Pre-Day:

In the past I’ve taken Amtrak from Richmond to New York or vice versa from New York to Richmond. It’s about a 6 hours trip. Nice and relaxing. You can sit and work and let someone else do the driving. Think about flying from New York to Richmond. JFK or LaGuardia you need to be there at least 2 hours early, plus the time to get to the Airport about 45 minutes to an hour in itself. I don’t think I’ve ever had much of a long commute to the train station in either city. Even getting to Penn Station was just a matter of hopping on the subway. Then there is the hour plus of flying. I’m not including the transit time to get you home because you have to do that even with the train. It’s probably very little time to get to the train station and board. Both places would need more time if you want to check in bags.

Day 1:

On board the Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle.

In the station lounge the train was showing delayed. Thankfully someone said to hustle and off it was to the train to not miss it. It’s a great feeling to be on the train. I’m already feeling relaxed, especially after it took until the last call before getting onto the train. It left on time exactly even if I wasn’t exact taking my watch picture. The room is nice and I think will be just a fine piece of luxury for this trip. Fairly uneventful afternoon. Started by leaving Chicago with all its city viewscapes and entering into views of of rural america.

The first day is coming to a close on the train. The sun has set and it’s dark out the windows in the sleeper car as well as the lounge. The only light to be seen is from homes, businesses or the train stops. The sound of the horn from the train can still be heard and pushes me deeper into nostalgia feeling childlike giddiness that I’m on a train trip. The deep rumbles of the train can be heard as well as felt. The visceral feel of the rumble makes the experience more real. I can see at a stop the rain falling down. The ground is glistening. As the train moves again the lights twinkle from the rain on the windows.

Dinner was passable. The stake was chewy. It needed the A1 sauce they brought to the table. The corn was barbecue flavored and the mashed potatoes were a little over salted. The rolls were good. I had seen them earlier in plastic bags but they still tasted soft. Basic iceberg lettuce salad with newman’s own dressing. I need to use less next time. I tried some of the pasta. Some of the pieces were a little dry. The dessert was good. The chocolate mousse was light. The cheesecake was… cheesecake. I could do without the strawberry sauce topping. I wonder if any beetles went into that red. Thankfully the meal was included with the sleeper cars. Not sure I would have paid for it on my own at these prices for that quality.

So many pictures so little time. The landscapes will give new opportunities to release the inner shutter bug. Now I just need to take better pictures.

-SFA