Thursday, January 08, 2004
Blogging
A small victory!
My web got pushed for one brief moment on the blogger mainpage as a "recently updated blog!" Small news, I know -- but it does mean I'm officially a public blog!
Vacation
More stories of the train ride.Train riding is a far more civilized way to travel. For one thing, you needn't go through customs. For another, they let you keep your shoes on. I, for one, wouln't never ruin a perfectly good pair of NineWest shoes by blowing them (and myself, presumably) up.
We had just your standard sleeper car, which we were warned in advance would make our dinky apartment look like Buckingham Palace. It was very comfortable. Opposite each other across a picture window. The second bunk fixed to the ceiling above. Nearly complete reclining options (as opposed to "airline recline"). Wide seats. No overweight smelly man hanging into more than his fair share of the seat. No one asleep and leaning precariously into your space. No need to plaster oneself against the window for some breathing room. And, the coupe du grace, hot showers in every sleeper car (for the big bucks you could have one in your room).
And the meals. I had lamb shank, 12 oz steak, French Toast, Quiche Lorraine, and a bacon cheese burger. Everything was included in the fare...And they weren't stingy with drinks and desserts....Even the alcohol wasn't rediculously overpriced....
There is something to be said for just getting there and getting it over. But what airplane has it's own movie theater below the parlor car?
PS, I kicked butt at Monopoly...
Vacation
I made it home! (No, no. No cheers and excitement please...ok maybe a little) Our arrival time was supposed to be 3:40 -- we pulled in around eight. We were just happy to get there. We're not sure why we were so late. It sure wasn't the ice. Once we had to wait for an hour for a new crew. Then at the next stop that crew got back off and went on the southbound train...for no reason. We'd finally gotten underway, when headquarters (which we assume is a guy named Joe in the bahamas with a cell phone) called and said that there were THREE SOUTHBOUND TRAINS headed RIGHT TOWARDS US...and we'd better pull off to a siding right away until they all passes. Two and a half hours later we were still waiting for the third train to pass...and playing a round of "Sorry!"
We pushed off again and were warned that ice may make us lose more time....at which point my buddy Nathan from one cabin over said, "well strap me to the front of the train with a scraper!" More on all the fun strangers I met later.
Would you rather hear about Nathan from Everett, George from Riverside, or Nick from new Orleans? You pick.
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