Reflect. Rejoice.

11:30am Thursday, 1/8

Today Thursday, January 8, I begin a solo 3 week journey to explore the USA by train using the Amtrak USA pass.

The pass allows 10 segments of any length, and each time I change trains it uses 1 segment of my 10. The map below illustrates my proposed journey which should total approximately 9300 miles.

Starting in Philadelphia at 12:32pm, I go to NYC to change trains for Chicago. I will purchase lunch and dinner-to-go at Moynihan Station. The NYC – Chicago leg is 1146 miles and puts me arriving in Chicago around 10:12am Friday Jan 9.

In Chicago I have a 5 hour layover so I can get breakfast, then lunch, and then again dinner-to-go for the Chicago – Portland leg. That one is a beast at 2200 miles and 44 hours aboard.

I have packed several meals that only require hot water which I should be able to provide with my little Goodwill electric kettle. No Leatherman tools allowed on Amtrak so I will have to make do with this goofy toy:

I am doing this entire trip in coach so will not have access to a bed or shower until I get to Colorado Springs in 5 days to visit my Grandma. But I have a good supply of vanlife-style baby wipes and dry shampoo.

I will update this blog as I go. Stay tuned for the inevitable adventures I am bound to experience.

2:30pm Thurs, 1/8

At Penn Station awaiting train to Chicago. Had to get a slice for lunch.

Also picked up a sub and greek salad to eat later for dinner. Discovered I cannot use my sporty little Goodwill kettle because it will blow the circuit breaker and shutdown the train apparently. Too much wattage (600). Will look for an immersion heater in Chicago. Or just get hot water from the cafe car.

3:05pm, Thursday 1/8

Departed NYC for Chicago.

In Albany, NY the train stopped at the station to turn around and continue on. We were there around 45 minutes. Two people got off for I don’t know why and then missed the train departure. They had to hop in a cab to rush to the next station to get back on. Cost them $300. Moral is do not get off the train and wander off.

ChatGPT gave me a detailed breakdown of where I need to sit for the Empire Builder line and what times I can expect the best scenery. Since daylight is still quite short I most likely will miss some of the most impressive scenery because it will be dark when we pass through. But I will catch what I can. GPT gave me specific seat numbers for a lanky solo traveler with a rolling carryon.

Departed Chicago. Scored a bulkhead seat on second level, north side with a clean window (for my seat). Train is almost empty. Had my choice of any seat I wanted.

4:33pm, Thursday 1/8

4:47pm, Thursday 1/8

En Route to Chicago. Riding along the banks of the Hudson River. Nice sunset but Observation Car windows are very dirty. My traveling companion is a retired school teacher that taught English in China for 2 years. She then ran a dog grooming business in NYC and travels all around now that she is fully retired. She has done this trip a few times. Train is completely full so glad I got a good seat mate since we will be together for 18 hours.

6:30pm, Thursday 1/8

90 minutes from Chicago in South Bend. Had my breakfast and my seat mate asked why I ate the apple core. Told her I had been doing that my whole life so that by eating the seeds I would develop immunity from cyanide poisoning in case my enemies try to do me in. I ate my granola protein bar and apple and drank a Celsius. Sunrise is still 2 hours away so just relaxing and listening to the train whistle. It seems to be blowing continuously so maybe we are going through several rural crossings. Or maybe the engineer is letting his kid ride like my dad did 55 years ago. Ours was an Erie Lackawanna freight train though.

10:12am Fri 1/9

Arrived Chicago Union Station. Looked into checking my two bags because I have 5 hours but they require $40 ($20 each). Nope I say. I could check my large bag for free but then I would not have access to it for the entire trip. I need it handy so will just carry it on.

Lined up to board Empire Builder and try to secure seat on northern side, second level by bulkhead for max leg room. Gate man told me there were only 8 seats left on the train.

Dinner at seat. Had the turkey club I picked up in Chicago, Mac n cheese and cup-o-soup with hot water courtesy of my new friend Victor the cafe man. Going to watch a downloaded movie and snooze best I can. I have both seats to myself so can spread out a bit.

4:37am, Friday 1/9

Train did stop a few times en route last night due to having to let freight trains go by. They take priority and do not have a set regular schedule thus Amtrak has to give way. This can impact arrival times which are critical to my back-to-back trains. May have to adjust segments if we have too many delays.

Woke up after a fitful sleep and found train is currently between Cleveland and Sandusky. Sunrise is at 7:54 so not much to see now. I will clean up with a baby wipe bath and change clothes and then grab a protein bar and an apple for breakfast.

I sure wish I had my inflatable sleep pillow because it was a tough sleep. My down blanket was great though and I was toasty. Quite stiff but will loosen up I reckon as I move around.

5:37am, Friday 1/9

Approaching Toledo. Feeling good after my baby wipe bath and change of clothes. bathroom is large but awash in water (I hope) on the floor. Kept my shoes on.

Sink is recessed under a mirror so naturally I banged my head when I tried to spit in the sink when brushing my teeth. Ridiculous design and explains why the mirror had several cracks in it. Anyway I was able to clean up and change.

11:00am Fri 1/9

I went to Starbucks to get a cup of hot water to make my ramen lunch. Had to buy a bag of nuts for $4.00 to get the water so I will add those to my snack stash.

Made my ramen and repacked a bit. Will purchase a turkey club for dinner later.

3:15pm, Friday 1/10

Now in the Observation Lounge until sunset. Observation car has a large group of Amish folks, approximately 30. Lots of kids having a grand time. I won’t take picts of them out of respect. Will return to my regular seat after sunset.

I made friends with the cafe server, Victor. Tipped him for my split of cabernet and arranged with him to get my hot water for my meals. He is the attendant all the way to Portland.

4:33am Saturday 1/10

Slept better with more room since I have both seats(not sure if that will continue because we will be picking up more passengers). However, the way the seat reclines makes an uncomfortable gap with a hard bar that is troublesome for tall people. I considered just sleeping on the floor but as I did not have a sleeping bag thought not. However, this guy took my idea:

I should have brought the inflatable REI sleeping mat my son bought me and even if I didn’t choose floor sleeping it would have greatly helped with the seat comfort. Next time.

The bathrooms on this train are mighty small–smaller even than those on an airplane. But I did find something labeled “Lounge”. This is a larger space with double sinks and a stool.

It does not lock however. But I reckoned at 3:45 in the morning it wouldn’t be frequented often so this is where I did my morning ablutions.

Now, the devious Amtrak designers–same guys that made the previous sink unspittable–have designed these sinks to be slightly smaller than a human head. And the faucets are recessed so that it is impossible to put your head under to wash your hair.

But my superior intellect devised a workaround. I used a useful invention known as a plastic cup and was able to soak my head. I didn’t bring shampoo but there was a pump bottle of hand soap so I lathered up with that.

Now this entire time I was topless and the door doesn’t lock but after I rinsed my head I then stripped fully to do my baby wipe cleanse. There was not enough room in the adjacent tiny bathroom stall so I just took my chances that no one would stagger in and be surprised. I used my shirt as my towel and did a quick scrub of all the essentials. No one busted in so I was able to get dressed without being reported to the authorities.

All cleaned up I returned to my seat and packed my laptop bag to head to the observation lounge where I can set up shop before the Amish invasion, however non-violent. Last night they used up all of the booths and I will need a table for my next experiment.

I am hoping to do some watercolor painting of some of the picts I have taken. But I failed to take into account that riding on a train is not the best place to do detailed work. Lots of sporadic bouncing around. This is why they don’t do a lot of circumcisions on Amtrak. In fact I did find it specifically called out in the Travel Tips.

But I am going to give it a shot (painting, not circumcising). Who knows, it may well improve my art. You’ve got your Cubism and Impressionism. Perhaps I will start a new art movement called Amtrakism. Or instead of Realism it would be Railism. Which is really just Realism with a southern accent.

Will post my efforts good or bad.

6:55am

Watercolored for 45 minutes. Behold Railism!

Sunrise in this part of the country is not until 8:24am. This is my view at 7:07am. Looking forward to later this morning as we will approach Glacier Park. But may still be dark as we go through.

8:33am Surrey, ND

Had to stop for fuel and train repairs. I think some knucklehead probably plugged in a Goodwill tea kettle. 1 hour stop and I got off but did not wander far. 14 degrees so only out for 20 minutes or so.

10:20am Sat 1/10

Back on the rails. I am seated in the observation lounge next to a trio of wild and crazy Mennonites. They are from Lancaster and are on their way to Washington to help with a disaster. Nice ladies but somehow my electrical outlets no longer work. Hmmm. Maybe if I move over near the live-streaming tech guys my power will be restored.

11:00am Sat 1/10

Northern North Dakota is flat and I did not know it was such oil country. Interesting to see functional pumping oil wells in the foreground and dozens of windmills in the back not moving at all.

11:38am Sat 1/10

Stopping in Williston, ND. 13 degrees but just a few inches of snow. We are about an hour from the Missouri River crossing near Fort Union which is supposed to be one of the scenic highlights. One of Mennonite group is studying a Rand McNally Atlas. The other two are reading actual books. One has a cover that says Faith Child. But when I peeked over her shoulder walking by it is actually 50 Shades of Gray. Light snow falling here in Williston. Skies are a shade of Gray.

11:57am Sat 1/10

11:20pm (Mountain Time now) Sat 1/10

Finally Mountains! I thought but no, these are the Sweet Grass Hills. They appear to be mountains because everything else is so flat. Will see some real mountains soon ’nuff as we head into the Rockies.

12:30pm Sat 1/10

I asked chatGPT to do a current analysis of upcoming scenery based on my current location and time. Sadly due to our previous delays we will not get to the Rockies and Glacier Park until well after sunset this afternoon so I will not see much. I will take some picts even after sunset because the camera picks up some things I cannot see. I am in Big Sky country and the lounge has windows in the ceiling so I will try tonight to see if I can catch some Milky Way shots. It is cloudy however so might not get much.

Tomorrow I am supposed to switch sides in the observation lounge to the southern view and the highlight is the Columbia River which is supposed to be the best sight on the trip. Should hit that around 9:00am.

I have not seen much wildlife and when I do it is too quick to take a picture. It is quite cold so probably keeping the critters snuggled in their dens. I have seen several pheasants, hares, deer, hawks, and a coyote walking along an adjacent train track.

3:28pm Sat 1/10

It seems somebody tripped the emergency brake. Train came to a pretty quick stop and here we are. Now the air fans just shut off and outlets have stopped working again. Train is dead on the tracks. Here’s my view:

3:34pm Sat 1/10

Train rolling on.

4:10pm Sat 1/10

Fresh air stop in Havre. Have to stay on the platform and no time even to go across the street. Was going to pre-order and pick up bbq but can’t risk it. They say they have Ubereats that will deliver to the platform but no drivers were available. It is .1 miles away so could walk it in two minutes. But I don’t want to be like the Albany Duo. I don’t think there are taxis or Ubers out here to rush me to the next station so I guess I would just have to stay here until the next train. So I will hang here and eat my freeze dried MRE.

4:14pm Sat 1/10

Glad I didn’t try to leave the platform. We were here only 3 minutes when they made the all aboard call. Just a smoke/vape break I guess as they did announce earlier that if you were caught smoking or vaping on the train that you would be kicked off at the next stop. Plus then put you on a list prohibiting you from riding Amtrak. I don’t know how someone would get home from these remote stations. Maybe have to buy a car and drive.

5:08pm Sat 1/10

I won’t hit the Rockies until 7:30pm or so and it will be well-dark. I looked to see if I could change my entire plan and return on the Empire Builder line from Portland – Chicago in hopes of catching the Rockies and Glacier Park but that line leaves at 4:45pm and it will be dark by the time it gets to that area. So no real way to see them at this time of year from either direction. Just means will have to go again in a better season.

Here’s my sunset which would have been even more awesome over a glacier. But grateful to see it. Toast each sundown with wine as Toby Keith sang. Going to heat up my chicken and dumplings with Victor’s hot water.

12:57am Sunday 1/11

Woke up fairly stiff but rested. I gathered up my bag and Railism supplies and headed to the Observation Lounge although there is nothing to observe being dark and all. I am riding through what I am sure must be awesome mountain passes but alas can’t see them. Sunrise is at 7:34am so I will probably start seeing a bit as pre-dawn light grows. According to AI, when dawn breaks I should be able to see the Cascades range and maybe Mount Hood. Big attraction today is the Columbia River which I should hit somewhere between 9:00am – 11:00am. I have sporadic internet connection here so keep losing service and can’t monitor realtime progress.

The lights in the Observation Lounge have been dimmed but I should still be able to slap some paint around and create the second masterwork in the new art movement I have dubbed Railism.

2:16am Sunday 1/11

Just arrived in Spokane. Here the train splits in half and one half goes on to Seattle and the other goes to Portland. I am in the Observation Lounge and they locked the door on the west end so folks don’t accidentally go to Seattle instead of Portland.

I started a Railism painting that is impossible to do on a moving train due to the lettering and straight lines so it is going to be very rough. The source picture is a billboard I shot just before Havre, Montana south of Medicine Hat and near the Fort Belknap Reservation. I will pick up a fineline Sharpie in Portland to finish the lettering and draw in Chief Joseph.

Here’s the work-in-progress:

3:54am Sunday 1/11

They finished decoupling the train and I am once again on the way to Portland. Scheduled to arrive on time and I will have about a 4 hour layover before my train to Sacramento. I can pick up a couple of things to replenish my kit and take a long walk. Not getting many steps in on the train. Maybe it won’t cost $40 to hold my luggage.

Also waiting to hear from my dear friend Al in San Antonio. If he is around after I spend time with the kids in Dallas I will re-route and go down to SA. Strange that the train from Dallas to San Antonio takes over 10 hours but they must make several stops.

Then I would spend a day there and take the Texas Eagle back to Chicago where I would change to the Cardinal line to get home to Philly. This change just gives my dragonfly a longer tail and extends my journey a few days. I explored going back by way of Houston-New Orleans and the southern route but takes way too many legs and 3 more days on the train. So I will stick with the Chicago plan which works for both Dallas and San Antonio if I decide to add that in.

Before everyone gets up and going I will go cleanup and change. Still have clean clothes to wear but will need to launder in Colorado Springs.

4:54am Sunday 1/11

Used up another of my lives this morning trying to clean up. I shall explain.

I had discovered that in the next car over there was a restroom stall labeled “Nursing”. As the train is so sparsely populated I didn’t think that I would be putting anyone out so I went in with my bag. I found later I needn’t have worried about that because “Nursing” had nothing to do with natural infant feeding. It was referencing the probability that you may require the services of a registered nurse if not a surgeon after using that room.

The room was quite a bit larger than the standard tiny stall so I would have a little more room to clean up. I also believe now that the room is large not for your convenience but so the EMT’s can get the backboard in when you fall.

There are convenient hooks on the door to hang your jacket, or in my case all of my clothes. And the EMT’s could use it for the IV. The sink was the same sadistic design but I was prepared with my many-use Almighty Plastic Cup.

Having undressed, I push the hot water tap. Another cruel design feature is that you have to constantly hold down the lever or the water shuts off immediately. So I held the hot water down. And held it. And held it some more.

I believe that to save space in the seating area the Amtrak folk have mounted their hot water tank on the roof. Which might be useful except we were going through sub-freezing temperatures at 70 miles an hour. The water would not warm at all, and in fact I reflected that I had never seen chunky hot water.

That was ice.

Anyway, resigned to taking an ice plunge, I filled my cup and dumped it on my poor ol’ head. It didn’t know it was coming so made me jump back in shock.

In for a penny, I thought but then remembered they just discontinued that, I pumped out some non-designer hand soap and lathered up my head.

Once again I filled my cup with crushed ice and poured it on. Water would work better, I thought, as it takes quite a bit of ice to rinse soap out of your hair. But I got it done.

Next the other bits where I just dampened my cotton shirt with cold water (which was warmer than the hot water) and scrubbed away.

Now there are several challenges one faces when sink bathing on a moving train. One is the constant swaying but you can get used to that and time your movements. However, I think the conductor left the tracks because the ride became suddenly very bumpy. This happened when I was balanced on one foot trying to scrub my toes on the other. As I had to hold the water tap down with one hand I had to let go of the safety bar so when he hit the cow I fell back and accidentally hit the flush button.

A train flush is louder than an AC/DC concert and it scared the crap out of me. Fortunately when I fell I landed butt-down on the open toilet so that was convenient.

Anyway I recovered and finished up cleaning myself up.

I dressed and went stumbling back to my seat to start packing up so I could be ready to go when we hit Portland. I am back in the Observatory now with still nothing to observe but dawn will be coming soon. As soon as my buddy Victor mans the cafe I will get some hot water (how he gets it is a mystery) and make my morning soup. Then look forward to the Columbia River gap.

7:25am Sun 1/11

Yay sun is coming up! Riding along the banks of the Columbia. Beautiful day. Should be great views this morning.

ChatGPT says this is one of the most important wind farm corridors in the country. They don’t turn when it is below freezing or the wind conditions are not just right.

Have encountered several long freight trains during this trip. Reminds me to go back and re-read Atlas Shrugged, one of my favorites along with Grapes of Wrath. Those two books are seemingly polar opposites but to me both Steinbeck and Rand have the same underlying themes.

The island above in the middle of the Columbia is Memaloose, Chinook for “place of the dead.” It is a sacred island and the public are prohibited.

10:45am Sunday 1/11

Arrived ahead of schedule in Portland.

Nothing much at the station so I asked I could have them store my bags as my train was not until 2:22pm. She said how many and the asked how big they were. She took a look and only charged me for 1 and just threw the laptop bag in gratis. So it was $20 instead of $40 which was nice.

I needed to stock up my MREs and get a few things so she directed me to the Safeway. You know you might be in for an adventure when the directions use the homeless encampment as a landmark. Sure enough, just outside the station there are several houseless folks living in tents and what not. But that is the way to get to Safeway so I soldiered through with my hand on my trusty tiny Gerber with the formidable 1” blade.

I had put my driver’s license and 1 credit card in my sock and most of my cash in another pocket. Figured if I was rolled they could steal the wallet with a bit of cash and then take off. But I made it to Safeway without any encounters save a couple of curious glances. Portland at least on a Sunday is vacant. Hardly any cars and very few folks walking around. One lady with a boujie poodle in a skirt (the dog, not the lady) 

Outside the Safeway there was a homeless guy greeting customers. I returned his pleasant greeting and went in. I have in the past bought water and a small meal to give such a guy when I leave the store without them asking. I had just saved $20 on my luggage storage so figured I would pay that forward and buy this guy a few things.

The Safeway had a uniformed guard inside. As I was gathering up stuff to restock my travel pantry I went to the hot bar and made a container meal of General Tso’s chicken with noodles and egg rolls for my station lunch and made another with Orange Chicken, green beans and egg rolls as well for guy in front of the store. I picked up some sausage, cheese and crackers and a couple of energy drinks. I also picked 2 premade packs with two turkey and swiss sliders each and a bottle of water for him. 

To get toothpaste and a brush (not for me, for the homeless guy) I had to go through a special gate with another guard. You have to pay for such things separately at a special counter before you leave that area that is patrolled by another uniformed guard. Also behind locked cabinets were sharpie markers and scotch tape, which I needed to work on my Railism paintings. I guess these are valuable commodities for shoplifters. So I paid for those items and went back to my cart to take the rest up to the self-checkout. There were no registers open.

I had trouble as I always do at self-checkout. I am not trained in the fine art of grocery scanning and it usually takes two store managers and a call to corporate to get me through. Everything scanned fine except the Chinese food which had no barcode and you had to pay by weight. The attendant came over, quickly punched in a secret code and left. But I had two meals so I called her back. She looked exasperated and said just punch in the code. I looked puzzled because there was no sign with any codes so she yelled out 5528 like I was an idiot for not knowing that. I believe that you are expected to have that code memorized so if you ever go to the Safeway in Portland etch that into your long-term memory.

They also charge you per paper bag, .02, which is still better than NJ where you cannot get a paper bag for $1000.   

I rebagged my goods so I could just hand the homeless guy a sack of his own. Also threw in $5 just so he could get more water if needed.

Yep, the guy was still there talking to Security. I held back because I reckoned he was getting in trouble for stalking the door. They soon left and I walked up and asked if I could buy him a meal. He looked puzzled and said “No man, I’m fine but thanks.”

He was not a homeless guy. In fact, I think he was an additional plainclothes security guard. That’s why he was chatting them up.

Chagrined I left carrying my two sacks. I knew there were several people near the station that were at least more obviously homeless so I knew I could give it away. 

Sure enough, as I approached the station there was a guy looking in the trash. I walked up more confidently this time and asked if I could give him a meal. He said Thanks Man. I told him there were a couple of things in there and he said thanks again and asked if he could give some to the couple struggling up the street. One elder was using a walker. He said they were looking for food too. 

Sure I said. They look out for each other.

I went in the station, retrieved my bags repacked my bags with my new larder. That goofy water heater that I daren’t use was taking up too much space so I offered it to a couple in the waiting room. I cautioned them that they should not use it on the train lest it blow the breakers and strand everyone. The wife was thrilled and said she could use it for her tea. I hope she is not on my train. 

I was able to buy a small cup of ice at the station to replenish my insulated mug to keep my meds cool. .85. Nothing is free anymore.   

2:00pm Sun 1/11

Boarded the Starlight Express 11. ChatGPT told me exactly what seat to get but problem was that seat does not exist. It sure seemed confident though. I was able to get a window seat second level with a fairly clean window. My seatmate for the next 16 hours is a young guy from Philly and he was watching the eagles game. He is also going on to Denver tomorrow which is a 32 hour trip on the California Zephyr.

As soon as the conductor came by I sprinted for the Observation Lounge to secure a panoramic seat on the east side to see the sights. This is supposed to be a great scenic journey and at least I have a few hours of daylight although again most of the trip will be after dark and arriving just after dawn. 

I will enjoy the view until dark then go prepare my dinner. Will have to make nice with the new Café attendant to get some hot water, although I won’t need it for my Turkey Sliders. I may add some ramen though. The killjoy conductor said guests cannot drink their own alcohol in their coach seat and that we could buy it in the cafe. He did NOT say we couldn’t drink it in the Observation Lounge however. I bought some from Victor on the Empire Builder but this time I bought a split at Safeway where the wine was not locked up but the scotch tape was.

And that’s what my empty Vitamin Water bottles are for methinks. I failed to get a corkscrew but I will find a way to get into the bottle using my deadly Gerber.

I will enjoy a cabernet at sunset per Toby’s direction along with my turkey sliders and cup-o-ramen.

3:58pm Sun 1/11

5:23pm Sunday 1/11

Stopped for a “fresh air break”. Nope. 30 people rushing to get off and smoke cigs two at a time. No fresh air to be found for hundreds of yards. But had a chance to surreptitiously fill up my Vitamin Water jug with my dinner wine.

We are entering the Cascade mountain range soon and I will lose cell signal for some time. I will attempt some photos but most likely it will be darker than Voldemort’s soul.

3:50am Mon 1/12

Up and ready for the day. My seat mate had found an unoccupied row so spent the night there which was great as it gave me more room to toss and turn. These seats are comfortable but not designed for tall people. He was also a big guy so needed more space too. I dozed off sometime around 11pm so got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep. I am rested but morning sore and will try to limber up.

I finished my morning rituals without incident today and headed up to the Observation Lounge to observe nothing again.

Laura the cafe server doesn’t make her appearance until 6:00am which is just slightly before we are due to arrive in Sacramento so I will not have a bowl of ramen this morning. Will stick with a protein bar, an apple, and an energy drink and of course my 9 daily pills. Then when we arrive in Sacramento I can get a more substantial breakfast. I will need to fuel up well while I can in preparation for the next 32 hour jaunt to Denver. I would like to pick up a travel shampoo and a small towel so I don’t have to rely on whatever is in the hand soap pump and my dirty shirts. An inflatable/compressable sleeping mat would be nice but probably not readily available.

I have a couple of hours so will continue to work on the second Railism masterpiece mentioned in an earlier post. I think I will wait until I get to Frisco and ask my 5YO granddaughter Nora to redo the lettering because her handwriting is better than mine. It looks like a 5YO painted it anyway so would be appropriate. But kindly remember I am trying to paint this on a bucking train. I will edit out the scrawls below and add better text. Plus add some more detail to Chief Joseph.

After traveling now for 4000 miles since leaving Philly on Thursday I can attest that I much prefer train travel to air. While it will take me 36 hours, two trains and a bus to get to Dallas from Denver that is kind of the point. You get to see great scenery (during the day anyway) and are free to roam about without having to obey a pesky Fasten Seatbelt directive. You can readily bring your own vittles but the cafe is fairly well stocked including a variety of salads and prices aren’t out of line. Although there are rules about drinking your own alcohol they don’t seem to be too hard line on that. I expect it is so they have better control over how much people imbibe due to liability concerns.

I have not yet taken advantage of the dining car but may give it a shot on the next long leg. If so, I will go for the reserved dinner seating to get the full experience. That has consistently been offered at $45 and is a three course meal with a glass of wine.

The lounges are comfortable and spacious and while the sleeping is difficult the seats are much more comfortable than on an airline, even when in business class. So if you have the time I recommend it. On this trip the Journey IS the Destination and as I am unfettered with meeting/work obligations if trains are delayed or cancelled it is not an issue.

My superstar spouse Monica is entirely supportive of me absconding away without time limits and the trip will only be improved when she joins me for the next adventure. We will need to get a sleeper car for sure. And a good supply of lidocaine patches.

Readers, in case you were wondering, I have not used AI to review/improve anything written in these posts. It’s all just me, bad sentence structure and word choice and all. I have used AI to consolidate and clarify certain work emails and docs in the past, but do not like what it does to creative writing. Maybe it would improve it, but then what is the point? If I send copy for AI review and it suggests something it thinks is better I would say “Shut up you!” It doesn’t get sarcasm, self-deprecation, irony, subtle or obvious humor and especially what Shakespeare called the lowest form of humor and therefore the base, Puns.

So if you like what is here, many thanks and enjoy. Please drop me a comment and let me know what you like. If you don’t like it, kindly and respectfully Shut up You.

10:55am Mon 1/12

Onboard the California Zephyr 6 to Denver. Now that I am in and settled in the Observation Lounge I can update today’s events thus far.

I got up about 4am feeling rested but sore and made my way down to my favorite restroom. I cleaned up without noteworthy incidents.

We arrived 45 minutes early into Sacramento at 8:30am.

Since I had 3 and 1/2 hours I had the idea that I would check to see if there was a Goodwill nearby. My plan was to drop off my shirts and get a new wardrobe for $10 rather than carry them around until laundry day in a couple days. Sure enough, there WAS a Goodwill only .5 miles away that I could walk to. But somehow the Goodwill guys conspired and decided not to open this particular branch until 10am which foiled my plan as the train boarded at 10:15am.

There were also no stores of interest in the area so I just chatted with my former seat mate Andrew. He is a very smart young man who works as an IT security consultant. Very interesting conversationalist. He was also a big gamer and remembered the PS4 commercial starring my son Thomas that was broadcast 14 years ago. He gave me some tips on the newest security technology which I shall pass on to some interested folks.

I

The only available food options were a small restaurant that opened at 9:00am. I bought a sourdough breakfast sandwich and a large greek salad for lunch later. Need some greens!

9:45am Monday 1/12

The boarding call came early and I headed to the track to await the train. Don’t know why we were called to go so early because the train did not arrive until 10:35am. But it was pleasant so I just walked the platform to try to get my steps above 60.

This train was already mostly full, unlike the previous trips. I had plans to get on and get a mid-car window seat on the second level. I rushed up but almost everything was already occupied. Fortunately I was able to snag the last seat in the last car at the window.

12:20pm Mon 1/12

11:25am Mon 1/12

Going to stop blogging for awhile because we are approaching some of the most scenic parts and I don’t want to miss them. According to AI, here is what I should expect today starting at noon:

Donner Pass, Cape Horn,Nevada Desert

Pictures below

6:15pm Mon 1/12

Decided to forego the $45 3-course dinner and dine on freeze-dried Beef Stroganoff. Wasn’t bad but not as tasty as the Chicken and Dumplings.

8:29pm Mon 1/12

Now that I have a better handle on arrival times in Denver I booked my Greyhound bus from Denver to Colorado Springs tomorrow night. I should get into CS around 9:45pm.

I then booked a hotel for 3 nights just 2.1 miles from my grandma Ellie. I plan to head over and visit with her and her daughter Patty Wednesday and again on Thursday.

I will return to Denver on Greyhound Friday morning and then catch the train for the Dallas journey. More to report on that soon.

In the Lounge as I type I met an interesting guy name of Bob, 42 years old from Sacramento who had been enjoying some beers and felt chatty. He was on his way to go snowboarding in Utah and was anxious to show me all of his various scars and healed fractures. Luckily he kept it above the waist but if he had a few more beers I suspect that might have changed. Oddly enough earlier in the day the conductor made a long announcement about the strict rule regarding keeping your clothes on. It seems that running around naked on this particular train has been an issue in the past.

Glad I was informed of this rule lest I get myself in trouble.

Oh no, Bob just came back with yet another beer. I sure hope the conductor repeats the prohibition about stripping. He is now threatening to show me his hockey scars.

I do not want to see them however impressive they may be. The conductor just made a lengthy announcement and I was waiting in hopeful anticipation that she would reassert the non-nudity rule but alas no. She did say you cannot sleep on the floor with your feet in the aisle. And that you cannot use the tray table as a bed. This must apply to very petite people as the tray table is only 14″ wide. Maybe they have a pack of Oompa Loompa’s aboard. Even if splaying across both tables it would be a challenge to make it a bed.

Bob just staggered off to do what he called his pre-sleep yoga. Don’t need to see that but I am pretty sure it may violate the Clothes On rule although I am curious as to the nature of that routine.

I was going to work on yet another Railism painting but think I will also stagger off to my remote seat and settle in for a downloaded movie. I pledge not to sleep on the tray tables and to keep my lanky feet out of the aisle.

Will resume reporting tomorrow but it will be sporadic as tomorrow is supposed to be filled with awesome sights and every time I type I miss some critical view. The train does not slow down for the scenic spots.

9:30pm Monday 1/12

I was settled into my seat wondering where I had misplaced my jacket. I didn’t need it for warmth as I had my sweater but I used it as a pillow. Up comes the female conductor who I had not yet met and she demanded that I tell her where I was seated when we started the trip. I told her “Right here.” She brusquely “No you weren’t. Where were you seated?”

What had happened apparently is that when I boarded and the attendant scanned me at the entrance due to the fact that it was open seating my seat was not assigned. I had picked the last available window seat. The conductors that were in my car walked by and I asked if I needed to stay in my seat or could I go up to the Observation Lounge because I knew it would be hard to get a seat if I waited. He said did they scan you when you came aboard to which I said “sure did,” and he said I was free to go to the lounge. I left my jacket in the seat to show it was taken and rushed up to the lounge. There was only one seat left at a table and I asked if I could join the young lady. Yep she said and I sat down and introduced myself. She was from Sacramento and was taking a short trip just as a getaway. I thought I was spontaneous by planning my trip in less than 24 hours but she decided to extend her trip to Chicago and then maybe Orlando. That’s even more spontaneous than mine. I at least planned mine 24 hours ahead of time. I told her about the great time Thomas and I had at Universal’s Epic because she was thinking of going to Disneyworld and I advised that although that was a top tier park she might take a look at Epic. Thomas took me there as a retirement surprise and we had a fantastic time.

3:05am Tuesday 1/13

Woke up and gathered my supplies for the morning cleanup. After that ritual, I snagged some Laughing Cow Cheese, crackers, a protein bar, an apple and an Alani drink for breakfast. Also snatched a Cup-o-Noodles for lunch later because I expect that the Observation Lounge will be full today and if I have to leave to get lunch I may lose my seat.

3:30am Tuesday 1/13

In the lounge now and have my gear spread out for another Railism attempt which I will knock before folks start coming in so I can slide over and offer another seat at my table. Not sure which subject to do yet so will be going through my picts. Gonna try to stay away from images that require text or fine lines because that is problematic on this bouncing train. This engineer, however, has not yet driven the train off the tracks and killed a cow.

But there’s still 15 hours to Denver. Step lively cows.

6:07am Tues 1/13

Found a picture to paint. Yet another sunset but less busy than the last. It took only 30 minutes and it shows.

I cleaned up my supplies so I can move over and let another adventurer sit next to me if they choose and I don’t frighten them away with my zombie eye. It is getting better I think or maybe I am just getting accustomed to it.

I watched a video yesterday of our 1 YO granddaughter Allyson walking for the first time. I’m betting that will quickly turn into a run once she catches sight of my 3-ball orb. Maybe I better pick up a patch in Denver.

7:37am Tuesday 1/13

9:15am 1/13

I had mentioned earlier that the train doesn’t slow down for scenery. On these legs it did slow to a leisurely pace so you can enjoy the views.

9:46am Tuesday 1/13

Heading into Grand Junction for brief stop. It had a tiny shop next to the station where I picked up another Maruchan ramen packet. I am almost out but won’t need any until after Colorado Springs. The train ride to Dallas on Friday is a couple of days so will need to restock fruit, drinks and entrees. Have not yet utilized the restaurant but might try dinner on the way to Dallas.

11:52pm Wed 1/14/26

I have not updated for a bit as I have been busy traveling and also was one of the many victims of the Verizon shutdown. This caused me a great deal of frustration and some concerning moments. I will detail later but for now I wanted to get up some unposted picts and will embellish with more elaboration later.

In response to my mentioning him earlier in this blog, my dear friend Al reached out as I was going through the canyons in Utah. We arranged for me to visit him on Sunday at his home outside San Antonio. I haven’t seen this great man–one who greatly impacted my life– for several years and this will be the highlight of this magical trip of which there are many.

I just completed adding the San Antonio leg revisions and that is reflected in my future travel itinerary below:

Now that Verizon was restored I had a chance to finally call my wonderful spouse Monica and Thomas and she are hosting a wild pack of dogs at our house. Thomas shared some picts of these crazy hooligans.

Two of these critters are male (the gorgeous silver lab is our own Amber Rose) and are having competitions marking their new territory. In the house. Apparently one item of interest that must be claimed as their own several times is my leather LaZboy recliner. Monica has been busy with the steam cleaner and vacuum to keep the house from turning into a giant furry urinal.

We arrived at Denver Union Station early.

I found the Greyhound loading area and then found an adjacent restaurant where I would enjoy my first meal off the train. I had a few beers including a sample flight of the local brews. Very tasty and the turkey sliders were excellent. The pictures taken below however caused a troublesome incident. I was using my iPhone camera to take these shots. I took a few and then a guy came over from behind the bar and asked if I was enjoying the meal. Happy to explain that yes, I was as it was my first non-noodle meal for 5 days. Great he said and then asked if I was video recording his staff.

I hadn’t even thought of doing such a thing and of said no although I did take a couple picts of my meal. He then said video recording was against corporate policy. Again I said I didn’t and he said the staff saw me doing it. I still had my photos open on my phone where I had been reviewing the shots to make sure they were okay and I held it up and showed him. I scrolled right and left. “Look, here’s the photos I took. No videos, see?” I didn’t video anything or anybody.”

He left and I quickly finished up, paid, and went to the restroom. I was in for only a few seconds when a woman knocked on the door and asked if anyone was in there. I called out “yes, I’ll be just a minute.”

Not 10 seconds passed when she knocked again and asked “Anyone in there?”

Again I called out, mid-stream, “Yes, almost done. Be just a minute.”

I washed hands quickly, gathered my rolling luggage and headed out. No one was standing by the door but it was apparent that they had watched me go into the men’s room and were going to hassle me until I left.

I was quite annoyed at this as I had not done anything wrong and had just spent $75 for a good but exorbitantly expensive meal. I deserved to at least be able to use the restroom unmolested.

If you are ever in Denver Union Station and want to have an unpleasant experience please visit the Thirsty Lion. Make sure that you do not hold up your phone to look at your pictures.

Beer is good though.

There is not an Amtrak train from Denver to Colorado Springs so I had scheduled a Greyhound bus. I have not ridden on a Greyhound before that I recall but I envisioned enjoying a historic and classic mode of travel that has been around for many decades

While I waited to board the bus at the lower level of Union Station I realized I was in interesting company. I was the only one with an actual suitcase. Most folks had nothing or at best a contractor bag filled with who knows what. One of the bags was moving.

The driver was taller and much heavier than me and was pretty rough. He helped me put my rolling luggage under the coach with the various trash bags. I did not anticipate having a problem identifying my “bag”.

We all stood in line to get on and he scanned my e-ticket then asked where I was going. I found that redundant as he had just scanned my ticket and was in fact looking at it when he asked.

“Colorado Springs,” I replied.

He shook his head and said, “Now listen up, Buddy. I am going to drop you off under an overpass in the middle of the homeless camp. You better have someone waiting for you there when we arrive because you don’t want to be standing around with that high-class fancy luggage. So make arrangements.”

Then I climbed aboard.

There were only a handful of people getting on so I needn’t have paid $4 extra to have both seats to my own. The driver lumbered aboard and started his spiel.

“Alright you, put your needles down and pay attention. There are 60 gas stations on this route and if any of you jackasses give me any trouble I will pull over and throw you off.”

Welcome to Greyhound hospitality.

I believed him. He actually said what he meant and meant what he said as my wife would say. He would pick you up and literally toss you off onto the concrete. And I think he would have enjoyed it.

“And if any of you need to talk to me don’t. But if you do you better yell loud and don’t you dare do it when I am in heavy traffic or off you go.”

Then he unlocked the 1″ plexiglass cage that surrounded his driver’s seat and climbed in, locking the door behind him.

We started off. It is only a 90 minute trip but I was quite concerned about what may await me upon disembarking this fateful vehicle.

I opened up my Lyft app and this is when I learned of my loss of cell signal. SOS it said on my phone instead of the usual 3-5 bars. So I could not order any drivers to pick me up.

I turned off the phone and restarted to see if that would help. Nope. I considered asking the driver if he offered wifi but thought that might not be a prudent question and I might get dumped off. Plus no network showed up when I looked in Available Networks on my phone.

So now I was concerned about what I would do when we got there. If I couldn’t call anyone I would be spending the night under the overpass with my high-falutin’ rich boy luggage (From BJ’s).

But then miraculously I had signal! I immediately opened Lyft and put in my pickup spot and arrival time of 10:18pm. The bus was actually due to arrive at 10:20 but I was firmly warned that I needed to have a driver standing by ready to flee.

Lyft drivers will wait 5 minutes before absconding off. So I was quite dependent upon a punctual arrival.

Then I lost signal again. Which meant I could not contact Lyft to correct the arrival time in case we were running early or late. So I summoned up the courage to approach the dreaded plexiglass cage. I knocked on the cage and said ‘Excuse me. Can you tell me if we will be in at 10:20pm? Trying to arrange a driver.”

He didn’t hear me. Probably because he was wearing headphones.

I knocked louder and he did hear that, pulled off his headphones and said “WHAT?”

I repeated my question and he said “Can’t hear you gotta yell louder!”

So I did as loud as I could. Now since the several throat surgeries I cannot yell. I learned of this interesting quirk when my best friend and I got lost hiking the AT and I tried to call for help. But that is another story.

So I “yelled” as loud as I could ” when will we get there?!”

He didn’t like that and said,” we will get there when we get there” like a father responding to the annoying child’s question of “Are we there yet?”

“Thanks!” I said cheerily and went and sat down.

Still no service and no way of contacting anyone. Not good as this was obviously an extended No Service area. I did not know at the time that this was a national Verizon outage.

Also since I had no service I could not pull up my booking info. I did not remember what hotel I had booked, a side effect of my post-chemo cognitive disorder which left me with significant short-term memory loss.

Where was I?

Oh not being able to find my hotel info and worried about the impending arrival.

As 10:20 approached I once again pulled out my intimidating mini-Gerber baby toy knife. Gerber specializes in Babyfood, so I guess they branched off and have a toy multitool division.

It was 10:22pm so I was starting to be significantly worried. When I got off the bus with no way to call anyone I may have to use the SOS feature to call 911.

But There! I could see the encampment. And gratefully a white Nissan quite a ways from the tents but lights on like he was waiting for someone.

Whether he was my driver or not I am getting in that car, I thought.

As soon as the bus stopped I tried to hop off but it took the very slow-moving driver forever to remove and store his headphones, have a snack, scratch thoroughly, build a terrarium, and then unlock his cage. Then he stepped out, relocked his cage and opened the door.

It was now 10:28pm. Past my driver wait window. I jumped off the bus but had to wait for Speedy to open the “luggage” compartment.

I grabbed my bag and sprinted to the car trying to wave but difficult with my laptop bag and the rolling suitcase.

He didn’t pull off and sure enough, he was my guy.

I thanked him for waiting and he said “no problem. Now let’s get out of here. Where you going? I didn’t get a destination.”

I looked up my grandma’s house and gave him that address. I was supposed to be going to a hotel but I didn’t know which one and my repeated attempts at booking another new one were foiled by Verizon loss.

He entered the address to Grandma’s House and off we went. En route I kept trying, still thinking it may have been a geographic issue and now that we were in the city maybe I could use my phone.

And yes I had a brief window of service. I called Patty and let her know I was going to her place as I could not get confirmation on a hotel. She said no problem and we would work it out.

But since I still had service I was able to quickly book the Quality Inn and once I received confirmation I gave the driver the new destination and he dropped me there. I called Patty back and said I was set and would see her in the morning.

Then I lost service again.

I checked in and this is what met me at the desk:

An important aside:

Monica just informed me that the Amtrak USA Pass I purchased for $499 is now on sale for $250! That is an awesome deal and if any of you kind readers have been inspired to explore the country as I am so enjoying please consider getting one (or two). There are time constraints and some restrictions regarding repeat city visits but it is a tremendously inexpensive way to see the things you don’t see at 35000 feet.

I now love slow travel and have become accustomed to some of the challenging discomfort. It is not for everybody, but you also do not have to take 42-hour long segments and can just do shorter jaunts or visit a desirable city for a long weekend. You also do not have to do back-to-back trips like I have been doing. I have not seen anything in the actual cities themselves as I was focused on covering as much ground as possible in areas of the country I have not visited. You could surely use your segments to visit nearby cities for a long weekend. Just remember that once you start your first leg you have just 30 days to use them up. That’s why I have done them without taking breaks except for the brief stay here in Colorado Springs to see Ellie and Patty, the longer break (1 week) in Dallas to see the kids, and a couple of days in San Antonio to see Al.

Anyway take a look at amtrak.com where you will find the USA Pass. I believe this promotion ends in just a few days and if you buy it now you do have quite a bit of time before you have to start your first leg.

While I prepare more text to update my journey here are some picts that I will embellish soon:

7:00am Wed, 1/14

I had a very good sleep although my bed kept shaking like I was still on the train. I guess it was similar to a sailor going ashore after extended time at sea. It really did feel like I was moving. Or maybe it was the quarter I put in the slot by the bed. Some of you will remember those devices.

I had a full breakfast that was included in the room charge.

8:30am Wed 1/13

Before going to Grandma’s I summoned up a Lyft to Goodwill to harvest some needed gear. But before I share my Goodwill trip I must tell you about David.

He pulled up to the Quality Inn promptly and told me to sit in the front seat. As soon as he got in he extended his hand and demanded, “Squeeze my hand as hard as you can”.

Odd, I thought because he was obviously an elderly man and I didn’t want to hurt his possibly arthritic hand. He proceeded to crush my hand until my knuckles popped out of the skin. Getting desperate I started to squeeze back which just encouraged him to increase the bone-crushing. He relented as he could see the tears starting and said “How old are you?”

“62,” I gasped. He then asked how old I thought he was. “23?” I responded.

He heartily said “73!” So I was waaaay off.

I wanted to take his picture but couldn’t get my fingers to work to operate the iPhone camera. His name was David and he told me he celebrated his 70th birthday by going helicopter skiing and often went off trail on double black diamond slopes. His dream was to ski a double black on his 100th birthday.

I had put in the Lyft app the nearest Goodwill. He drove me there and as we pulled in he asked why I wanted to go there.

I explained I needed to pick up a couple of shirts for my extended journey and he told me I didn’t want That Goodwill as it was an outlet where you buy clothes in bulk by the pound. I am familiar with that type of store as we have a similar one in NJ.

He said he knew a better one and as neither of us could figure out how to change the destination in the app he said he would just take me there.

Sure enough, in a few minutes he pulled into a much better choice. I tipped him $10 and bid farewell saying “I hope I see you featured on the national news for your 100th.”

He smiled and said “Safe travels. Better work on that handshake!”

Back to the subject of Goodwill, as I told David I had found that I was running short of shirts and now that I had extended my trip a few days thought I had better pick up a couple more. My normal attire schedule is to scrub up each morning, usually around 3-4am, and then change socks, underwear, and my shirt. I keep the same jeans (I have two pair). Thus I go through one shirt every 24 hours as I sleep in my morning change of clothes. Since I am not very physically active on the train (sometimes only getting a few hundred steps) I am not dirtying the shirts much but it is refreshing to freshen up each morning and feel human.

The Goodwill was very well stocked and neatly organized. I found a couple of Eddie Bauer long sleeve cotton pullovers that were on sale for $2 each, a rollable sleeping pad for $1, and a new rolling backpack as my laptop bag was failing and needed to be replaced. The rolling pack was $14, a hefty price for me at Goodwill, but would easily store all of the things I was keeping in the laptop bag and had the option of using straps or wheels which was much better. I also picked up a small hand towel which would replace using my dirty shirt to dry off each morning.

I asked the girl at the counter if by chance they had a Senior discount day and she replied, “Today’s the day!” so I only paid $1.50 for each shirt.

Still need text but posting now

10:30am Wed 1/14

After my satisfying Goodwill spree I tried to call up a Lyft to get me to Grandma’s place. But alas, once again no service. I went back in to the nice you lady behind the counter and asked if they had wifi. She wasn’t as threatening as my bus driver so I took the risk.

She said no but that Popeye’s across the street did or if I didn’t want to cross the highway I could go to Burger King just a few hundred yards away.

I chose the BK and went in and ordered the 2 for $5 meal special. I wasn’t hungry but thought as long as I was going to sit there and check emails and order ride I should get something.

I stepped out of BK to meet my Lyft driver. I walked to the pickup spot and again lost wifi and got the dreaded SOS indication. I could not then call my grandma to let her know I would be there soon but hoped they would be up.

My driver arrived and as I had been able to enter the address due to the BK wifi he needed no further instruction and drove me there uneventfully.

I was happy to see Patty and Grandma. Now you should know that I have never called her Grandma. Her name is Ellie –our granddaughter Eleanor is her namesake–but she is more popularly know as Mammy. She has lived for several years with her wonderful daughter Patty. They care for each other and have a good life here in Colorado Springs.

I went in and Mammy immediately wanted to do my laundry. She is still as sharp as ever but is getting a bit unsteady. But of course there would be no stopping her and she began to load up the clothes.

It just took one load although I had a heavy sweater and a pair of jeans in the mix.

Laundry started, we began chatting. They have a nice little apartment off of East Pike Avenue and when I do visit, which is no where as frequently as I should, I try to address any issues that might need a hand fixing.

They keep the place well in order but I learned that they had a very poor internet service and no cable service of any kind. They use an HD antenna, but due to the surrounding mountains and the volatile and unpredictable weather they often had poor reception.

I had a bit of cell service intermittently and used AI to compare home internet packages ion the area. Verizon/Comcast offered the best plan and did service her apartment. Ready to explore further, I again lost service but I had gotten the number for Verizon. I was at a loss because there was no way to call.

Patty said, “Why don’t you use the phone?” “Well,” I said, it doesn’t work.” She said, “No, the real phone.” I had not even thought of using a landline because I haven’t used one in years.

So I picked up the phone and couldn’t figure out how to make it call. Patty helped my by pushing the send button and sure enough on came a real live operator. I tested her though by asking what the main export product of Peru happened to be. An AI chatbot, you see, would simply have answered that without batting a digital eye.

She said, “I sure don’t know. This is Verizon.”

So I knew she was real.

She was an excellent customer service rep and walked me through the various plans they offered. Lots of options including several channels packages. The base package offered only 125 channels plus Peacock. And included unlimited home wifi with 600MPS speed.

Their current plan was 12.

12.

So this would be a vast improvement plus they would get more than the home shopping network and the evangelist channel.

Now I was going to arrange the service and simply pay the fees which were very reasonable as a gift for them. We went through the options and I asked if there happened to be a military discount. Patty is a veteran.

“Absolutely,” she said. “We waive the $40 per month fee for the Now TV channels option for the first year.”

The only other charge was $20/month for the basic home essentials internet. And if I paid the monthly bill autopay from a checking account they knock off another $10. So I expect that my actual cost to provide this significant upgrade may be as little as $10 plus tax. A great bargain.

She asked if I was technically handy. Sure am I said and she felt I could do what they call a self-install and avoid the $100 pro install fee. I just had to go to the local Verizon store and pick up the equipment. I only had one more day at Mammy”s so I learned that the closest Verizon was open until 7pm. It was only 4pm so we had a great homemade meal of Cajun Chicken over Rice and I was ready to go to the store.

Now I still did not have signal so my Maps would not work on my phone. I do not know the city or streets at all but Patty’s computer, however slow due to the very slow connection speed could provide me a map. We found the directions and since I could not get the printer to work I cleverly took screen shots with my phone.

Smart, I thought, redeeming myself from not knowing how to use a landline.

It was dark but I was determined to get to the store and pick up the gear so I could install it the next day. Patty has a van and offered for me to use that and after I picked up the stuff I could just take it back to the hotel since she would not be needing it that evening. This was great because then I didn’t need to try to arrange a Lyft/Uber to get back to the hotel and then again back to Mammy’s in the morning. I still did not have reliable service.

So I ventured out thinking I could follow the directions.

The Verizon store was open for a couple of hours still so I reckoned I could make the 8 miles in plenty of time.

I did not take into consideration that there were approximately 92 turns to get there. And I had to read the tiny directions off of my phone on 6 different screen shot pages. I knew I was in trouble when I had difficulty backing out of the parking spot.

You can see on the map below that it was of no help at all. The other challenge was that it was well past sunset and was very dark. To save money the Colorado Springs Municipal Street division decided to eschew street signs reckoning everyone should have them memorized. I think they are related to the Safeway chain.

As I went down East Pike Avenue I became increasingly concerned because if I missed a turn then I was lost with no way to call, pull up a map, or otherwise avoid driving until I ran out of gas and expired.

So I prayed Jesus Take the Wheel and hoped He would direct my path. I did come up with a backup plan of stopping at any likely business that might have wifi if I got truly lost. At least I could go in and pull up a new set of directions.

Somehow miraculously I did stumble into the Verizon parking lot. And just as I did so service came back on.

I went in and hugged the woman manning the Help desk exclaiming how glad I was to see her. She was puzzled but non-plussed.

Sure enough she had all of the necessary gear and helped me download the app and start the processes needed to install. She was nowhere near as confident in my ability to self-install, possibly because of my aberrant greeting and she recommended that I schedule the Pro Install.

I had once written a self-deprecating novel entitled Pay the Man which documented my many adventures in home improvement projects. I remembered this book and rather than have to write another chapter I did schedule the Pro. Problem was that although they tried there was no way to get it installed Thursday. Soonest would be Friday afternoon. She said I did not need to be there. In fact I inferred that she rather I not, but my concern wasn’t in trying to direct the installer but rather making sure Mammy and Patty were comfortable with the use and operation. Both of these ladies are very smart and capable so my fears are ungrounded. I just didn’t want to leave them unsupported but they will be okay.

I left the Verizon store at 6:45pm and found that there was a Lowes in the massive complex and went in to pick up a couple of things to repair the closet accordion doors in the kitchen.

There were less than two employees working that evening. I could not find the hardware needed myself so went to the front to try to corner the elusive sole employee and track down the pins I needed.

The self-checkout machines did not answer my questions but finally I spotted the trademark vest and jogged down to catch her before she went back on break. I had pulled up the items needed on my phone and asked if she could direct me.

She had access to an inventory guide that displayed exactly, row and bin, where the pins could be found.

If Lowes just made this app available to the DIY community they could finally achieve the goal of reducing staff to zero.

Upper and lower track pins in hand, I was grateful to see that I still had service so was able to pull up Maps directions back to my hotel. I made it home uneventfully and tried to retire early.

I was determined to get a full night’s sleep in an actual bed as I was soon to begin a lengthy stretch of seat-sleeping for my next adventure to Frisco, TX by way of Springfield, Illinois. But again the bed kept shaking so I had a fitful rest.

9:00am Thursday, 1/15

I rose and took an actual shower with soap and real shampoo. And I used all the towels because I was soon to be reduced to the austere small dish towel that I had harvested at Goodwill.

I made it down to the included breakfast just in time to fuel up then headed over to Mammy’s.

I had a list of small projects to complete before my departure. The first was to repair the closet doors. As I examined the doors more closely I found that the pins I had purchased from the staff-barren Lowes were not needed as the existing hardware just needed to be cleaned and adjusted. As I lay prostate on the kitchen floor Mammy called out, “Watch out for Lil’ Joe!”

Turns out in addition to their sole cat they have another pet, a mouse they have dubbed Lil’ Joe. Both Mammy and Pat are lifelong animal lovers and would never harm a mouse. He must be one intrepid rodent to share his abode with a cat but perhaps they have come to an arrangement,

I did not have the good fortune to meet Lil’ Joe as I completed repairing the doors. I moved on to the next project which was to connect Pat’s DVD player to the TV in the living room.

Pat has quite an organized collection of various cables and adapters but alas, did not have a converter to go from RCA to HDMI or S-Video.

After years of hoarding such things I have probably 7 of these back home in Jersey but carelessly had not thought to bring one in my backpack.

This is when I found that there is an Amazon distribution center just down the street from their apartment. They offer not only Same-Day delivery but an unwritten but unusually efficient Within-the-Hour delivery.

I ordered the needed converter and added in a couple of things that I thought they would appreciate.

Pat had gifted me a Creamy Chicken Ramen for my continued journey as she said that was the only flavor that she found palatable and enjoyed one occasionally. I found that interesting because in my now-extensive Ramen consumption I have found they are all exactly identical just in different packaging. But supposedly the Creamy Chicken is supposed to be different from the Shrimp flavor. I took two and left her the remainder.

I had noticed that Mammy enjoyed doing Word Searches so added to my expeditious order a new book for her. I had watched her struggling to work on one that was in a stack of loose pages without a cover.

When the packages arrived in approximately 5o minutes she held that new book to her chest and stroked the cover. She is truly so appreciative of the smallest things and it is endearing and humbling.

She wanted to know how I knew she enjoyed solving those and I told her I had watched her struggling with the looseleaf pages the night before.

Then I learned why there was no cover.

As I wrote they are both animal lovers. It seems Lil’ Joe used to have a partner. One day not long ago this nameless critter scampered across Mammy’s foot and paused to look back and sneer. Mammy nimbly dropped a Tupperware bowl upon his pompous head. Patty grabbed the softcover puzzle book, ripped off the cover and slid the pasteboard under the bowl and took the now-entrapped mouse outside to relocate him to the neighbors apartment.

Thus the reason Mammy’s puzzles were compromised.

I did not say so but I suspect this extra rodent was actually Lil’ Joe himself. Upon his compassionate release he of course would have promptly returned to his former abode because he had already tamed the cat.

Now that I had the adapters, Pat and I were able to successfully connect the ancient DVD player’s Triple RCA connections to their new Roku tv’s HDMI port. We tested and behold Pat could now play her collection of movies.

I tried to change my trip back to Denver so that I could be there Friday when the Comcast installer arrived but although there was another bus back to Union Station it would not get there in time for me to connect to my Amtrak train to Dallas. So I am counting on him or her or they or whomever to do a detailed job and make sure that my beloved Mammy and Pat are comfortable using the game-changing tech.

I will be in layover mode in Denver for several hours in case they need to reach me during the install which is considerately scheduled from 9:00am to Midnight. I am sure I am going to have to enter some approval code or duo-authenticate or donate plasma or something in order to complete this install.

I attempted to revive a few digital items that had been put away because they could no longer be used.

One was an Aura picture frame my son Andrew had purchased for Mammy a few years ago so she could get periodic updates of the great-great grandbabies’ progress. The reason it was no longer getting updates is because their internet was so last-century slow and Mammy had simply stored the frame away.

I was able to revive that and began updating the frame inventory with several picts from my phone. I also sent out word to other family members that soon they would be able to resume sending her picts because they would have better internet and wifi.

Mammy was thrilled to see picts of Allyson that she had not experienced including the video of Allyson’s First Steps. Heart-warming to see her reactions.

I was unable to reconnect her now-ressurrected iPad because nobody knew the wifi password. This will be solved with the new Comcast upgrade and then we will be able to eventually reconnect her unused devices. My son Andrew visits more frequently than I and is very tech-savvy so we will find a way to get her connected soon.

Pat prepared a small lunch for me of the delicious Cajun Chicken. She and mammy do not eat a lunch and just have a breakfast and dinner later.

We spent the afternoon chatting and while Mammy was working in her new beloved Word Search book I caught up on some blogging.

We had a great pizza for an early dinner and the last thing I did was clean the dining area ceiling fan blades. Pat cannot climb a ladder but Mammy can, although quite precariously. Her normal periodic cleaning involves her climbing the short ladder, holding on to the freezer with one hand and extending out with the other to dust the blades. Horrifying.

I can easily reach the blades by simply raising my arms. In fact I have to watch my head under the fan.

So I cleaned those and dusted a few other things that were to me eye level but required Mammy to free climb.

Pat then offered to drive me back to my hotel rather than order a Lyft. I said goodbye to Mammy and Pat and I left for the Quality Inn. It was a short drive and she dropped me off without complications.

4:02am, Fri 1/16

Working on updates and packing for my dreaded visit to the crime-ridden Greyhound pickup spot under the overpass and amidst the encampment and Tren De Aragua Headquarters and Welcome Center.

The bus arrives at 7:30am. Greyhound suggests arriving 15 minutes before but I would prefer to arrive just before the bus pulls out. Maybe I can tip the Lyft driver to wait with me in the car with engine running and doors locked until the bus arrives. So far the drivers I have met have all been very friendly and helpful. Hopefully I will luckily get my Septuagenarian friend David. I don’t think he would be easily intimidated.

But blessedly for some unknown reason I must have at least 3 guardian angels following me around working 24/7 in shifts. I wish they would introduce themselves. Somehow I keep avoiding impending tragedies and just experiencing the occasional inconvenience like the accusation of surreptitious video recording in Denver. I will be sure not to visit the scene of the alleged crime during my extended layover later today at Union Station Denver.

6:55am Fri 1/1

The Lyft driver showed up early. I went out and loaded the luggage then asked if I could pay her to wait at the site until the bus arrived so I didn’t get Shanghai’d into TDA. Although I had learned she was Haitian she spoke very good English and knowingly nodded. We arrived at the site at 7:10am and the bus was pulling in! I told her that as the bus was there she needn’t wait. She gently laughed and said she had just rejected a fare.

I tipped her $20 and thanked her.

I went over to the bus which was unloading a few passengers and then the driver said “Who’s going?” A few of us raised our hands and he said, “Well then, load your bags and let’s go! What are you waiting for?”

Foolishly, personally I was waiting for some indication that it was time for us to board and half-expected he would help with the bags. I had no problem loading mine and then offered to assist the elderly woman with the artificial leg using a walker and a portable oxygen tank in loading hers.

We clambered aboard and he checked his roster then asked if anyone needed to take a last smoke before we left which was uncommonly polite for my history with greyhound drivers.

I believe they are hired by exhibiting skills in these areas (in order of importance):

Bouncer. Customer Service. Driving Ability

8:43am Fri 1/16

Arrived and safely established in Denver Union Station. The train to Galesburg, Illinois doesn’t leave until 6:59pm so I have all day to explore. Will store bags or at least the large roller as I can wear the backpack and may need it if I pick up some things. I will put most of what is in there in the suitcase to lighten the load if so.

The Galesburg train will arrive in Galesburg tomorrow morning at 11:38am. So I get to spend yet another night rockin’ along the rails.

I will keep my phone handy in case the Comcast installer needs to confirm my identity through DNA analysis.

9:16am, Fri 1/16

As we had arrived early and I had such a lengthy layover I thought I would try to find a tour that I could join. There were several tours leaving at 10:00am for Red Rocks, which I was interested in visiting as I had never been and it is a musician’s Mecca. I tried a few hoping that there may be just one seat left due to cancellation but no luck. I thought I had one arranged but upon final review the booking agent had me on the tour for tomorrow. She realized her mistake and then disappointed me by saying there was nothing open. The tour would have left at 10 and returned by 2:00pm which would have been perfect. But no go.

I found the info desk in the terminal and the kind gentleman said I might be interested in taking the downtown city tour that left at 11:30am and was 90 minutes long. That sounded interesting and he said just show up at the flagpole out front and I could pay on the bus. $45 for a small group guided tour was reasonable.

I found the place to check my large bag with Amtrak to hold it until boarding. Same price, $20 per bag and she didn’t give me the break that the agent did in Sacramento. So I put most of the stuff from my rolling backpack in the suitcase. I didn’t mind carrying the pack around anyway in case I picked up some things while I was exploring. So I need only check the one bag which I did.

I still had quite a bit of time before the Denver tour bus arrived so I crossed the plaza to Whole Foods to make a plan for renewing my pantry. I went through the store taking pictures of things I wanted to purchase later so I could do it expeditiously when I returned from the tour.

I needed dinner for tonight, breakfast, lunch and dinner for tomorrow. I still had some ramen and snacks but wanted to add some variety. Plus I needed to get my evening toasting cabernet.

Closing in on 11:00, I headed to the flagpole to meet the tour bus. The info desk guy was very helpful earlier, but he said I needed to be there at 10:45am. In actuality, the bus did not arrive until 11:30 but it wasn’t uncomfortably cold so I just enjoyed people watching until the bus pulled up.

The driver’s name was Steve and he was quite amicable. We talked a bit awaiting the arrival of the other folks that had actually prepaid and scheduled the tour properly.

Once they boarded we were off.

In my many years of travel I have done many such tours. Steve was the best guide I have ever heard. He was knowledgeable certainly but also peppered his spiel with clever stories including references to his Mother-in-law and his children. It made the tour much more personal.

The story behind this building is that it was originally designed to be constructed in Houston, Texas. However, something happened that made the architect think this would be better in Denver.

Now the average winter temperature in Houston is 55 degrees. Denver’s is 32. You may guess what tragedy awaited.

In Houston they do not get much if any snow and ice but in Denver that is a frequent wintry event. When the snow covered the top of this building and would freeze, it would naturally slide off the curve and fall upon the tourists.

Locals knew to avoid walking in the danger zone.

So the builders installed a sophisticated heating system in the roof to avoid having any buildup of the tourist-crushing winter mix.

Steve was full of such local lore and kept us all entertained. He challenged us with a test question to see who would know what the first established business was when the city was being built.

“A brothel”, I guessed. To which Steve asked how I knew and I said the prices have gone up considerably since the founding.

The building above is the gold-topped State Capitol building. Somebody thought since Denver is the Mile-High City that wouldn’t it be cool to place a bronze plaque on the steps at exactly 5280 feet. They installed one. It was stolen. They installed another and it was likewise stolen. So they made a wide engraving in the concrete step. There, steal that they said.

Problem was that some curious Colorado State students decided to check one day and discovered that the elevation marker was a few steps off. But the concrete was already engraved. So they simply installed a survey bronze button at the proper height and left the engraving, Problem solved.

Except once satellite surveying and better technology came along they found they were wrong yet again and installed another marker on yet another step.

So if you scamper up the steps you will find 3 different markers swearing they represent the true 5280. Take your pick I reckon.

There were several interesting stories and lots of interesting architecture. Steve made several suggestions for the best local beers and breweries as well as eateries. He said he was obligated to mention a legendary favorite, Rocky Mountain Oysters.

Now for those who haven’t had such a culinary treat, please understand this is not seafood. So if you are allergic to shellfish, these oysters are for you. I asked for his recommendation for the best place to try these delicacies and he told me that the Buckhorn Exchange was not only the oldest restaurant in Denver but had the best in town.

1:00pm, Fri 1/16

We pulled back in front of Union Station and disembarked. I put the Buckhorn in Maps and found it was just under 2 miles away. As I still had plenty of time before the train (leaving at 6:59pm) I determined to walk. I had my backpack but it rolled readily and I wanted to get at least more than 100 steps in as I had been quite sedentary for the trip thus far. So off I went.

It was chilly but as I was walking briskly it was just refreshing rather than uncomfortable. The path took me through a few campuses and was pleasant.

1:30pm Fri 1/16

I found these doggos particularly intriguing:

When I arrived at the fabled Buckhorn I was met with a disappointing sight.

I had foolishly failed to check if it was open before making my lengthy walk.

The Buckhorn Exchange did not open until 5:00pm.

I could not wait 3 hours so I called a Lyft to take me back sure that I would never experience the joy of RMO dining.

Upon arrival at Union Station I went to the Info desk and asked my friend if there was anywhere else in the neighborhood I might try. ChatGPT was no help and just said to call the restaurants to see if they had them on the menu.

But my pal had a few suggestions and recommended West Saloon and Kitchen. This establishment was just .75 miles away and within walking distance. As I was still feeling spry I set out again. This time, however, I called the West.

Tony answered. “Hi Tony, do you happen to have Rocky Mountain Oysters on the menu today?”

“First thing on it!” he cheerily responded. “Great, see you soon.”

And I quickened my pace before the huge demand for these caused a shortage.

On the way I came across the restaurant below. If it had been named 5 Margaritas I might have been tempted but Rocky Mountain Oysters were calling my name.

When I arrived at West, I found a well-themed place and a lovely bartender name of Avery. I asked if they had local beer and she looked at me like I was a nut.

“Of course,” and handed me a beer list with at least 432 local beers of various alcohol contents and flavors. And a food menu. Sure enough, there was my prey:

I ordered me up a mess of Rocky Mountain Oysters and also a cup of Denver chili, another famous dish. In fact, when David was asked about where to find the best chili he gave a couple of half-hearted recommendations but said those were not the best. When the passenger pushed him he said the Very Best chili in Denver was at his house and was sadly not open to the public.

I thought they would be round.

They were quite good. They did favor fried oysters of the shellfish variety. And the No-Bean chili was excellent. Although probably not as good as Steve’s.

I asked Avery if she would like to be part of my adventure blog. She laughed and said “Sure. Do people read it?”

At least 12 I said because that’s how many comments I have (hint hint).

I paid the bill and headed out to return to the station and fill my provisions list from Whole Foods.

However, upon stepping out a sign caught my normal eye and advertised that the Denver Stock Show and Rodeo starts tomorrow. This is the biggest Stock Show and Rodeo in the West and is quite a big deal. The sign said you must have a hat or you will be ridiculed relentlessly. So I rang the bell of Aloha Hats and was let in. There was a nice selection of hats but many were in the $180-up range and I didn’t need a hat that badly.

But there was a nice one that fit for less than half of that and Zorana from Serbia said her husband had that hat and he really liked it.

So now I have a hat for the remainder of my journey and will not be ridiculed as a rube.

I went from the Hat Store to Whole Foods and collected my curated list of provisions. Then returned to Union Station carefully skirting the Thirsty Lion to retrieve my large rolling suitcase and wait to board the train. I still had a couple of hours but I just took a seat and watched folks trying to guess their stories.

The board indicated that my train would be a few minutes delayed which was no cause of concern of me as I had a long layover in Galesburg before catching the bus to Springfield where I would then get the train to Dallas. There is a fairly tight window in Springfield as the train to Dallas leaves 56 minutes after arriving on the bus.

I searched for a functional outlet to recharge my battery bank and phone. I have to keep track of my phone charge levels lest I run out and can’t board. But I found one outlet in the middle of the floor and plugged in, using my suitcases to surround it and keep people from stumbling over it.

The train arrived a bit late as advertised and I waited on the platform to board. They had to empty out the folks that were getting off and prepare the sleeper cars for the new riders.

It felt colder than it should have been at 31 degrees and I suspect it is related to the elevation. My teeth were chattering like a bamboo windchime in a hurricane.

I wonder if the temperature is different at each one of the mile markers at the Capitol.

Finally aboard the train, I found I did not have a window seat and there was a sight-obscuring window bar in the most awkward place.

So as soon as I had my seat card displayed I went to the lounge to grab a table and begin catching the blog up.

It is now 10:15pm and I am wrapping up today’s recap. I have not yet met my seatmate but there is a small group of Amish or Mennonites right behind me so I am excited to see who I might get and if they too are reading Shades of Gray.

By the way as a public service announcement if this blog has inspired any one of you reading this to attempt similar craziness, the USA Railpass I paid $500 for just last Wednesday is now on sale for $250. Same terms. It is a great bargain for those who like train travel or just want to give it a shot. Hurry though. I think the offer expires in just a few days.

Until tomorrow. Good night.

6:32am, Sat 1/17

Awoke and went down to clean up. I have found after experimentation that I prefer the smaller stalls to the larger suites. This is because you can’t fall down in the small stalls because you hit the walls first and can catch yourself.

So I did my morning routine and gathered up some vittles for breakfast. I had a Celsius, a Green Juice health drink, an apple and a hunk of sourdough bread. I also had a Kombucha handy but will save that for later. This will hold me until I arrive in Galesburg around noon and have time to eat a real meal in the station. I do have to find the bus that goes to Springfield but hopefully it is as well-organized as Denver and not as life-threatening as Colorado Springs. I will spend the rest of the morning viewing the sights.

11:15am, Sat 1/17

Heading into Burlington and approaching the Mighty Mississippi.

Not quite as impressive as I had imagined. How did Huck fit his raft in this trickle? (click movie)

Oh. My Bad. Play the movie below.

12:15pm Sat 1/17

My first moment on this trip where I felt stressed. I was listening to some music in my hearing aides which drown out announcements. I was so engrossed I didn’t even realize the train had stopped until I looked up. I panicked and asked are we in Galesburg? No sign, and nobody knew. Then someone said yes, and I grabbed my cords and computer and backpack and took off down the hall from the lounge. I knew they did not linger as this was not a smoke stop. I had no time to run back to my seat which was in the last car so I just sprinted to the lower level. The conductor was standing there and said “Better hurry, we are leaving.” I dumped my gear on the platform and popped back in to grab my suitcase which was just a few feet in the door.

These guys are all on radio and he could have said “Just need 30 seconds,” to the engineer but no.

I jumped off with the suitcase. No time to use the step and as I jumped my new sporty hat blew off and went rolling down the platform. Not flipping or tumbling–rolling on its edge like a possessed wheel. The doors closed behind me and the train left. Thankfully I had been chilly in the lounge so I was wearing my jacket and hat, at least until it ran away. I ran down to try to lasso it and it took a turn thankfully away from the moving train and I was able to catch it.

Then I went back to my scattered gear and packed it away. What was left behind at my coach seat was my favorite packable down comforter, my sleeping pad, and my new inflatable pillow. But I did have the non-replaceable stuff for which I was thankful.

Of course none of these events were captured as there was no time to use a camera.

I went into the small station and waited for the adrenaline rush to subside.

The shuttle bus to Springfield did not leave until 2:15pm so I had a couple of hours to get some lunch. Again the charge to hold my bags would be $40 so I adjusted my stuff to minimize the weight of the backpack. It needed to be reorganized anyway due to the frenzied platform packing.

I then ventured out into a mini blizzard to head to the nearest restaurant which was just acrosst (spelling for my wife) the parking lot. It was called The Packinghouse.

I wore my backpack and rolled the suitcase without difficulty up the ramp to the restaurant entrance.

It was a curious door.

The waiter was doing a fantastic job as he was what seemed to be the only order taker and there were quite a few folks there for lunch. There were others that served the food but he was truly busy. While waiting, I used the link provided on the Maps site and got this for “Menu”.

Don’t believe me? Google The Packinghouse Galesburg and hit the website link:

When he finally made it to my table I said,” The menu looks good but I don’t see any prices.”

He blushed embarassingly and said they had been trying to get that fixed for months then recommended the Saturday Special Burger Bar. As I had not had any meaty protein for a while I thought that sounded good so okay’ed the order.

When it came it looked nothing like the website menu but was good. It came with a side of something that seemed to be deep-fried dough with cinnamon sugar, just the thing to lower my blood sugar levels.

I overheard the busy waiter talking to a regular about a lamp he had made. When he came by to drop off the check I asked if he was a stained glass artist and he said he had been working on it. The lamp was not in the restaurant but he was proud to show me the window he had made for the owner.

His name was Thomas (the waiter, not the owner) and he agreed to let me take his picture.

I rolled my case back to the depot and as I was starting to get a cough and sore throat I thought I might need to take an alka seltzer. There was not a water fountain but I had a liter bottle of Italian Blueberry water that I thought I could use as the medium.

But all of the shaking from rolling the case through the Arctic blizzard resulted in the bottle spewing when I cracked the seal. I immediately sealed it up but there was a mess on the floor. I heard a very soft and gentle voice asked if I needed help. I turned around and there was a pretty young woman with a handful of napkins. I thanked her and mopped up the floor. She was going to kneel on the floor to help but I said I’ve got it, thanks.

She was being trailed by a beautiful big black dog wearing a backpack.

As she returned to her bench I saw her partner, who was quite a big guy that looked well-traveled.

In fact, when he turned I saw his pack and the cardboard sign that read ‘Traveling Broke”.

I went over to thank her again and chatted with them both a bit. They asked where I was going and I explained my journey. Then I asked them and he said they were going to Indy. I did not ask why. She casually said they usually hop a freight car but it was a little too cold so they were going to catch a cheap bus.

It was 18 degrees.

I did not have much cash left but gave them $10 and wished them well. Then Kit, Bonnie and Sir Fluffybottom headed out into the storm.

May God Bless them.

Not all those that wander are lost.

While waiting for our driver to arrive I perused the instructional signage. For instance, there was one posted that said soon they would longer accept packages for shipping. After September 1, 2020, Amtrak would be out of the shipping business. Good to know and please plan accordingly.

I also came across this sign and thought I should read it to see how many rules I might be violating. In Singapore I am sure such scofflaws would be caned. Not sure what Amtrak might do but I do want to know why Mannequins made the list. There must be some story that was the genesis of this addition to the prohibited items list. Maybe related to why they repeatedly announce throughout the day that All Passengers at ALL TIMES must refrain from walking about the train naked.

And it seems if you require quantities of perfume that you must be able to carry the lot as you cannot check it. Seems like the other way around might be wiser.

My shuttle driver arrived 10 minutes early and we loaded up. There were only 3 of us for this stop but he said we would be picking up some more in Peoria.

If I had known that Peoria was the Whiskey Capitol of the World I would have picked up a bottle from the liquor store across the street while driver Ken rounded up the Peorian riders.

5:42pm, Sat 1/17

Departed Springfield on Superliner double-decker train. The train was fairly empty and I was able to grab not only a window seat but both as the train had plenty of room. I went to write in the Observation Lounge although due to being well-past sunset there wasn’t much to observe.

6:30pm, Sat 1/17

I had not yet eaten in the Dining Car for any meals and thought tonight’s ride would be a good time to try it out. For all of the other rides thus far, after seating all of the rich people that purchased sleeper cars for which all meals are included they offer up available seating to the great unwashed at $20 breakfast, $30 lunch, and $45 for dinner. I was waiting in the Lounge for the announcement but none came. The dining car is next in line from the Lounge so I went in to an empty car and found one of the staff. I asked if they had any openings, which seemed silly because there was no one there.

He said that on this train they only provide meals for the sleeper car travelers. Those passengers have the option of dining in their cabin so that explains why the area was empty. He did offer directions to the Cafe but I knew all about the cafe because that is where I score my hot water.

Which is what I did. I got three cups and gave her $2 from my dwindling stash. She said it was free and I told her thanks, that was a tip for her.

I went to my suitcase and pulled out a creamy chicken ramen provided by Pat in Colorado Springs and the remainder of my cheese and olives from last night.

I also got my now-empty Kombucha bottle to act as a wineglass in disguise.

Yep I had a bottle of illegal cheap cabernet from my Whole Foods replenishment trip.

Wait until they find my mannequin.

8:01pm, Sat 1/17

Arrived at St. Louis for a brief passenger turnover.

10:19pm, Sat 1/17

I finished updating my blog and made my pillow. Since I left my inflatable behind (pillow, not mannequin) I took my LL Bean zipper sack filled with dirty laundry and gift wrapped it in my Qatar airlines flannel pj’s top to serve as my pillow.

When I get to Dallas I will do a Goodwill run to replace my abandoned sleeping mat and pick up a camping pillow so I needn’t sleep with the aroma of dirty socks. Or I could have just packed it with my Clean laundry but too late now and I am tired.

Looking forward to seeing the kids and grandangels tomorrow.

2:14am, Sun 1/18

After about 3 hours sleep I awoke and felt ready to go. Reckon I am excited about seeing the kids. Andrew had texted last night and asked where I would be coming in so he could pick me up. I responded with the Amtrak address and told him my planned arrival time of 12:08pm.

My train is at this moment in Judsonia crossing the Little Red River. I would take a picture but it is still several hours before the 7:16am sunrise.

Shortly I will go down and perform my morning rituals. I am out of ramen so may spring for a gourmet Cafe breakfast of microwave Jimmy Dean Sausage Biscuit. I won’t need lunch because I will eat with the family.

I hope Nora doesn’t insist on going to a Noodle Shop.

3:18am Sun, 1/18

Approaching Little Rock. Read up a bit to refresh my knowledge of the Little Rock Nine. This would have been a good place to spend a day exploring the history and visiting the museum reflecting the historic Civil Rights actions that took place here.

Now that I am somewhat experienced in how to traverse the train system I would like to do a similar trip again but with slightly more than 24 hours planning. There are places where it would be great to spend a night or two to explore the key attractions in the cities. My wife would enjoy the experience as well, particularly meeting the various interesting souls. And my only regret for this trip is that I am seeing such rewarding and wonderful things and she is not. It would be much more special to share these adventures in real-time rather than through texting and a blog.

She is also far more gregarious and attractive than I and would no doubt be a conversation magnet. That is a unique advantage of slow travel in a comfortable lounge as it allows for in-depth talks that you do not get with strangers at an airport gate.

But I would definitely have to spring for the sleeper car. We would get our meals included and I could refrain from pestering the accommodating cafe folks 3 times a day. Plus although I would willingly go through this discomfort again I have somewhat had my fill of baby wipe baths and no bed.

It’s now 4:21am. Time to hit the stall before the rest of the train wakes up.

5:31am Sun 1/18

That was the best clean up to date. This train has a bathroom labeled Restroom & Changing Room.

This is great because while the bathroom and sink are still the same there is another area with a bench where you can stage your clothes and even open your suitcase off of the floor. Good job, Amtrak. I have discovered the bathroom options do vary based on each car. Some have the unlockable lounge. Others have what appears to be an ADA stall which is much larger but also has that much more room to fall down while still others have the afore-mentioned Nursing Room, AV hook and all. So it is worth exploring around the various options when you are selecting your seat.

I also used for the first time something I did not know existed until I chanced upon it at Whole Foods in Denver. Bar Shampoo.

This petite bar lathers up quickly and you don’t have a risk of a rocking train or sudden cow strike spilling a liquid-filled bottle. It is also much smaller so takes up hardly any space. Post-shampooing I do feel like my hair is thankful not to be subjected to the rough pump of who knows what at the sink.

I have maximized efficiency and now that I have an actual towel I can clean and dry better. In the future I will bring 2 towels, one to wash and one to dry. I will also get a plastic placemat/pad that I can stand on barefoot without wading through whatever effluvia lurkingly brews on the floor. I have been trying to stand on my shoes but that is precarious with one leg in the air. Especially if the floor is slick. My own plastic mat would be better.

I have established how many baby wipes are required and in what order to address each limb. I use 11. I won’t go into graphic detail because some children may come across this and I have heard that at least one 1YO and one 5YO lil’ girls are getting these ramblings as their bedtime story. So keep it clean, folks. Using baby wipes.

I am out of food other than an apple and lots of fruit gummy snacks. I will eat the apple but don’t want to load up with the sugars in the snacks. I think I will splurge and get that breakfast biscuit when she opens up the cafe at 7:00. I am also out of energy drinks and I know she stocks those as well.

Still dark of course. In the Southern US average daylight hours from January 8 – 28 is 11. Across the mid-line it is 9.6, and Northern US is 9.7. Since I am covering all of these areas this means a rough estimate of daylight hours for the duration of my adventure is 9.9 hours. (I excluded Alaska and Hawaii). If instead I take a similar trip in the summer (May – September) that increases to 14 hours. Almost doubling the amount of time to view the scenery from the observation lounge. I am sure that the trains that operate in the summer will be more crowded.

Let’s see.

Total Amtrak estimated ridership for January 2025 is 810,000.

February is 2.3 million.

For the Spring – Summer months:

May – 2.9 million

June – 3.04 million

July – 3.06 million

August – 3.04 million

So for the most availability and to have generally unfettered access to your choice of seat and unlimited time in the desired restroom January is your huckleberry. But you do sacrifice a great deal of daylight. I suppose since Amtrak schedules are heavily influenced by freight traffic that those most important scenic lines like Zephyr, Starlight, and Empire Builder cannot be seasonally adjusted to maximize scenic opportunities. So weigh the options and choose accordingly.

Sometimes choosing the direction of travel can greatly impact what you can see. Unfortunately one of the most iconic trips is the Empire Builder and no matter whether you start on the west coast and got to Chicago or visa-versa you will miss the Rockies and Glacier National Park at this time of year. Unless the train breaks down and drastically alters the schedule. Go cows!

You may have noticed that some text references don’t seem to make any sense at all. Well then you may have joined the party late and did not start at the beginning. If so back up and start again. There will be a test.

Still all alone in the lounge but I did see someone flash by and I am hoping it was the cafe attendant. We also have been sitting still for some time. Perhaps moving over to allow a freight to pass.

I checked and the Cafe is not yet open. The highly sophisticated and efficient way of indicating whether the cafe is open is pictured below. I have found this to be the case on every train thus far. This method is also used throughout the day for staff breaks. Maybe an employee should drop in the suggestion box the novel idea of a rope and a sign, even hand-printed. Or at least put a clean trash bag in before you tilt it over.

6:43am Sun 1/18

Still motionless just west of Emmet, Arkansas. Been a while now. I may need to update my son with a new arrival time.

Conductor just announced that we had a 90 minute delay due to a track malfunction. We had to back up and get on another track. I didn’t know that was an option but we are now cookin’ along. He just read off the estimated revised arrival times and although we were motionless for 90 minutes they have rived the time to just t6 minutes late for Dallas. I guess they will make up time somehow.

7:12am Sun 1/18

Cafe open and I headed down to score some breakfast. I was searching through what I thought might be the energy drink cooler and was admonished for trying to purchase a White Claw, which I did not want. I just thought that I was in the energy drink section. Blue Laws and all, no liquor for sale. I did get a Diet Coke and a breakfast bagel. And asked for an extra cup of ice so I could replenish my med jug cooler which was still quite cold but the ice had melted. It has served me well thus far.

7:41am Mon, 1/19

I arrived at EBJ Amtrak Station in Dallas on schedule even though the train had been sidelined 90 minutes. Andrew, Stephanie, Eleanor (Nora) and Allyson were there to meet me.

Nora ran with Andrew to give me a hug and a special handmade welcome card with a cryptic invitation to some secret event in December of ’26. Allyson kept grinning and saying “Papa!”

We are sensitive to posting pictures with the girls and as I will not be traveling until next Sunday I will desist from posting now and resume when my travel adventure continues as I head to see my friend Al in San Antonio. Signing off for now.

5:57am Tues, 1/20

Just a brief update despite my pausing posting. I have completed arrangement for the remainder of my trip. Adding in the San Antonio portion below:

The grandbabies and I are having a grand time. Although my bed keeps shaking. I wonder how long the false motion sensation will continue.

PSA:

Grandangel Nora has embarked upon reaching a milestone for any 5YO girl. Her Mom has started a Girl Scout troop and it is Cookie Season. If you would care to throw New Year’s resolutions aside, please use the following QR code to access the culinary delights.

As I plan to be quite visible in the Obervation Car for my next two long segments to return to Philly, I created shirts to wear to help sales. The first effort was a failure despite using a variety of methods to heat the transfer and make it stick including a heat gun. No go. Ruined 2 shirts and spent 3 hours trying to get it to transfer properly.

Once I ordered true heat transfer vinyl I knocked out 2 shirts in 10 minutes. Will see if she gets any sales from Papa’s Walking Advertisement.

4:40pm Fri, 1/23

I am having a great time with the kids and grandkids. I have also been refining my train travel accessories and supplementing my kit with some hopefully useful tools which I am eager to roadtest. However, due to the impending severe storm Fern, which is predicted to shut down mostly all travel I may not be able to pick the rental car Sunday and drive to San Antonio. We are expecting substantial freezing rain creating black ice here in Dallas starting Saturday and this area is not truly equipped to handle these rare events. Thus I suspect that some roads and highways may be closed.

So I have modified my plan. I will hang with the kids until Tuesday, when the ice is predicting to be melting and then grab the car from DFW and drive to Al’s in La Coste, Tx just outside San Antonio. I will stay with Al Tuesday night, then return the car and catch a flight back to Philadelphia Wednesday morning. Although I would have liked to continue my original roundtrip plan, I am also exhibiting signs of a substantial cold and am sleeping most of the time. Since I have already ridden the same rails for the two legs I would take to return by Amtrak, I wouldn’t be seeing new sights anyway.

Plus the notion of sleeping in my seat for 3 days when feeling poorly is not highly appealing. Even if I do have a sporty new heated mug to make my ramen, a new stuffable down comforter, and a collapsible cup to take my morning bath. These will be handy for future trips. Speaking of future trips, with the cancellation of my last two train legs, I can now consider taking a roundtrip somewhere. I must use the two legs by Feb 8 or they will expire so perhaps I shall take a weekend trip on the eastern seaboard.

I will update with new postings and a new map shortly.

This has been an awesome life-changing experience. Post-trip I will compile my takeaways and list my key moments and how they have impacted me. I need some time to reflect but will plan to post, perhaps on the return flight because there is nothing to see at 35000 feet, other than passengers squabbling over too-tight seating arrangements and classless people trimming their toenails.

My favorite Hunter S. Thompson quote:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly complaining “Wow! What a Ride!”

For myself, I am taking that 5-ticket ride.

May God Bless you all.

8:49AM Sun 1/25

Yet another change to my future schedule. As I am now going to fly home from San Antonio I have two segments unused from my 10. So I attempted to find the longest roundtrip I could take from Philadelphia to use up my last two segments. I wanted to go from Philly to New Orleans, which would have taken me through the southeastern states which I have not yet toured but unfortunately during winter due to Amtrak track work they only offer that route as a straight run on weekends. During the week you take the same line but must change trains in Atlanta, thus using 4 legs instead of 2 to do the round trip. If I wait until next weekend that would put me past my deadline of February 8 and thus I would need to pay for the return trip separately. Taking Amtrak this week is now impossible because Fern has suspended operations on some lines. The next option, which is an even longer route, is to take a roundtrip to Miami. I have been to Miami several times thus it is not as interesting to me as I have driven this route a number of times. But I did not get to relax and enjoy the scenery and am looking forward to the trip. Plus a chance to test my new train-touring rig of rolling back pack, collapsible cups, self-heating mug, new stuffable comforter and pellet pillow. I will wear my GS cookie advertisement and pester folks in the observation lounge and hopefully boost sales.

The route undertaken from Jan 8 – Feb 6 covers 30 states not including those that I fly over. My new revised schedule is below:

7:13pm Thursday 1/29

Yet another update. I was able to catch the flights from San Antonio to Philly with some challenges but it worked out and I was back in NJ Wednesday, 1.28.

Due to the massive storm Fern my original plan to return via Houston, New Orleans and eastern seaboard was disrupted which is why I visited San Antonio via rental car from Dallas and then spent one night with my friends Al and Cheryl. But I now have two unused travel segments that must be used by next Wednesday. So after just one night at home in NJ I scheduled a roundtrip to New Orleans leaving Friday, Jan 30 and returning Sunday February 1. The ride from Philly is a straight run on the Crescent Line. It leaves Philly 30th St Station at 3:48pm Friday and arrives in New Orleans 9:12pm Saturday night. No train changes, just one leg. I will spend the night at the Marriott using accumulated Bonvoy points then return to Philly Sunday morning, arriving home Monday afternoon.

This will exhaust my pass (and me as well) just before my Feb 6 deadline. Be aware when you purchase the pass you have 100 days to begin your travels but only 30 days to complete the adventure once you start. Since I spent a few days in Colorado Springs and several days in Plano, Tx due to the storm I was close to reaching the end of my time.

I have had a chance to reconnect with my wife and make a few homecooked meals thus feel ready to take this 4-day jaunt. Plus I now have my new traveling gear to test out. I am hoping to catch an authentic New Orleans jazz band Saturday night. The Amtrak station is in the French Quarter and my hotel is within walking distance. I am sure I can find some great music Saturday night but I probably won’t make it too late because I will have just spent 29 hours on the train.

I head back Sunday morning at 9:10am and will be back to 30th St at 4:42pm on Monday.

I will consolidate my thoughts and list my takeaways upon my return. Thanks for reading and please drop me a comment once I wrap this up. As you will no doubt have noticed I am not experienced in web design or blogging and this site is poorly constructed. You will find following this travel blog a list of original songs that should rightly be on its own page. Perhaps I will fix that but for now if you are interested in hearing more from me please scroll down a bit and you will find my current music portfolio. A few of these are now on sale on all the standard distribution platforms but to avoid paying the $.99 you can simply listen to them here for free.

My Revised (and hopefully final) Travel Plan:

I will resume updating my travels in realtime once I board the Crescent Line to Nawlins’.

11:57PM FRI, 1/30

Here’s the picture of me wearing my Girl Scout Cookie code getting ready to go to Philly to catch the New Orleans train.

1:50pm FRI 11/30

Philly 30th station in background after a great lunch with my friend Sean. We discussed another great adventure involving exploring the eastern coast and inner USA. By motor sailor.

3:20PM Fri 1/30

I almost didn’t make the New Orleans train because I boarded one on Track 7 instead of 5. Conductor had to open the door and let me out or I would have been going north instead of south and messed up the whole plan. But I made it!

Lady ahead of me is on my train by accident. And my seat mate just missed his stop and has to get off in Baltimore to go back to Wilmington. Off to a pretty rocky start. At least I am now on the right train and do not have to get off until NO which is the end of the line.

No observation car on this train but there is a cafe. I can probably camp out in there but won’t be able to cook my own food there. But I can do it from my seat with my sporty self-heating mug. Just won’t have the room that a full table would provide. Perhaps I won’t have a seat mate after Baltimore and I can utilize both drop down trays. But not for sleeping.

9:13AM Sat 1/31

Not much to report for the overnight trip to Atlanta. The train is quite cold with lots of ice and frost forming on the inner doors and walls of the crossovers between cars. I used my massaging heated pillow for a backbrace and my folded yoga mat to make it comfortable to lean against the wall snd try to snooze. Since I did not have a seat mate I was able to put the footrests up and make a serviceable bed. My new down quilt kept me warm and I did not need to wear my jacket.

I purchased a microwave sausage croissant and sparkling water for the cafe car so I could take my daily meds.

Scenery is quite dreary and it is 25 degrees in Atlanta with snow flurries. We had a 30 minute layover here but I did not get off the train.

10:15am Sat 1/31

The bathrooms on this train are smaller than those on the Superliners.

And the sinks are even more devious. No real way to put your head over the sink so I had to be careful when washing my hair. But one plus was the tapwater was very hot, almost hot enough to cook my ramen. There was no cold water tap so you cannot regulate the temperature.

Today I will be finish crossing Georgia, then Alabama, Mississippi and finally Louisiana where I will end in New Orleans. I should arrive before 10pm unless we have delays which is quite common on this line. I am hoping to catch Dr. Sick and the Late Greats at the Spotted Cat in Faubourg Marigny just outside the French Quarter at 10:00pm.

https://www.spottedcatmusicclub.com/welcome

They play from 10 – 2am so if I am late I should still be able to catch a set.

12:16pm Sat 1/31

Stopping in Birmingham for a short 30-minute break. I will take the chance to get off the train for a few minutes and stretch a little. Still only 25 Degrees so won’t be out long.

Nothing at the station or nearby to pick up lunch so I will stick with my ramen bowl and remaining apple.

Tried to pitch some cookies on my train car but no takers. The conductor says we will be in New Orleans around 8:45pm which opens up the musical possibilities more. I will research to see who else is playing aside from Dr. Sick.

1:33pm Sat 1/31

I found that there is a concert with multiple acts featuring 1000 musicians including Harry Connick Jr. at the Ceasar’s Superdome, just 1 mile from my hotel. If we do get in early I will go there first. The concerts start at 9 and goes to 11:00 or so. I could see that and still catch a set at one of the clubs in the French Quarter. Tickets are reasonable (<$50) and I would see a wide variety of bands.

https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B006341F4398A78

I will catch a cab or Lyft to the hotel, drop bags and head out. Removing my Leatherman now so I don’t get it confiscated at the door. I did chance on bringing it aboard the trains and just being discrete. Since I lost my baby Gerber to TSA I needed to have one handy.

5:38pm Sat 1/31

According to my Amtrak App, I should Arrive at 8:12pm to New Orleans. This will give me time to get to the Superdome and see the 1000-musician concert.

I will find something to eat somewhere along the way. Since I have just 13 hours in NO, I will stay up as late as I can to catch as much as possible. I will need to head to the station tomorrow morning at 7:15am so I can stop at Cafe Du Monde and get beignets to bring back home for Thomas and Monica. I will then board Crescent 20 for the trip back to Philly.

2:46pm Sun 2/1

Updating the blog starting with Saturday evening’s New Orleans adventures.

We arrived at Union Station later than anticipated so I was already late for the 9:00pm 1000 Musician concert at the Superdome. A cabbie was waiting to greet passengers and I had him take me to the Renaissance hotel where I dropped my bags and then went right back to the lobby to order a Lyft to take me to the concert. I arrived at the Dome and told him Gate G. He said right here and let me out.

Problem was it ws not Gate G. It was instead Gate A. There was no signage but I reckoned Gate G was on the other side so I took off running. It was already 9:45pm so I knew I had probably missed the opening acts and possibly Harry Connick. The Superdome is a large building to run around the perimeter. I stopped once to ask a uniformed security guard who was waiting in his running car where Gate G was.

He said he had no idea. So I kept running and finally fond a sign that indicated Gate G was up the stairs. It was up 3 flights of stairs to a large parking area which you have to cross to get to the gate. I kept running and finally got to Gate G. It was locked and there was no one around. I checked my ticket again:

I spied a guard smoking towards Gate F and headed her way. She said Gate G was closed of which I was aware but she said I could go in Gate F. So I did and then went to find my seat. When I turned the corner this is what I found:

It was amazing. There must have been 200 drummers, as many guitarists, 200 bassists and horn players and probably 400 singers onstage.

They were playing a range of rock anthems and sounded fantastic. It is difficult to get any more than 10 musicians to play in the pocket (in sync) but this sounded just like standard full band albeit much louder. I was amazed at the precision and how all of those drummers could sound like a single player.

The audience was having a great time dancing and singing along

As I suspected I had missed all of the featured acts but it was definitely worth me going to see this. I have never seen anything quite like it.

They played a couple of encores and ended at 10:45pm. Just in time for me to head to Frenchmen Street and catch some authentic New Orleans Jazz.

I found my way back to the street level and waited for the Lyft in the freezing air.

He dropped me off at the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street. This is a few blocks from the more touristy Bourbon Street area and he said was more popular with the locals. Sure enough, it was hoppin’ and despite the cold people were hanging outside the various clubs dancing and singing.

I had not had dinner so I grabbed an alligator sausage with shrimp creole. It was very good.

After being a Man-Eating Gator I checked out a few bars. All had live music. My original plan was to see Dr. Sick at the Spotted Cat (measles?) but it was too crowded to get in. I did watch him through the window for a bit but he seemed quite well to me and not sick at all.

I went into bars that did not charge a cover (most didn’t) although all had a 1 drink minimum per set. They did not appear to be monitoring this too carefully though. It did not impact me anyway as I only stayed for a partial set for each band and obligingly ordered a drink in each place.

I didn’t want to appear too creepy so I did not ask the bassist hidden on the right above to pose. He was wearing an understated black codpiece and buttless chaps. Maybe he was hiding in the back because he was shy.

Or maybe not.

I made it back to my hotel at 1:30am and turned out the lights at 2.

Sun 2/1

I was up at 6:30am, took a long shower and headed down to search for beignets. Turns out the iconic shop Cafe Du Monde does not open until 10:00am, so I could not get them there. However, the Renaissance had a cafe which of course sold beignets and they made a dozen fresh for me. They are packed away in my backpack and I hope some make it back to Monica and Thomas.

I did have a beignet breakfast sandwich before hailing my Lyft to the Amtrak station.

There was a Subway shop in the terminal and I was out of my beloved ramen/cup-o-noodles I picked up a 6″ sub for lunch later. If there is a long enough layover this afternoon I will restock with meals for tonight and breakfast and lunch tomorrow. If not, I will have to get something from the cafe car from my new friend Deanna who is ordering Girl Scout cookies from my qr-coded shirt.

3:51pm Sun 2/1

Stopped briefly in Tuscaloosa, AL but not long enough to search for provisions. I just finished updating the blog and will resume if anything of note happens. I have about 90 minutes of daylight left so not much time to take any notable pictures.

I checked with the conductor and there is a bit longer of a station stop in Birmingham but Chat GPT is not encouraging regarding stores within walking distance. But as Steven Wright once said:

“Anywhere is within walking distance. If you have the time.”

Well I will only have 10 minutes or so in Birmingham so most likely will be enjoying selections from the train cafe for dinner tonight and perhaps breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Good thing is I have not eaten there much this entire journey so most will be new to me. And BTW they do serve ramen if I get a hankerin’.

5:05pm Sun 21

The station stop in Birmingham was shorter than advertised so I am glad I didn’t wander over to the station. It was supposed to be a 30 minute stop but we arrived at 4:53pm and departed at

The next long stop is Atlanta where they will actually change crews and on the way down they also changed engines to diesel so we had a good half hour. But since we don’t get in until 11pm not sure if there will be anything nearby nor am I sure I want to explore much in Atlanta at 11pm as I am not familiar with the area. I do know there are some sketchy places. Maybe not as sketchy as the TDA headquarters/Greyhound Station in Colorado Springs but out of caution I will stick close to the station.

The rest of the return trip to Philly was fairly uneventful. The scenery was fairly consistent and less spectacular than what I saw out west but still beautiful.

4:39pm Mon 2/2

8:09am Fri 2/6

I am currently in North Carolina at our tiny home along the Chowan River. I came down to see if the storm damaged Lil’ Blue but all is well.

My summary of my experience traveling over 10000 miles on Amtrak:

This country is incredibly vast and varied. I highly recommend taking some of these trips to see it at ground level. The most scenic lines for me were the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr. These two lines have fantastic scenery and are Superliner trains with the great observation cars. The Texas Crescent is a regular Amtrak train with no observation lounge but does have a cafe car. The observation cars are great for setting up your laptop and working if you choose, or just relaxing and watching the scenery flow by.

Be aware that Amtrak conductors try to be as punctual as possible and if you get off the train and leave the platform you may not have time to get back aboard after the whistle. Many of the stops are 2 minutes or less and they will warn you not to get off unless it is your stop. Also if you miss your stop (I almost did) they will let you off at the next station and you can catch the next train back to your stop normally without a charge. However, the next train might not be for several hours or even the next day. Many of the stops are rural and other means of transportation/accommodations may be very limited.

ChatGPT is a very useful travel tool, but don’t believe everything it tells you. It states “facts” with great confidence but is often entirely wrong. Double-check and use different enquiries to get the needed info. I used it primarily to create scenic highlight agendas and it was fairly accurate.

Travel Kit:

Backpack with rolling capability

small duffel or carryon suitcase

small pillow

yoga mat or single sleeping pad to put in seat and minimize bar discomfort

compressible quilt/cover

collapsible cup, bowl and utensils

loose fitting and soft clothing

Unless you splurge for a sleeper you will be sleeping in your clothes. I would change ea ch morning and that is what I wore until the next morning.

Fleece-lined or comfortable warm slippers to wear aboard

Compression socks

Toiletries include bar shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, soap, two small towels, cleansing wipes, rollable small bathroom mat

Thermos to store hot water

Optional: mug that heats water or coil immersion heater. I now have a 300w Immersion heater that will heat a cup of water to piping hot in 10 minutes.

Don’t pack more food than you need to get to your next stop that has a layover long enough to restock. Most Amtrak stations in the major cities are in the city and convenience or grocery stores are usually within reach. I packed quite a bit of food in the beginning and I could have carried less. Make sure to include fresh fruit. Fruit snacks are not great and have way too much sugar.

Bring small bill cash for tips

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I will begin planning my next trip and when the USA pass goes on sale again I will snap it up. I think my next tour will include some new lines.

Thank you for following along and stay tuned for the next journey. Also take a listen to my original songs found on this page. I am working on recording my voice singing these so I can post them on the various music platforms. I am also experimenting with producing music videos and these will be posted as well.

May God Bless you all.