Wednesday
After a sleepless night, I did not feel like doing
much today especially as it was another cool and cloudy day! Mayo came in to
say farewell before she went to work.
I stripped the bed before I did my final sort out
of my case and backpack then I had a late breakfast.
I had to use PayPal so I had to
authenticate myself yesterday but they were much speedier than I thought and I
was able to add my new card plus authenticate that this morning and then place
the order. It took ages as the website needed a billing address and my info
kept appearing in the shipping address even though I unticked that! Finally, I
managed to place the order and get a 10% discount, phew! I hope it turns out OK.
After a shower and a cup of tea it was time to pack
my cold items in the cooler bag, pack the car and we were off. We collected
Phoenix from school and then made our way to the station, we were nice and
early!
The train was on time so it was time to say
farewell, always a moment tinged with sadness! Mayo and Scott have given me a
great time, I do love their Beach House! I would like to thank them very much
and I do so appreciate people who open their homes to me.
As I boarded the train I was welcomed Back by the
guy who looked after me last week from Washington! I sorted my gear out, spent
time on my IPad while I had signal and then read!
I had steak for dinner, it was lovely and tender!
The couple opposite me were from Annapolis and were heading to Cleveland to see
LeBron James play! There was a guy who had walked to dinner behind me and he
left before us. The lady thought we were together, he was quite a bit younger,
lol, so we had a few laughs about that. She asked me if I was from England so I
told her yes but now living in NZ. I went on to share some of my train
adventures as this was their first trip. She would love to do the coastal trip
from San Francisco to Seattle. It was a very enjoyable conversation.
I went back to my room and asked for my bed to be
made up, I intended to read a wee bit and then try and sleep early. I had
nearly two hours sleep and was woken by a door slamming and a woman going on
and on about wanting to go to the toilet! It was nearly midnight and we had
stopped at Pittsburgh. I am not sure if some people understand midnight and
sleeping car! We were still on time, lol!
Thursday
I had about six hours of broken sleep, so not too
bad! I was up and at breakfast just after 7 am as the car closed at 8 am. It
was a boring breakfast, sitting opposite two fellows, looked Indian possibly
father and son, who spoke in their native tongue the whole way, then joined by
another female who spoke little English and had her ear plugs in! They
obviously do not understand the concept of a "Social" breakfast, lol,
not a word was exchanged between us. It is hard to make conversation with folks
like that!
To top it all off, they did not have French Toast,
this is not the first time this has happened and it sure puzzles me, lol! So it
was pancakes, at least they were light and fluffy. Then they did not have sugar
free syrup, that is poor service!
We were on time up until breakfast but then we got
caught up in freight traffic and were given an ETA of 9.30 am instead of 8.45
am! It was interesting to note the amount of surface water throughout most of
Indiana and we also passed through many areas of fog.
We eventually arrived at 9.30 am and I headed to
the Legacy Club. As long as you have travelled or are going to travel you can
pay $20 to use the facility. There are snacks, free wifi etc. you can also put
any luggage up front. I had over four hours to kill so it was well worth it. I
had ordered a shuttle to the airport so I could get to my hotel, because Amtrak
can be very late, I had ordered it for 1.55 pm, this also fits in better with
the hotel check in time!
If you are travelling the Red Caps will come and
pick you up from there, boarding also starts from there. The Metropolitan
Lounge, which you can use for free if travelling in a sleeper, has been moved
and is now by the Great Hall about next door. The updates continue for Union
Station and it is certainly looking better for the work done so far!
I then went for a wander to see where I would go to
get out to the main entry on Canal Street, then I grabbed a Coffee from the
Starbucks inside the station. Back in the lounge, there was a young guy,
obviously tired and catching a few winks, only trouble was he snored loudly,
lol!
Finally, it was time to go outside and wait for the shuttle. As I walked to the door the Amtrak guy in the lounge suddenly said "Where are you going?", I reminded him I was catching a shuttle, he then remembered, it was so funny! As I was waiting I chatted to a young lass who had just graduated and was waiting for her father to have a weekend at home. She was into Track and Field and we talked about sport quite a bit, lovely girl!
I was picked up at 1.55 pm and we had more people to collect, at the last place we had to wait for three passengers who booked late. We left there at 2.25 pm and did not get to the airport until 3.55 pm. This is a lot longer than usual and reflected the traffic on the road, it was nose to tail even in the Express lanes, lol! Our driver said it was probably due to Memorial weekend and he took the shuttle onto some local roads, I am sure we would have taken even longer if he had not done that.
I finally reached the hotel and needed to sort some gear out, I also threw some odds and ends away. I need to make sure my checked bag is not too heavy, lol!! I hope to get to bed fairly early and get a good night's sleep before I start the long trip home!
I am a little apprehensive about going home, as I do not know what to expect. I have seen our new digs once briefly and have no idea where all my stuff will be! I just hope dear Seb has settled in OK, i am looking forward to seeing him very much. Usually when I get home I chill for a few days, I am not sure that will not be possible this time as I think I will be busy, lol!
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