Thursday, November 27, 2008
Kerala
I had so much fun in India on July that I am planning on going back every year. We plan to visit a new state when we go every year. We're going to India in June 2009 and will see Kerala. The plan is to stay at the Taj Kovalam (and use the Jiva spa, of course) and then stay on a houseboat in the backwaters of the Arabian Sea. Can't wait.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
No rest for you, Passepartout! We're off again!!! Across America to the Space Needle!
| 29 Capitol Limited | Washington, DC Union Station (WAS) 4:05 pm 07-DEC-08 | Chicago, IL Union Station (CHI) 8:40 am 08-DEC-08 | 1 Lower Level Coach Seat |
| 7 Empire Builder | Chicago, IL Union Station (CHI) 2:15 pm 08-DEC-08 | Seattle, WA (SEA) 10:20 am 10-DEC-08 | 1 Superliner Roomette Room: 003 Car: 731 |
From Sea to Shining Sea: Day 4: Aboard the California Zephyr: (10/29/2008): Nevada to San Francisco
I was up early, as I usually am, and spent the time reading in the observation car. It was too dark to see anything outside the train so I relaxed and made small talk with a San Franciscan aging hippie type English teacher we decided to name Willow Rain. We met her the previous day in the sightseer lounge where she was correcting papers on Pride and Prejudice. She was returning from her father's funeral back east and was taking a slow train to San Francisco. She told us where the good Chinese restaurants were and we talked for a bit.
We were still in Nevada and as the sun came up, we were seated for breakfast with an elderly man originally from Germany who was going home to Lake Tahoe. Becky decided to call him Fritz, after the boy in Sound of Music (go figure.) Our conversation with Fritz was awesome. We talked about politics and the anti-intellectualism that is so rampant these days. He talked about his days when he was a law student at Georgetown and his subsequent law career in Chicago.
We then bummed around the sightseer lounge for some more Nevada desert scenery and just before lunch we crossed the border into California and into the Sierra Nevadas.
Nevada Scenery
We were still in Nevada and as the sun came up, we were seated for breakfast with an elderly man originally from Germany who was going home to Lake Tahoe. Becky decided to call him Fritz, after the boy in Sound of Music (go figure.) Our conversation with Fritz was awesome. We talked about politics and the anti-intellectualism that is so rampant these days. He talked about his days when he was a law student at Georgetown and his subsequent law career in Chicago.
We then bummed around the sightseer lounge for some more Nevada desert scenery and just before lunch we crossed the border into California and into the Sierra Nevadas.
Nevada Scenery
The Donner Lake area was GORGEOUS!! We saw drops of 2000 feet and pine forests for miles.
Donner Lake hidden behind the pine forests in the Sierra Nevadas
We had lunch with a mother and son going home to Oakland after living in Missouri for 5 years.
A guy going home to Martinez, CA, who we called Martinez (duh) told us what to look out for as the train went slowly through eastern California. He had done this trip many times before and was returning home after hunting deer in the Rockies with some friends.
Curators from the train museum in Sacramento were on the train explaining the scenery on the PA system. They talked about the California Gold Rush and the small towns that sprang up around the Sierra Nevadas.
We spent the afternoon talking to a Canadian guy we met in Colorado. He is a truck driver based in Vancouver who hauled a load to Granby, CO with another driver based in Granby. When he got there, the other driver fired him on the spot, gave him $500 and told him to take a train home. He was supposed to haul a load back up to Vancouver but got fired and was now on the train with us going to Sacramento to change to the Coast Starlight to Seattle and then the Cascades to Vancouver.
As we approached Sacramento, the terrain became relatively flat and then the train went through the fields and fields and just before Martinez we saw the Bay. After stopping in Martinez for a bit the train went around the Bay and, since the tracks were right next to the water, it felt like we were on a cruise.
By now the train was almost empty and all the passengers were in their rooms packing up. Dining Car Donna was sitting in a corner all smiles, relieved that the trip was over. She told me that they had one night in Emeryville and then they had to turn around and go back to Chicago!! No wonder they were not always in a good mood.
We pulled into Emeryville, CA on time at the end of the line. We had just been on a train from sea to shining sea and now had to take an Amtrak bus across the bay into Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
Becky gets down from the train after 3 days!!
The California Zephyr in Emeryville, CA--The End of the Line.
Donner Lake hidden behind the pine forests in the Sierra Nevadas
A guy going home to Martinez, CA, who we called Martinez (duh) told us what to look out for as the train went slowly through eastern California. He had done this trip many times before and was returning home after hunting deer in the Rockies with some friends.
Curators from the train museum in Sacramento were on the train explaining the scenery on the PA system. They talked about the California Gold Rush and the small towns that sprang up around the Sierra Nevadas.
We spent the afternoon talking to a Canadian guy we met in Colorado. He is a truck driver based in Vancouver who hauled a load to Granby, CO with another driver based in Granby. When he got there, the other driver fired him on the spot, gave him $500 and told him to take a train home. He was supposed to haul a load back up to Vancouver but got fired and was now on the train with us going to Sacramento to change to the Coast Starlight to Seattle and then the Cascades to Vancouver.
As we approached Sacramento, the terrain became relatively flat and then the train went through the fields and fields and just before Martinez we saw the Bay. After stopping in Martinez for a bit the train went around the Bay and, since the tracks were right next to the water, it felt like we were on a cruise.
By now the train was almost empty and all the passengers were in their rooms packing up. Dining Car Donna was sitting in a corner all smiles, relieved that the trip was over. She told me that they had one night in Emeryville and then they had to turn around and go back to Chicago!! No wonder they were not always in a good mood.
We pulled into Emeryville, CA on time at the end of the line. We had just been on a train from sea to shining sea and now had to take an Amtrak bus across the bay into Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
Becky gets down from the train after 3 days!!
The California Zephyr in Emeryville, CA--The End of the Line.
Et, NOTRE VOYAGE FINIS!!! We had just come 3219 miles by train from Washington, D.C. to Emeryville, CA.
Benny and Bjorn, ACLU guy, Willow Rain and us piled into the Amtrak bus and as we rode across the bay we saw the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate Bridge! Wowwww. :-)
Having travled to 5 continents and 15 countries this was one of the best trips I've ever taken. I think what made it great were the people we met on the train. So many different people and characters with such interesting life stories.
After we got off the bus at Fisherman's Wharf, we said bye to Benny and Bjorn and ACLU guy and hopped in a cab to the B&B, Noe's Nest.
As we walked in we were confronted with Victorian Halloween decorations straight out of the Adams' Family! We check into the View Room, which had a huge picture window overlooking Noe Valley and the Mission.
Up the next morning, I looked out onto San Francisco.
View from the View Room at Noe's Nest
Benny and Bjorn, ACLU guy, Willow Rain and us piled into the Amtrak bus and as we rode across the bay we saw the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate Bridge! Wowwww. :-)
Having travled to 5 continents and 15 countries this was one of the best trips I've ever taken. I think what made it great were the people we met on the train. So many different people and characters with such interesting life stories.
After we got off the bus at Fisherman's Wharf, we said bye to Benny and Bjorn and ACLU guy and hopped in a cab to the B&B, Noe's Nest.
As we walked in we were confronted with Victorian Halloween decorations straight out of the Adams' Family! We check into the View Room, which had a huge picture window overlooking Noe Valley and the Mission.
Up the next morning, I looked out onto San Francisco.
View from the View Room at Noe's Nest
Monday, November 10, 2008
From Sea to Shining Sea: Day 3: Aboard the California Zephyr (10/28/2008): Nebraska to Utah
I woke up at 4 a.m. MDT somewhere in Nebraska. I spent the next few hours reading Babycakes, the 4th in the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. Maupin writes about San Francisco in the 70s and 80s as seen by his colorful characters who live at 28 Barbary Lane, a fictional place set in Russian Hill in San Francisco. I love the characters and their stories, especially Mrs. Madrigal, the transgendered eccentric landlady. I read the books along the journey to get me in the mood for San Francisco.
We pulled into Denver at 7 a.m. MDT and stayed there until 8. Becky woke up and we went to Dining Car Donna to get seated for breakfast. We were seated with our next set of dining buddies, an elderly couple going to Grand Junction, CO, a couple we affectionately called the Butterworths. Mr. Butterworth was a train buff and Mrs. Butterworth couldn't stop talking about their travels (15 times to England.) Mr. Butterworth would lovingly reproach Mrs. Butterworth by saying "stop talking dear and finish your breakfast." Awwwww. We were served by the grumpiest waiter I have seen in my life. Becky and I decided to call him Lurch because he was in a perpetual bad mood and got irritated when Becky tried to change her order. Lurch gave Mr. Butterworth my omelette and gave me his. We laughed it off and Lurch just sulked in the corner.
After breakfast and Denver came the most beautiful part of the journey.
The train left Denver station and started climbing the Rockies. It first went through a series of sharp turns to climb the front range and when we came out through our first tunnel we saw the red rocks of the Rockies and the pine forests with 1000 foot drops. Gorgeous!!!! The rest of the day was spent ooohing and aaahing at the amazing scenery while the train trundled through Aspen, and western Colorado into Utah. The train went through Blue canyon and other gorgeous canyons. We saw wild bald eagles sitting on a branch along the Colorado River and a lone cowboy herding cattle. Lunch was a warm sandwich and we were seated with ACLU guy and a lady from Fresno who we called Raisin Crisp (because Fresno is known for its raisins.) We made small talk about the upcoming elections and Raisin Crisp told us she voted for Prop 2, to give animals bigger cages and to stop animal cruelty. ACLU guy told us about his run in with the DEA. We spent the rest of the day in the lounge car watching the absolutely gorgeous canyons, rivers, and small towns along the way as we crossed into the relatively flat terrain of Utah as darkness fell.
Leaving Denver and climbing into the front range of the Rockies
Canyons in Colorado along the way
Colorado scenery
Utah sunset
We had steak for dinner and went to bed early.
Of course, Dining Car Donna came on the PA system and screamed"HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, FOLKS. REMEMBER, TOMORROW WE WILL BE ON PACIFIC TIME, TOMORROW WE WILL BE ON PACIFIC TIME."
We pulled into Denver at 7 a.m. MDT and stayed there until 8. Becky woke up and we went to Dining Car Donna to get seated for breakfast. We were seated with our next set of dining buddies, an elderly couple going to Grand Junction, CO, a couple we affectionately called the Butterworths. Mr. Butterworth was a train buff and Mrs. Butterworth couldn't stop talking about their travels (15 times to England.) Mr. Butterworth would lovingly reproach Mrs. Butterworth by saying "stop talking dear and finish your breakfast." Awwwww. We were served by the grumpiest waiter I have seen in my life. Becky and I decided to call him Lurch because he was in a perpetual bad mood and got irritated when Becky tried to change her order. Lurch gave Mr. Butterworth my omelette and gave me his. We laughed it off and Lurch just sulked in the corner.
After breakfast and Denver came the most beautiful part of the journey.
The train left Denver station and started climbing the Rockies. It first went through a series of sharp turns to climb the front range and when we came out through our first tunnel we saw the red rocks of the Rockies and the pine forests with 1000 foot drops. Gorgeous!!!! The rest of the day was spent ooohing and aaahing at the amazing scenery while the train trundled through Aspen, and western Colorado into Utah. The train went through Blue canyon and other gorgeous canyons. We saw wild bald eagles sitting on a branch along the Colorado River and a lone cowboy herding cattle. Lunch was a warm sandwich and we were seated with ACLU guy and a lady from Fresno who we called Raisin Crisp (because Fresno is known for its raisins.) We made small talk about the upcoming elections and Raisin Crisp told us she voted for Prop 2, to give animals bigger cages and to stop animal cruelty. ACLU guy told us about his run in with the DEA. We spent the rest of the day in the lounge car watching the absolutely gorgeous canyons, rivers, and small towns along the way as we crossed into the relatively flat terrain of Utah as darkness fell.
Leaving Denver and climbing into the front range of the Rockies
Canyons in Colorado along the way
Colorado scenery
Utah sunset
Of course, Dining Car Donna came on the PA system and screamed"HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, FOLKS. REMEMBER, TOMORROW WE WILL BE ON PACIFIC TIME, TOMORROW WE WILL BE ON PACIFIC TIME."
Sunday, November 09, 2008
From Sea to Shining Sea: Day 2: Aboard the California Zephyr (10/27/2008): Chicago to Nebraska
We got on car 512 on the California Zephyr and settled into room 11. The roomette we had was a little cramped for sitting but the seats converted into comfortable beds at night. We met our car attendant Lonny who was great to us for the next two days all the way to California. He made our beds at night and left mints on the pillows and made sure we were comfortable for the journey. The train pulled out of Chicago Union Station at 2:15 p.m. and we were off to California.
Outside the sleeping car in Emeryville, CA after 3 days on a train!!
The California Zephyr is one of Amtrak's most scenic trains. I took the Adirondack from NYC to Montreal in 2003, which went along the scenic route up the Hudson River, along Lake Champlain and into Canada.
This train was gorgeous. The observation car was the best, of course. As the Zephyr trundled on through Illinois and Iowa, we saw a spectacular sunset over the cornfields of Iowa. It was cornfields for miles and miles dotted by harvesting trucks and the odd yellow meadow with black and white Holstein cows.
Nap before dinner
After sunset we went to dinner and were introduced to the second of our dramatis personae: Dining Car Donna. Donna was "THE VOICE!!!" of the dining car. She would make announcements
about reservations and admonish the whole train for coming to the dining car too early. Here were some of her jewels:
"ATTENTION, THIS IS DONNA IN THE DINING CAR. PLEASE DON'T COME TO THE DINING CAR UNTIL YOUR RESERVATION TIME IS CALLED!!! WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEAT YOU!!!!!!"
"ATTENTION, WE ARE NOW SEATING FOR LUNCH, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED ONLY!!! DISCOVERY GROUP, DISCOVERY GROUP YOU ARE FIRST!!!"
We felt like scolded children throughout our trip. :-)
When Dining Car Donna finally summoned us we were seated with two Germans, father and son, traveling from Chicago to California. Becky decided that the son had a 70s haircut like Benny from ABBA and the father looked like Stig Andersson, the producer of ABBA. So, for the rest of the trip, they were called Benny and Stig. Whenever she saw Benny, Becky simply insisted on singing "Bennaayyyyyy, Bennaaaayyyy, Bennnnayyy and the Jetttssssssssssssssssssssssssss." LOL. They were really nice and we talked about American politics and the joys of rail travel in Europe and the U.S.
Lonny had made our beds and we slept like babies, lulled by the gentle rocking of the Zephyr. Just as I was about to fall asleep, a bit tipsy from the bottle of Merlot I had at dinner, Dining Car Donna screamed "HAVE A GOOD EVENING!! PLEASE REMEMBER, WHEN YOU WAKE UP YOU WILL BE ON MOUNTAIN TIME! ONCE AGAIN, WHEN YOU WAKE UP, YOU WILL BE ON MOUNTAIN TIME!!!" like it was our fault we were going to be on Mountain Daylight Time. :-)
Outside the sleeping car in Emeryville, CA after 3 days on a train!!
The California Zephyr is one of Amtrak's most scenic trains. I took the Adirondack from NYC to Montreal in 2003, which went along the scenic route up the Hudson River, along Lake Champlain and into Canada.
This train was gorgeous. The observation car was the best, of course. As the Zephyr trundled on through Illinois and Iowa, we saw a spectacular sunset over the cornfields of Iowa. It was cornfields for miles and miles dotted by harvesting trucks and the odd yellow meadow with black and white Holstein cows.
Nap before dinnerabout reservations and admonish the whole train for coming to the dining car too early. Here were some of her jewels:
"ATTENTION, THIS IS DONNA IN THE DINING CAR. PLEASE DON'T COME TO THE DINING CAR UNTIL YOUR RESERVATION TIME IS CALLED!!! WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEAT YOU!!!!!!"
"ATTENTION, WE ARE NOW SEATING FOR LUNCH, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED ONLY!!! DISCOVERY GROUP, DISCOVERY GROUP YOU ARE FIRST!!!"
We felt like scolded children throughout our trip. :-)
When Dining Car Donna finally summoned us we were seated with two Germans, father and son, traveling from Chicago to California. Becky decided that the son had a 70s haircut like Benny from ABBA and the father looked like Stig Andersson, the producer of ABBA. So, for the rest of the trip, they were called Benny and Stig. Whenever she saw Benny, Becky simply insisted on singing "Bennaayyyyyy, Bennaaaayyyy, Bennnnayyy and the Jetttssssssssssssssssssssssssss." LOL. They were really nice and we talked about American politics and the joys of rail travel in Europe and the U.S.
Lonny had made our beds and we slept like babies, lulled by the gentle rocking of the Zephyr. Just as I was about to fall asleep, a bit tipsy from the bottle of Merlot I had at dinner, Dining Car Donna screamed "HAVE A GOOD EVENING!! PLEASE REMEMBER, WHEN YOU WAKE UP YOU WILL BE ON MOUNTAIN TIME! ONCE AGAIN, WHEN YOU WAKE UP, YOU WILL BE ON MOUNTAIN TIME!!!" like it was our fault we were going to be on Mountain Daylight Time. :-)
Monday, November 03, 2008
From Sea to Shining Sea: The Capitol Limited: Day 1 (10/26/2008)
1300 EDT. I finished my problem set for the week and spent so much time on it that when I closed my eyes, I only saw Excel rows and columns. I packed real quick-just some sweaters, jeans, toiletries and, to get me in the mood for Frisco, 4 of Maupin's Tales of the City series books (I've already read Tales, More Tales, and Further Tales.) I sent Becky a text to meet me at Union Station and off I went, with a duffel bag and a laptop bag with nothing but 3219 miles of track in front of me!
1545 EDT Becky and I got the second coach car and two lower level coach seats, which were as big and comfortable as business class airline seats. Since it was just one night, I figured we could rough it and get the sleeping accommodations for the Chicago-Emeryville leg.
1605 EDT: The Capitol Limited pulled out of Union Station, Washington D.C. Notre voyage commence!!!!
We got to talking to Dr. O, a pediatrician from Chicago interviewing for a job at Childrens' Hospital. She wanted to know about the different neighborhoods and we recommended Silver Spring.
2000 EDT: Dinner was trout with veggies and Becky had the pork. We were seated with a retiree from Philly and a freshman from Notre Dame going back to school in South Bend.
I dozed off in the comfy seat at about 10 and woke up at 0240 EDT when we stopped in Cleveland. Going back to sleep I woke up somewhere outside Chicago and stayed up till we pulled into Union Station, Chicago. Pulling into the station reminded me of that very forgettable 80s movie Silver Streak about a thriller that takes place on a long-distance train or something like that.
Dr. O suggested that we do breakfast at some place called Wishbone. Since we had sleeping accommodations on the California Zephyr, we could check into the first class lounge and store our bags while we went exploring around the city. We arrived in Chicago at around 0800 CDT and the California Zephyr was not due to leave until 1400 CDT so we had some time to kill.
The Big Bean in Chicago
As she got off the Capitol Limited, cousin Becky says "oooh where is Obama's headquarters? OOO where does Oprah live?" Dr. O was kind enough to drive us past Oprah's studios, which were on the way to Wishbone. The creamy cheddar grits and shrimp was just what the doctor ordered (sorry!!!) and hit the spot on a cold Chicago morning. All we saw all over Chicago were Obama posters! Yay!
After breakfast, Dr. O went home and we went about exploring Lake Michigan, the Magnificent Mile, some museum on elections, and a candy shop, where we bought some candy. After some Patel pictures at the shiny silver bean, we hopped a cab back to the station and relaxed in the lounge until we were ready to leave.
"TRAIN 5!!!! ALL PASSENGERS FOR TRAIN 5 PLEASE COME SEE ME!!" screamed the ticket lady. The California Zephyr was train 5 so we collected our bags, showed her our tickets, and followed her trainside to the California Zephyr.
We met many interesting people throughout our journey and didn't really know their names or didn't remember them. So we gave them all names, some less flattering than the others. The names were not meant to be mean-spirited in any way, but we had to identify them, so we did.
First on our list was ACLU guy. As we boarded our train and got into car 532, room 11, a DEA agent got on our car and conducted random bag searches. ACLU guy got upset and suggested it was profiling. When the DEA agent asked him if he was a lawyer he said "I don't have to answer that." So we assumed he worked for the ACLU and he was known as ACLU guy for the remainder of the trip all the way to Emeryville, which was also his final destination.
1545 EDT Becky and I got the second coach car and two lower level coach seats, which were as big and comfortable as business class airline seats. Since it was just one night, I figured we could rough it and get the sleeping accommodations for the Chicago-Emeryville leg.
1605 EDT: The Capitol Limited pulled out of Union Station, Washington D.C. Notre voyage commence!!!!
We got to talking to Dr. O, a pediatrician from Chicago interviewing for a job at Childrens' Hospital. She wanted to know about the different neighborhoods and we recommended Silver Spring.
2000 EDT: Dinner was trout with veggies and Becky had the pork. We were seated with a retiree from Philly and a freshman from Notre Dame going back to school in South Bend.
I dozed off in the comfy seat at about 10 and woke up at 0240 EDT when we stopped in Cleveland. Going back to sleep I woke up somewhere outside Chicago and stayed up till we pulled into Union Station, Chicago. Pulling into the station reminded me of that very forgettable 80s movie Silver Streak about a thriller that takes place on a long-distance train or something like that.
Dr. O suggested that we do breakfast at some place called Wishbone. Since we had sleeping accommodations on the California Zephyr, we could check into the first class lounge and store our bags while we went exploring around the city. We arrived in Chicago at around 0800 CDT and the California Zephyr was not due to leave until 1400 CDT so we had some time to kill.
The Big Bean in Chicago
After breakfast, Dr. O went home and we went about exploring Lake Michigan, the Magnificent Mile, some museum on elections, and a candy shop, where we bought some candy. After some Patel pictures at the shiny silver bean, we hopped a cab back to the station and relaxed in the lounge until we were ready to leave.
"TRAIN 5!!!! ALL PASSENGERS FOR TRAIN 5 PLEASE COME SEE ME!!" screamed the ticket lady. The California Zephyr was train 5 so we collected our bags, showed her our tickets, and followed her trainside to the California Zephyr.
We met many interesting people throughout our journey and didn't really know their names or didn't remember them. So we gave them all names, some less flattering than the others. The names were not meant to be mean-spirited in any way, but we had to identify them, so we did.
First on our list was ACLU guy. As we boarded our train and got into car 532, room 11, a DEA agent got on our car and conducted random bag searches. ACLU guy got upset and suggested it was profiling. When the DEA agent asked him if he was a lawyer he said "I don't have to answer that." So we assumed he worked for the ACLU and he was known as ACLU guy for the remainder of the trip all the way to Emeryville, which was also his final destination.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)