03.29.06
On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Coast Starlight…
WoooWhooo!
My vacation is finally here! My college roommate, Laura Hood flew out to California and we are taking the Coast Starlight up the coast to Seattle to see our other roommate, Melissa Dake. Tuesday we took the LA “subway” to Union Station. It is a very old and beautiful station. We got on the train and found our sleeper car. It is about 3 ½ feet by 7 ft. Tiny, but so much better then being in coach. We get all of our meals for free and random extras like wine tasting in the afternoon! We are in car 1432. It is basically empty. I think we only have 2 other people in this car with us.
I really enjoy traveling by train. The scenery is amazing and there is something so relaxing and peaceful about it. We are in the middle of about 12 cars. The train whistle sounds close, but not too loud. It reminds me of the summers I spent at my Grandma’s house in Wadena, MN with the train track a few blocks away. I will totally be doing this again in the future! For meals, Amtrak has a policy to put four people at a table. Doesn’t matter if there are open tables, you WILL be meeting new people. Everyone is really nice, but there are certainly a few “characters”.
This morning when I woke up and looked outside I saw… SNOW! I haven’t seen snow since I was home for Christmas. It was just a light dusting on all the trees. Just enough to make it pretty! I took a few pictures and will hopefully be able to post them soon.
Right now it is 9:30 pm on Wednesday night. We were supposed to be in Seattle at 8:30 pm. We are currently running 9 hours behind schedule. Yup. You read that right. 9 hours. Apparently, Amtrak is the low man on the “train track” pole. We have to get out of the way for everyone else, meaning mostly cargo and freight trains. This morning we were only 3 hours behind schedule and then… a freight train about 2 miles a head of us had a problem. The connection that holds the cars together broke. We had to wait for the crew to arrive on scene, fix it, get another engine in to move the separated piece and then wait for ANOTHER crew to completely finish the job, since the 1st crew had passed their 12 hour mark and stopped working. It took a total of 6 hours before we were able to move. I guess I understand why no one takes the train anymore. The delay didn’t bother me and Laura too much. We don’t HAVE to be to Seattle until 3 pm tomorrow. We just played games, watched movies and had a few drinks. A short while ago the attendant for our car informed me that this train was no longer going to Seattle. Tomorrow this train becomes the 11 train heading south and will never make it to Seattle with enough time to turn around for tomorrow’s schedule. They are “terminating” the train in Portland, which is another four hours away. She believes that we will be transferred to a bus to take us the rest of the way. 3 hours on a bus at 3 – 4 am in not really my idea of a great time. Oh well! Just adds more to the experience. Hopefully we will be compensated somehow for our troubles.
Even with all the delays, I am still really enjoying my trip. It has been way too long since I have been able to sit down and read or play cards or write! With the car being as empty as it is Laura and I have spread out, so we each have a room to relax in.
Tomorrow we are going to the hotel, for a short while. A shower is going to feel real nice! Then we are renting a car and driving to Wenatchee, WA. It is about 3 hours from Seattle and 1 or 2 hours from Oroville, where Melissa lives. She is going to pick us up we will spend a few days with her and her boyfriend Jody. We head back to Seattle Saturday night, so I might have another post on Sunday or Monday. And maybe some pictures then too!