the Kabuki Sushi. I even ordered some extra cucumber rolls. If u are ever in the Union Place Mall, and if u like Japanese food, these guys do a good job, and the rolls are made fresh to order. My big "sin" for the day was the cream-filled cannoli I bought down at the Sweet Treats stall. It is really too much for one person to eat in one sitting. I have been nibbling on it all afternoon. At the Corner Bakery I couldn't resist the cream cheese brownie, which will just have to go with coffee tomorrow morning. I have to walk a great deal for the next two days to keep off all that weight I walked off in the mountains…. LOL
In a little while I will prolly go in the B. Dalton right over there.
I don't NEED to buy a new book for tomorrow's ride, but when has NOT needing a book been a deterrent to actually buying one? J
This is the last night of the trip for me. Tomorrow night I will be in South Florida again. Hopefully I can use some of the time tomorrow to catch up on some of the "missing" blog entries and maybe even start to figure out my pictures.
Sleepless Somewhere in the Heartland
Today was kinda weird.
I logged off last night after Denver, going into the dark of Nebraska and points east, having lost the hour with which the Rockies had gifted me two weeks earlier. I don’t have a good track record when it comes to sleeping on moving vehicles, but on the way out I managed a good couple of hours of sleep without too much difficulty. This was not the case last night.
I don’t know if it was my seat partner, who seemed to take up a lot of mental space, even though she actually stayed completely in her seat the whole time, or if it was just me. I just know that I was the only person in the whole entire car by 10 p.m. with a light still on. (Contrast that with right now, on a different train, when at least half of the lights are still on at 10:15.) I felt so restless that I took my AcerBaby (the Acer Aspire I bought to use on this trip), along with a Subway ham sandwich, a double chocolate chip cookie and what was left of this morning’s coffee, and walked up to the lounge car.
Unlike just about every other train I’ve been on, the lounge / sightseer car was practically deserted when I got up there. There were about 4 people sleeping on the floor and sofa-like benches at one end. At the other end, nearest the dining car, the cafeteria style tables waited in ghostly silence. It felt like I was the only one awake on the entire train.
Of course this wasn’t literally true; the conductors and other train personnel were around, and every now and again one of them walked through the lounge. I sat there eating my food and looking at my mostly bad photos. Later one guy who also couldn’t sleep came to sit at a parallel table and shoot the breeze about his weekend driving trip from eastern Nebraska to Southeastern Montana, through the Black Hills and the Grasslands. Nevertheless it was surreal to be sitting there looking at the pics I’d taken earlier that week and just being too awake to even begin to sleep.
I counted off two towns before I started to feel drowsy enough to attempt sleep. Around 3 a.m. I wrapped myself in my coat, reclined my chair, and tried to drop off. Then I twisted and turned and fidgeted, and after some trial and error discovered that my seat was just broken enough to keep me from pulling the bottom all the way up. At 5 a.m. when a smoke break was called for Lincoln, Nebraska, I was alert enough to get up, go downstairs, and take a picture of a train car in the still-dark station.
Finally the lady in the seat across from me (waves at Alana) who was getting off in Omaha, the next stop, suggested that I move over to her seat. Perhaps if I could stretch out across the two seats I might be able to rest a bit. When she got off, I took her advice. It took me another hour to doze off, but after putting my mini-blanket over my head, I finally managed to take a few cat naps during the morning. However, all day I’ve been feeling drowsy and not even much interested in taking pics. I only snapped some pictures of the major rivers crossed, and a few others illustrating the remarkable greenness of the IA / IL grainbelt.
I did eventually get up, but it was more because the train ride was ending than because I was excited about getting up. Once we got into Chicago Union Station, I made certain to get a good meal and post a few things on the internet.
But I’m still sleepy. In fact, I think I’ll try to go to sleep right now. If it works for me, I may actually get a couple hours sleep tonight…..
Spectacular State of Mind Part Two
10 August 2009
Well, it's been another interesting day. I'm currently sitting on Amtrak's train 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, somewhere between Denver and Fort Morgan, CO. I got on this morning at Grand Junction. It's been an interesting two days, since I got onto my bus in Albuquerque, New Mexico after 7 a.m. Sunday morning………….
In booking my ticket a few weeks ago, I discovered it was almost 20 dollars cheaper to get a ticket all the way to Denver rather than just to Grand Junction, so I did that. When I got to Grand Junction, though, I discovered that because my bus had been so late that I had missed my supposed connection to Denver, Greyhound was going to put me up in a hotel for free. Now I already had a room booked, albeit at a less upscale hotel closer to the bus and train stations, but fool that I am, I went along with all the other bus people to the "free" hotel. This was fine – until it was time to get back into town this morning. I was forced to take the hotel shuttle, and the driver decided to wait until she had an almost full load before she left.
Now this was at 11 a.m., and my train was scheduled to leave at 11:23 a.m. At that point it was so late, there was no way I could walk down from the bus station to the train station in time, so I had to get her to drop me at the Amtrak station instead. Of course since she didn't know I was actually catching the train, she decided to give us the "scenic" tour of Main St, Grand Junction, instead of just dropping me off, already! What was worse was that I couldn't tell any of the other bus passengers, with whom I'd become "passengers of fate" friendly, that I wasn't going by bus. After all, if I DID miss the train, I would still have to get to Denver, and I already had a bus ticket!
So there I was, refusing the kindly offer of one of the other passengers to watch my luggage at the bus station, dashing around the station corner, and breathing an immense sigh of relief to discover that the train was still there. I was probably the last passenger on the train, but I did make it.
The moral of this story? I ended up paying for a hotel room that I didn't sleep in at all. (It was too late to cancel the reservation by the time I got to Grand Junction.) And because I didn't stay at the hotel (which I had originally selected because of its proximity to the train station), I almost missed my train. Let's just say that being a smart aleck isn't always so smart.
Because I got on the train in between major stops, I wasn't fortunate enough to get a window seat. However, my seatmate spent the majority of the day in the sightseer car – not a big surprise given the sights to be seen on the day's ride – so I was able to take quite a few pictures from my seat. I also got up and stood at the back of the coach car several times when I wanted a closer shot of what was on the other side of the train or when I wanted to get a better shot of the train itself going around one of the many sharp curves we encountered running along the picturesque Colorado River.
We went through four canyons, most notably Glen Canyon, through which I passed last Tuesday on my way to ABQ, and, after stopping briefly at Winter Park Resort, we passed through Moffat Tunnel, which crosses under the Continental Divide and shaves all but 12 minutes off the old six-hour long trip over Rawlins Pass. The 6.2 mile long tunnel is the 4th longest in the Western Hemisphere, according to our very informative coach attendant. Coming down the eastern flank of the Front Range, we passed through 29 more tunnels and around some seriously twisty curves. I think this trip for me was spectacular as much because of the remarkable feats of engineering which made it possible as it was for the natural beauty which lined its route.
As I bring this entry to a close, we getting ready to cross the Colorado – Nebraska state line, where I will have to remember to turn my watch forward one hour. They say that trains were the original time machines, and at moments like this I can see why people might think so.
11 August, 2009
Spectacular State of Mind, Part One
Well, it’s been another interesting day. I’m currently sitting on Amtrak’s train 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, somewhere between Denver and Fort Morgan, CO. I got on this morning at Grand Junction. It’s been an interesting two days, since I got onto my bus in Albuquerque, New Mexico after 7 a.m. Sunday morning.
As I posted before, I stayed out fairly late on Saturday night to go salsa dancing with a friend of mine who is living in Albuquerque. I got back to my hotel with just enough time, basically, to pack and get dressed. So I did finally get everything together and called a cab. (My original plan had been to catch the city bus, but I’d forgotten that the schedule starts later on Sundays.) Imagine my annoyance when the first city bus passed me – and my taxi still wasn’t there!
So I finally got to the bus station a little less than ½ hour before we were scheduled to depart. What happened? You know it; the bus didn’t leave until after 7:45 a.m. This of course, did little to impede my enjoyment of the day. Hey, sue me; I’m on vacation. I’m having a hard time being sure what day it is.
I was able to take some of the most spectacular photos of my entire trip on this bus ride, and I’m pretty sure I snapped as many as 3000 yesterday alone. I haven’t had a chance to wade through them all as yet – will likely do that tomorrow – but I recommend to anyone who wants to see some dramatic mountain pass scenery to try the US 550 stretch from Montrose, CO to Aztec, NM. Less confident drives should take the bus; this is not a drive for the faint of heart, and all of the passes top out at over 10,000 feet. All around are the San Juan and Uncompaghre Mountains, some of the most strikingly beautiful in Colorado. The few towns – Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgeway – are strung out along the highway like jewels.
This is the same route I rode out to ABQ on last Tuesday, with the same driver, and the people were as interesting as the last trip. (Maybe I’m turning into a people-watcher; I’ve a separate entry called “The People u meet each day” because I’ve met so many interesting people.) What made today’s trip more visually stimulating is partially the weather, which was fantastically clear, and partially the fact that I had a better seat. Either way, it never seemed to matter that I was getting into Grand Junction late.
And thereby hangs a tale, as the old people would say.
…… continued in Part Two.