Ready to leave and as usual feeling excited. Travel never gets old. Suitcases and laptop packed and put in car last evening. Early afternoon I make the half hour drive to Springfield, MA to catch the Lakeshore Ltd. Since dinner is not available until after Albany, I make a quick stop on the way to pick up a grinder (sub sandwich) for tonights meal. Parking is quick and easy at Ken's long term parking lot located one short block away from the Amtrak station. The train from Boston is only five minutes late and we board with no problem. The ride through the Berkshires is,as always, quite nice. The scenery is lovely with a small river that runs along the side of the tracks much of the way quite full and running fast due to the heavy Spring rains. We arrive in Albany about a half hour late due to stopping for a freight train and also slow down due to track repair. We still have to wait for the connecting train from New York. Once it arrives everyone makes the dash down the escalators or elevators to track level and then comes the one part of this route I hate. I always do coach for this first overnite to Chicago and the train is already quite full. Finding a seat is a pain and usually an "inconvenience" to someone who thought they were going to have a double seat for the nite. Assigned seating would solve this and be quite welcome. (Especially by those traveling with young children and need adjacent seating.) Settled down for my usual overnite cat naps. Coach was fairly quiet except for one young man with a cell phone who apparantly wished to share his conversation with everyone around him long into the nite. Breakfast was my first encounter with the new food menu. I decided to stick with my all time favorite -- Railroad French Toast.(All served on the new disposable plastic dishes.) Happy to report the French Toast tastes as good as ever. We arrived into Chicago about 20 minutes late and the car attendent was kind enough to see to it that a red cap helped me with my luggage and gave me a ride to the Metropolitan Lounge.
Day 2 --
After checking into the Metropolitan Lounge, I relaxed with a cup of coffee and enjoyed conversation with several others sharing "trip reports" present and past. The recent renovations to the lounge have made it much more comfortable. The lounge is sort of sectioned off into different areas and that and the increased size make it seem less crowded and quieter. For lunch I made my way to the upstairs food court, stopping on the way at the newstand to pick up a couple of magazines. My choice for lunch was Robinsons ---- where I had a Barbeque beef sandwich with fries. Several here have mentioned this place and I heartily agree ---- they have the best ribs and barbeque meat sandwiches --- all reasonably priced. I recommend it !!! We boarded the Southwest Chief on time and I settled into my roomette quite quickly. I chose an early dinner reservation in order to turn in early and catch up on last nites missed sleep. Dinner was the new menu --- I had roasted half chicken which is still quite good. The brocolli,however, was barely cooked and lukewarm. Side salad a disapointment. (Lettuce not fresh and sparsely topped with one lone chunk of tomato and a few croutons.) Car attendent Mike (who managed to capably perform his job duties while battling the mother of all colds for the entire trip) made up my bed and I turned in early. Woke early to the smell of fresh coffee -- an advantage to being in Room 2 -- the coffee is right next door. Dressed and went to the dining car where I chose the Bob Evans breakfst scramble which is served with a slice of French toast and a fruit cup. Quite filling and no change from before. Since this is my umpteenth trip on the SWC, I am no longer spell bound by the scenery. I curled up with a book (Making Tracks - An American Rail Odyssey by Terry Pindell) and alternated between reading and watching the countryside sliding by my window. For lunch (by reservation) I had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Managed a quick nap before we arrived in Albuquerque. During the stopover at Albuquerque I took a walk along the trainside to check out the vendors. It is a shame that there are only a couple these days due to the construction. And I sure miss Cheryl's Bus. I hope that if and when the construction is done with that the vendors return. I have purchased some lovely jewelry and other items there. Dinner --- I went with the fish entree --- passable but did not care for the seasoning (my taste -- another at my table proclaimed it good.) Indulged in Cheesecake with Strawberry topping for dessert. Sinful and I choose to believe they magically take the calories out before they serve it. After dinner I relaxed in my room and prepared for my late evening arrival at Williams Junction where this part of my trip will end. We arrived in Williams Junction on time and were met by the Amtrak shuttle van which takes you into Williams, AZ (about a ten or fifteen minute ride) where I was met by my brother and sister-in-law with whom I will spend the next few days.
Dee Will post part 2 - WMJ to Seattle on the Coast Starlight tomorrow.
Posts: 460 | From: North Central CT | Registered: May 2004
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