Other Thoughts on D.C.

We did not tour the Newseum, but I did like the fact that the quote "Congress shall make no laws..." about the right to print newspapers was on the outside of the building. Every morning they display the front page from a major newspaper from each state, so we were able to stop and peruse the front page of the Anchorage Daily News to see what the newspaper thought was the big news of the day.

The capital city in Maryland is divided into four quadrants: northwest, southwest, north east, and southeast. The city proper meaning the area in which all the government and historical areas of interest are in a diamond shaped layout. I know pure trivia, but interesting to me, must be the history teacher in me. :)

There is a statue of Albert Gallatin who served under President Jefferson and cleaned up a fourteen million dollar deficit, plus added some surplus to our national treasury. Where is he when we need him. Can we bring back a reincarnation of him so he can clear up our national deficit today? We certainly need someone like him.

The third oldest building in D.C. is the treasury building, It took three years to build. THe second is the capital and the White House is the oldest. Government and money, seem to be the rule of the day even back then. I do love the architecture of the old buildings and the columns that seem to be everywhere. I would have loved to have lived at Tara in the movie 'Gone With the Wind" only with air conditioning, please.

Speaking of the White House, it was opened in 1800 and every president except our first, George Washington, has lived in it. George Washington oversaw the construction. He died in 1799.

We did not tour the White House but man would I hate to have to clean the place. It has one hundred thirty-two rooms, twenty-eight fireplaces, three elevators, thirty-five bathrooms, a forty-six seat theater, and a bowling alley. It is 5,500 square feet in area with five floors and an attic. That is a lot of cleaning. The president and his family live in the back of the house, but there is no back door. There are about six entrances, but not one is called the back door because the president cannot bring anyone in the backdoor without insulting them.

We also went out near the Arlington National Cemetery and saw the oldest section, number 27. Two presidents are buried in Arlington, John F. Kennedy and WIlliam Howard Taft and his wife. Taft weighed over three hundred pounds. As we drove by the cemetery I was thinking of all the lost souls buried there. All those who fought for our country and our freedom. Many people do not stop and think about the fact that freedom is not free. It is paid for with the lives of every person who has died fighting to keep our country free, fighting for our rights to stand up and protest, or burn the flag, or to march in honor of anything we believe in. We have the right of free speech and religion because of those who died to defend our right to it. There is a poem that was written by a high school student, Kelly Strong, in 1981 as a tribute to his father, a marine who served in Vietnam.

"FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze;
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform,
So young, so tall, so proud;
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought... how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves
No, Freedom is not Free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still;
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill;

I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend;

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands.
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No. Freedom is not Free!

©Copyright 1981 by Kelly Strong
http://iwvpa.net/strongk/

I love this poem. It expresses what we all need to learn, freedom is not free it is paid for with the blood of our forefathers, our brothers, and sisters, friends, and enemies who have fought for our right to make the choices we do, even those that are dangerous and immoral.

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

     I will never forget September 11, 2001.  I was getting ready for work when the phone rang and I ran to answer it, wondering who was calling at about6:30 in the morning, Alaska time.  It was my oldest son calling to yell in my ear that we were under attack and to turn on the television. I was confused, but went down stairs to turn on the television.  It was shortly after that I watched the plane fly into the second tower and I was in shock.  Bryce was with me and wanted to know why we were under attack.
     I remember calling my neighbor and yelling at her as she was half asleep, telling her to get up and turn on her television. She was like "What, what, what time is it?" 
     I told her to wake up and turn on her television. We were under attack.  She finally got it and got up to turn on her television.  She called me later in shock.
      It was an emotionally harrowing day.  I remember calling my mother and talking to my students about it.  It was very rough day. 
      I have a friend who thought she watched her father die on national television.  He worked in the towers and she did not know until late in the day if he was alive or not. She was honest with her students and they were very understanding of all she had gone through because of their own fear. 
     When I talked to my husband later in the day he said that at first he thought it was a joke because of the DJs on the radio station he was listening to. The DH's were known as jokers.  He changed the radio station and got the same news so realized it was for real and told my son to call me.
     I thought at one point it was the end of the world.  I had been reading "The Left Behind" books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and in the first book they talk about people disappearing and planes falling from the sky. When I saw the plane fall and crash into the second tower I thought I had been left behind.
      I will never forget this date. It is one like December 7th, that "will live in infamy" to take words from FDR.

Washington D.C. Two

We went on a bus tour of the monuments and memorials in the evening, We started in China Town where our hotel was. The driver pointed our several points of interest as we drove to other hotels to collect other tourists and then to the Old Post Office Building to meet our tour guide, Larry. We rode past Freedom Plaza where Martin Luther King started his march to the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963. We rode down Pennsylvania Avenue; also known as America's Main Street.
We started at the Old Post Office Building. You can climb to the top during the day and have a 360° view of the city. We plan to do that tomorrow. Our tour group included a couple from Hawaii and one from Canada as well. Larry pointed out that the Canadian Embassy is in a prestigious position as it is on Pennsylvania Avenue and close to our Congress. Our embassy is afforded the same prestigious position in Canada. We drove by the Capital Reflecting Pool and the statue of President Garfield, he is one of the four presidents who were assassinated. The statue consists of three statues each wearing a different hat, to represent his three roles.
The Capital Building was built in stages with left side ( when looking from the front of the building, though most of the time we see it from the back as that is what faces the Mall), being built first. Our guide shared lots of interesting tidbits, such as the fact that a flag was flying over the right side of the building, from the back view, meant that the House was still in session at 9:00 at night. He said that was unusual. No flag was flying over the right side of the building which meant the Senate had adjourned for the day. Next time we go to Washington we need to arrange a tour with one of our representatives of our senator. I think it would be interesting to observe them in session to see if they really get anything done. (I know pure sarcasm, but look at the boat we are in and it is sinking fast.)
We stopped to look at several of memorials as there are really only one monument in D.C. The rest are memorials or statues to people. I liked the statue of Benjamin Franklin at the Old Post Office as it has a plaque on each side with a title for each of his roles in life: patriot, philosopher, philanthropist, printer. I love the fact that it credits his different roles in life and in the founding of our country.
We also went to the Lincoln Memorial which has two tiers of states carved above it, the first is those that were states when he was assassinated, the second those that were states when the memorial was dedicated, and lastly so as not to be forgotten Alaska and Hawaii are engraved in the steps below the memorial. We get walked on and most people do not even realize they are there. I would not have known it if Larry, the tour guide,had not pointed it out to us. Sadly, I did not get a picture of them and that is one I really wanted. It was too dark when we were there on the tour and we did not get back over there the next day before we left. Inside the memorial are carved quotes from his Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address. His memorial is representative of Greek temples with Doric columns.
The Jefferson Memorial is also very powerful. Seeing it at night may have made it more powerful, but you look at that ginormous statue and think of the man and all he did for our country and it is very overwhelming and powerful. It made me feel small and insignificant in comparison. I mean I have not done near what he did in my lifetime and I can never surpass his writing of the Declaration of Independence. His memorial is modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, which is magnificent and his does it justice. The statue is bronze, though originally it was a plaster model. I find it interesting that a man who did so much for the beginning of our country almost got a lesser memorial because it was thought that this memorial would rival or overpower the Lincoln Memorial when it was being built. Both men are great but Lincoln would not have been able to do what he did if Jefferson had not done what he did. Think about it, the country had to come first before it could divide and be made whole again. The memorial represents him as a philosopher and a statesman. There are five quotations from his writings carved in the memorial.
The Washington Monument is also powerful, but in a different way. It stands like a centennial in the center, tall and straight like a soldier watching over the city. It is very stark when compared to the memorials to other presidents. There is no face, no quotes, nothing to show the man who lead our country in war, and as first president under the Constitution. It is 555 and 5 1/8 inches tall. Because of a lack of funds the monument was build over time and marble from two difference quarries was used to complete it. It is because of weathering and the different quarries that the monument looks to be two different colors. George Washington was also the only president not to live in the White House, though he did choose the architect who designed it. He also set the standard of two terms, which every president except Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
While in D.C. we also visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The first flag actually took my breath away. It was huge, and the emotion tied to the history was overwhelming. I wonder where the missing star is and what about the other pieces that were cut off and given away to visitors. I think the efforts to preserve the flag are exceptional and show the love of our country and our history. The exhibit is well done and I love the interactive display where you can tough different parts and have information revealed about the flag's history and preservation. I think it is an excellent teaching tool and am glad that it is also available on-line.
We went in search of the National Gallery of Art and by change ended up in the building the old art or the West Building. It houses art from the Medieval period through the late 19th century. What I consider to be art, Rembrandt, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, da Vinci. My kind of art. I was in heaven trying to take it all in, as was Tom. We were there until they kicked us out at close. I did get some postcards of a few of the pieces we saw. I was thrilled to get to see Ginevra de' Benci by Leonardo da Vinci, as I love his works. There was Saint George and the Dragon by Raphael, and The Annunciation by Van Eyck. There were pieces by Degas, Botticelli, and Rodin. I could have spent days in there alone. It was magnificent and definitely on the list to spend more time at when we return to D.C.
We also visited the Holocaust Museum, but that is a post in and of itself.

Washington D.C. One

We got up at 4:00AM to catch the train to Washington, DC at 5:30, though it did not arrive until 5:50 so were about 40 minutes late. They did not do checked baggage so we had all the luggage in the business class car on the train. Our first stop was Syracuse and I got some nice pictures of the lake on the way. I liked the station at Utica, it had an old time train. We went through Amsterdam, Schenectady, Albany, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, and crossed the Hudson River on our way into New York City. There was what looked like the ruins of a castle on an island in the river. I got a picture, and once I figure out how to post pictures on my iPad I will add them to my blog.
The cafe car attendant on the train was a riot. He had a great personality. Business class was really nice. The seats were really nice. We had free coffee, tea, and soda served at our seats.
Once we arrive at New York's Penn Station we had a red cap help us with our luggage as we had to change trains and we had to carry all the luggage, not just the hand carry. He took us to a waiting area and said he would be back to get us when it was time to board our train. I called my mom to let her know where we were on our journey. Tom had a Nathan's Famous Hot Dog, just so he could say he had one. I found a Starbucks and had a chai frappe and a turkey wrap from a deli in the station. The red cap helped us to our next train and we were off to D.C.
We went over bridges leaving New York City, and went through Newark, and Trenton, New Jersey. It reminded me of the time Tom told me to ask a teacher I knew which exit she lived off of in New Jersey. She got angry, and I had no idea that it was a sore spot for people from New Jersey. Tom thought it was funny. When we went through Trenton I saw a sign on a bridge that said "Trenton Makes, The World Takes."
We passed into Pennsylvania and stopped in Philadelphia and then moved on to Delaware where there was a cloud painted on a building. Tom said "That's a terrible picture of a cloud. My kids could do better than that." He was referring to his students. We went through Baltimore, Maryland where we saw a beautiful old church and stopped for the airport, though I did not see the airport. People must have to take a separate local train to get to the airport from that station. We stopped at a metro station in the suburb of New Carlton before pulling into the DC Union Station where we had red cap service to help with the bags. Though we could have walked the few blocks to the hotel we took a taxi because of the luggage.
We stayed at the Fairfield on H Street. It was very clean and we had a nice room. After checking in we went for a walk and ate dinner at the Green Turtle. Tom had the turkey burger, sans bun and I had the raspberry turkey flat bread with sweet potato fries. It was delicious and I recommend you go there if you are in DC.
After dinner we went for a walk to the Capital and took pictures. We walked down the Mall to the Washington Monument, passed several Smithsonian buildings, then over to our hotel. We also passed the Commerce and Treasury Buildings and the road that runs in front of the White House which was blocked for security. We also passed a building that said "Freedom Forum, First Amendment, on the front. We watched some lightening, and got sprinkled on as we walked down Pennsylvania Avenue, Maryland Avenue, and Constitution Avenue. We passed the Bullfinch gate to DC, which had a high water mark from the 1800's. I was tired and sweaty when we got back to the hotel.
I should explain why I mention the lightening. We do not see lightening very often in Alaska so it is a treat when we see it. I love to watch lightening flash as it is beautiful and lights up the sky. I was also excited to see lightening bugs as we walked and wanted to go grab a mayonnaise jar to catch some like I did when I was a kid. Simple pleasures I know, but wonderful memories.
In the morning I talked to the concierge about a night bus tour of the monuments and he is holding us spots for tomorrow night. In the process I misplaced my sunglasses and that caused some confusion. They were actually in my camera case.
We walked to Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was shot and saw the house across the street where he died. We took pictures of both and I bought some souvenirs, including a t-shirt, magnets, and post cards.
The heat and humidity are killers and I'm dying. I think I am melting. I know I am sweating my henna tattoo off. We went into Barnes and Noble for a rest break and to cool off then walked to the White House. We went to the visitor's center and saw paintings by fourteen prominent American artist called "An Artist Visits the White House's Past: The Paintings of Peter Waddell." It was very well done and I enjoyed looking at all the paintings.
From there we walked over to the White House. We did not tour the building but did get some great pics from the outside. Also took pictures of the zero mile marker across from the South lawn. There were a lot of people there and it was neat to see the building in person and not just on TV.

Rochester

We arrived in Rochester tired but we made it. Tom's brother Bobby picked us up at the train station and took us to his house. Tom's sister Judy was waiting for us there. We dropped off the luggage and went to Olive Garden for lunch. Tom's brother Jimmy and his friend met us there. After lunch we went back to Bobby's house for a short nap and then went to his sister Amy's house for pizza on the back deck. The family was there. including Tom's sister Linda and her daughter Danielle, Bobby, Judy, Jimmy, Amy, and her two kids Paige and Joey. It was nice. Danielle talks really fast and her focus jumps every where which is hard to follow and exhausting when you try to keep up with her. It was nice to see all the family. After dinner we went back to Bobby's to shower and sleep. We can't go in Amy's house because she has a cat.
We went to the mall to look for yoga pants and bras for me. It took forever to find a bra that fit and was comfortable. The ones I had found in Seattle were being discontinued, and they do not have my size here in that style. No luck on the yoga pants, they said to try the mall on the other side of town, which was like an hour away. Not going over there, we will look as we travel. We headed back to Bobby's.
Bobby took us on a drive to Lake Ontario. It was beautiful and cool on the beach. A nice break from the heat. We only stayed a few minutes before heading off to run other errands, including a stop to get some wine.
We went to Amy's for dinner, chicken and corn on the cob. The kids are still in school as their summer vacation does not start until next week. We gave the kids a nickel hockey game, they had fun playing it, though they shot a coupled of the nickels so hard they flew down and went through the boards on the deck. Tom and Bobby took the kids for a long walk to the play ground and I took a nap on the deck. I was really tired. I slept over an hour.
The next dat we had a quiet morning at Bobby's house, and then went to a late lunch, early dinner at Amy's. Her husband cooked on the grill. Then Amy, Judy, Bobby, Tom, and I went to a wake for Tom's mother's brother's wife's sister's husband. (I know that is confusing) We went to represent the family and it was nice to see Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave though I wish the circumstance had been different.
Tom and I went for a walk after and I got a Starbucks chai. I miss my morning chai. Both boys called Tom for Father's Day. When Bryce called he told us there is are three bears out at the Boy Scout camp and they are getting into the trash and stuff. He said the camp director said not to kill them, even though fish and game said to kill them. He said he is taking his gun out when he returns to camp because if he sees the bears he is going to shoot them. It worries me because there are young boys out there and the Cub Scout camp is just down the road from there. I am afraid one of the kids will get hurt, especially since the one bear is a cub and if they were to get between the mamma and the cub the momma would definitely go after them.
I slept well last night. Today we went for a walk at Lake Ontario, with Bobby, Judy, and Jimmy. It was a beautiful day. I took some great pictures. We walked along the board walk and walked along a street of house on the lake, until we came to a paved path that ran behind the house, along the lake. We saw some beautiful flowers that I took pictures of. There were some very nice decks and boat launches, as well as some sculptures. We also saw some ducks wandering around the yards.
In one front yard there was a Japanese Maple which is a very pretty red leafed tree. There was also a wooden light house in the yard.
We had lunch at The Pelican Nest. It was very nice. I had a tomato and mozzarella cheese salad. After lunch we went back to Bobby's to pack and to chill for a while.

The trip to Rochester

We met some interesting people on the train during our trip. We had dinner on the train, the food was not too bad, and then went back to our seats. I want my bed, because the seats are not that comfortable to sleep in, but they are nice for sitting. I know part of the issue is I am over tired and ticked off that I lost my sleeper, but in all honesty the seats are not that comfortable for sleeping. I am so glad we have a sleeper when we get to Chicago.
I woke up outside Flagstaff, Arizona. We have crossed the Continental Divide and gone through or near Red Rock State Park. We have also passed through Gallup New Mexico. There are a lot of plateaus and black shale is everywhere on the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. There was a lot of sage brush across the area.
I am not sure I could live here as there is not much greenery. It is very brown and beige. I prefer more color in my scenery. (Sorry Karen and my other friends in this area, but it looked kind of dead out there.)
We were rerouted out of Albuquerque due to the fires. We backed up into the station and will go straight east from here for a while. They are busing the people who are headed to Trinidad and La Junta, Colorado, as well as those heading to Raton, New Mexico because of the fires.
We ate breakfast in the dining car and it was not bad, but we have a nazi waitress. I called her the dining car nazi. She was a real piece of work. She told you where to sit, two to a side, and there was not arguing with her.
The train stopped at a red light waiting for a freight train to go through and I saw a cowboy, or at least a guy on a horse with a cowboy hat on. There was nothing out there but wide open spaces and the lone cowboy. It made me think of the old west in the movies. We were southeast of Albuquerque, between Contreras and Mountain Air, New Mexico on our way to Clovis, New Mexico.
We had crossed the Rio Grande River before we got to Albuquerque, and saw the San Andrea Mountains. I thought most of New Mexico on the east after the mountains looked like Kansas, very FLAT! There was one lone tree in the miles of flat land. It looked very lonesome out there by itself.
We saw a few other straggling trees scattered out around the country side. We also saw some interesting rock formations.
Tonight the moon was full, some people said it was a harvest moon because it was very orange in color. It was beautiful to see.
We hung out in the lounge car for a while talking to people and playing rummy, until 1:00 AM. We had a fun time. One of the guys let Tom try some herb saint liqueur, which is like absinthe. It tastes like black licorice, or so I am told. I do not like licorice.
We also tried Dubliner Cheese that Spiro, one of the guys on the train who is of Greek descent from Long Island, had. It was very good. I drank a half bottle of wine, that Tom put in my water bottle.
The train wet through Woodward, Oklahoma and we came into some awesome thunderstorms as we went across the panhandle into Kansas. The lightening was awesome, huge and bright. It lit up the night sky like it was noon. Some of the strikes seemed to be way to close to the train, but they were beautiful to watch.
I went back to coach to get a few hours of sleep. They were stopping in Newton, Kansas in little while to let off the people who had to be bussed to the areas we were rerouted around because of the fires. We headed from there toward Kansas City.
I woke up around La Plata, Missouri. I was woken up by a kid screaming, another reason I prefer a sleeper car. I slept through Kansas City. We passed through Fort Madison, Iowa. The fort is by the river. As we crossed the river we moved into Illinois. It was small town America. The are was lush and green, beautiful and quaint. We saw horses, and quaint old houses that reminded me of my Grandma Wilson's house in Altamont, Illinois.
There was a young kid, Anthony, seated across the aisle from us who was moving from Oregon to Vermont. He is a farrier. A farrier is a "hot" horse maker. He heats the horse shoes and shapes them to fit the horses hooves. It sounds like an interesting job from what he told me. It sounds very old timey, from the old west. He works with the owners of farm and race horses and talked some about the different styles of horse shoes depending on what the horse is used for and also the different types of farriers, hot and cold, and the impact on the horses. Hot shoes are designed to fit a specific horse's hove, while cold shoes are just basic horse shoes that can fit any horse, but are not fitted to their hooves. Cold shoes are often loose or to big as they are not shaped to the horses foot. Anthony had on really cool rope sandals with woven straps, I think it would be cool to make a pair and use old tires for the sole.
We went through Mendota, Illinois. I took some pictures of main street and the water tower, very typical of small town midwest, USA. We also went through Naperville, Illinois. The station was an old building like many in this area of the country.
We arrived in Chicago tired from three days in coach with minimal sleep. At the Chicago Union Station we went to the Metro Lounge which is for sleeping car passengers and they let us check our hand carry bags. Then we met up with two people who we met on the train and found a place to eat. It was a cajun grill, a Chinese fast food joint. They had good food. After we ate Tom and I went for a walk around the station and I found a long African skirt that can also be worn as a dress. Tom said I am the only one he knows who would find something to buy in the train station.
We headed back to the Metro lounge to relax for a while, charge the iPads, and wait to board the train and our sleeper car. We boarded about 8:30 PM. Our sleeper cabin was cute with two single bunks, a toilet, and a sink. There was a wine tasting in the dining car for sleeper car passengers. We had white cheddar, cheddar, blue cheese, red and green grapes and our choice of a red or white wine. Tom and I both had white.
Our neighbors in the sleeping car cabin across the hall were a mother and daughter traveling from Wisconsin to Springfield, Massachusetts. They were taking the train because the mother does not fly.
Our train attendant was very nice. She was named Francine. She put the beds down while we were at the wine tasting. The bed in the sleeper car was not to uncomfortable, though a little on the hard side. I slept well. I was rocked to sleep by the train.

Seattle Three

Monday was an interesting day full of excitement. We got up and made sure we had everything packed and ready to go as today was the day we started our train adventure. We went for a walk to the Cherry Coffee place near the hotel for Tom to get a latte and to Starbucks for my chai, then hung out in the lobby waiting for Beau and Michelle to arrive. Once they arrived we checked out of the hotel and loaded their car then headed off walking toward Pike's Street in search of The Pink Door Restaurant for lunch.
The door is really more of a peach color, but the restaurant is cool. It has swings and trapeze hanging from the ceiling. Michelle says that at night they have scantily clad young ladies perform on the trapeze and a swings. The art work is cool. There is a mural of a clown mime and a monkey on one wall.
Lunch was very good. After we ordered Michelle remembered that they had forgotten to feed more money into the meter, so Beau went running back to feed the meter. Instead he discovered a ticket on the car for $39, which was much better than the $100 Michelle thought it was going to cost. Beau did not get back until we were done eating as it was several blocks back to where the car was parked. I had a delicious melt in your mouth, meatless lasagna made with spinach noodles. Tom had a salad and grilled asparagus. It was very good also. We enjoyed seeing Michelle and Beau and having lunch with them. On our walk back to the car we stopped at a Crumpets store for Michelle as a friend had told here that they were really good. She bought some to go, they looked delicious.
Next stop the train station. We went in search of it and after going in what felt like circles we found it. We unloaded the car andTom went to the ticket counter only to find out that they had canceled our train on May 31st. No one called us. They said that they had called and talked to someone on June 10th at 8:20 PM. We left our house in Anchorage on June 10th at 7:30 AM to catch our flight to Seattle. Someone screwed up big time, as no one was home in Anchorage.
They cannot get us out on the Empire Builder across the northern states due to flooding and mud slides. I asked about the California Zephyr which goes through Denver and it was closed also due to the flooding moving south. THey said there was a 50-50 chance the northern route would open up in two days, but that would screw up our visit to Rochester. They can put us on a train south to LA to get on the Southwest Chief to Chicago but that only gives us one day or two in Rochester and no sleeper car across to Chicago. After two hours of phone calls and checking things, if we fly to LA tonight we can get out tomorrow on the Southwest Chief, in coach, no sleepers are available. We will only be one day behind schedule when we get to Rochester. The station agent was named Lauren. and he was very patient. I did end up crying at one point out of pure frustration. Michelle and Beau were very patient through out it all. We are ever so grateful that they stayed and waited with us while we were doing all this because otherwise we would never have made it to the airport on time. Amtrak refunded, via mail, the $674 for the loss of our sleeper car. We may or may not have access to plug-ins for our electronics on the train. It is a 43 hour trip cross the country to CHicago, in coach. Tom says to look at it as an adventure, I told him it is like camping under the stars to me. I am not really looking forward to this, but Tom says to look at is like an adventure.
It was funny watching Tom on his phone trying to make flight reservations to LA while talking to the station agent to confirm the flight to LA so we could make the flight. He had to pick a different flight and got the last two seats in first class. It took over two hours to get things straightened out. Some people in line were very patient, but others like this one woman who was down right rude. There was one young girl there who was rerouting her return trip because she knew that the floods would not be gone when she was heading home in a week, as they have no idea when they the routes will reopen. They said it was a 50-50 chance that they would open the empire builder on Thursday, June 16th.
I am not looking forward to riding in coach for three days, when I had planned for a sleeper car. Tom says to view it as an adventure. It will be an adventure for sure, with no bed to sleep in for 43+ hours.
Michelle and Beau drove us to the airport with a stop at Target for another suitcase as we had bought three mini bottles of wine to have on the train. Each one is about two glasses. You can bring your own alcoholic beverages if you are in a sleeper. Michelle and Beau were great and we owe them big time for all their help.
At the airport we did an insanely quick suitcase shift and repack. The airport police gave us some strange looks as we had things strewn all around us on the floor as we moved things around trying to make sure that nothing illegal was in the hand carry, but that we had all the meds in the hand carry. We had to make sure all the liquids were in the checked baggage. It was wild. We checked three bags, and headed to the gate to catch our flight to LAX, with a stop for a chai and a coffee.
The flight to LAX was smooth. They served us a snack of Mac and Cheese. When we arrived in LA we collected our baggage and walked to the USO. It is called the Bob Hope Memorial USO and is the flagship. The USO is for military personnel and their families and we have access to it because Tom is retired Navy.
When we got to the USO we had to shift things around in the suitcases again so we had everything we needed in the hand carry on the train. When we were done we crashed on a couple of couches for a few hours. It was fit full sleep as the one girl who was there snored like a lumberjack and the T.V. was on all night, which was annoying, but it was free.
It was wonderful to take a shower in the morning. I could have spent an hour in there. We had something to eat and hung out for a while. Tom walked over to the terminal and brought me back a chai, which was wonderful. I spent the time downloading pictures to my iPad, as the internet was down.
I met a nice lady from Indiana who was in her 60s. He husband is a retired colonel. She taught in Iceland, at a DOD school and then taught in inner city Cleveland schools. She said she is just an Ohio farm girl. Her son just left for 3 years in Okinawa with his wife, 2 year old, and 9 month old. She was sad as she said she is not sure if she is up to traveling to Okinawa, so will miss her son and his family. I understand as I remember living overseas and not being able to see my grandparents for like six years.
We caught the Fly Away bus at the terminal to Union Station so we could get on the train. It took us a long time to get from the airport to the station. I took pictures of the song,trees, graffiti, highway signs, traffic and us on the bus. I could never live in LA, there are too many people and it is way to crowded. They highway was wall to wall cars. (shaking my head) It is not for me.
We met two nice young men on the bus who were trying to catch a train that was scheduled to depart about five minutes after we were due to arrive at Union Station. They missed the train and had to catch the next one two hours later. They were lucky because usually if you miss a train you have to wait a whole day to catch the next one. They had been trying to fly space available to Guam to visit family, but had no luck for two days and were told it could be several weeks before they got there, and if they got there they could get stuck in Hawaii on the way back as all the flights were booked full for the next few months. They decided they would try another time when it might not be so busy.
We hiked from the bus to the station entrance and Tom took two trips to get the luggage downy the escalator. Then we hiked past all the tracks to get to the station, as the bus drops you off in the back. We were looking for where to check in and check our baggage. Tom lost sight of me when I turned a corner and got in line and he went straight. The next thing I hear is him calling my name, loudly. An Amtrak station attendant was helping him and said he was panicked. Rolland, the am track station attendant was very helpful and nice. He helped us over to the baggage check in and then left Tom there with the checked bags and helped me with the hand carry. He helped me find a seat and told me when and where Tom should get in line to get our seat assignments. Tom was very stressed. Rolland also told me to talk to the conductor about the possibility of getting a sleeper car. He said sometimes there are no shows and if we could upgrade en-route it would be cheaper also. He also told Tom to take good care of me.
I took pictures in the station including ones of a bird that was flying around inside. Tom went for a walk around the station and found us some food and a chai for me. He took some pictures outside the station also.
It was kind of peaceful in the station. You could hear the birds chirping that were in the station. I think they have nests up in the tall ceiling and chandeliers. I talked to a station attendant named Eric, who wanted to know about my henna tattoo. He was also very nice.
The train was delayed so we boarded and departed late. We met a lot of interesting people on the train. We were in car 13, seats 13 and 14. I did talk to the conductor about the chance of getting a sleeper, but no go. The one good thing was that we did have a plug at our seat so we could plug in our electronics and keep them charged.
We left LA, and Tom was looking at houses on his iPhone in Fullerton, CA when we stopped there. I took pictures out the window of the train a long the way.