The California Zephyr

(Sorry! This is a catch-up entry…)

On Tuesday, April 26, I hugged the Ken Thomases good-bye, rode the train from Joliet to Chicago and boarded the California Zephyr to California. We had lunch in Joliet while waiting for the train and I was struck by the gritty, deserted feeling of this county seat. Granted, the day was drizzly, but unlike thriving cities, there was no undercurrent of life, just a few people and the occasional bar/lounge. We had to drive for several blocks before finding a hole-in-the-wall pizza place for lunch. It must be busy at other times because the food was pretty good and the options were slim, but not today. The county jail and a beautiful old theatre that offers plays and music concerts appear to be the highlights of Joliet.

Our roomette (Dalen joined me in Green River, UT) on the California Zephyr was on the lower level, which offers a more limited view, but otherwise the experience on this train was similar to the Capitol Limited from DC to Chicago. Plus we discovered the viewing lounge on the top level of the café car that provides a more comfortable place to enjoy the trip, whether viewing or reading or chatting with other travelers. As to other travelers, we’ve met an interesting array over a shared meal in the dining car: a couple from New York who are on the first leg of their around the world trip to include Vietnam, Cairo and South Africa; a man from St. Louis on a solo journey to the northern California area; a man from Chicago on his way to pick up a 30 year old sports car he purchased on eBay; and a young IT tech from London who’s enjoying the extra holiday time given to all Brits for the Royal Wedding.  We also heard of some drama unfolding late Wednesday night when a battered woman rushed into the lounge car and the other passengers stood between her and her abusive husband. Apparently, eight Salt Lake City policemen subsequently removed her husband from the train.

Between Chicago and Denver, the limited view from our roomette didn’t really matter. The plains of Iowa and Nebraska look pretty much the same: miles and miles of open spaces dotted with the occasional farmhouse, corn silo, and cattle feedlot. Some of the corn silos were gi-normous! They and the feedlots were sober reminders of the food atrocities described in Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. That said, since most of the views prior to Denver were so redundant I picked up my book and while reading I totally missed the Mississippi River – dang! As we approached Denver, the peaks of the Rocky Mountains were visible in the distance and the views – on all levels – began to improve.

The Colorado Rockies

Winding along the river

Crossing the Colorado Rockies by train is like hiking up a scenic trail on a tall mountain with amazing views – without having to, well, hike!  After leaving Denver, the trip starts out with gentle pastoral views and meandering streams that seem to have been directed to bring water to every ranch along the way. Then hills begin to form and the climb gets steeper and colder and more starkly beautiful. Towering rock cliffs covered with spruce trees and snow close in on rushing rivers and then open to acres of farmlands protected by the snow-capped mountains. Then the cliffs close in again and the descent begins. The snow gradually disappears along with the spruce trees and the hills get smaller and it’s obviously spring again.

Dalen in the Viewliner

As I mentioned, Dalen joined me on the train in Green River, much to the consternation of the conductor, who had trouble grasping that someone whose ticket was from Chicago would be getting on the train a day later. Since we were in a sleeping car, this meant the train had to do a “double stop” at the very small station in Green River – once to pick up the coach class riders and once again to let Dalen board the sleeping car.  Thankfully, with the support of Steve, our car attendant, the conductor finally agreed he could do that for someone who was not on his list!  Dalen’s unorthodox arrival brought us a bit of celebrity among the staff, who now recognized us and remembered our names and destination, especially Steve.

Dalen’s presence in the roomette gave me the opportunity to sleep on the upper berth. This berth, when lowered for sleeping, is about 5½ feet from the floor, 6 or 7 feet long, no more than 30 inches wide and about 20 inches from the ceiling of the roomette. There are two 8 to 10 inch wide carpeted steps built into the wall of the roomette that double as an end table for the lower berth and offer a lift to within 3 feet of the berth. Since I am a relatively small American with a decent amount of agility for my age, I accomplished the task without too much trouble. However, I am impressed that people who are older and much larger than I are able to accomplish the same task – and choose to do so!

Western view of Sierra Nevada Mountains

Thursday morning we traveled the second beautiful part of the route, which carried us through the Sierra Nevada Mountains past Tahoe. The sun was bright and the snow-covered mountains were breath taking. An added treat to this segment was a guided tour done by volunteers of the California State Railroad Museum. Not only did they describe the sights along the way, we got a taste the history of the route that included interesting tidbits like the name “Zephyr” was chosen to make that line of trains the “last word” in train travel! This was also the track where the golden spike was driven completing the first transcontinental railway. Pretty darn cool!

We got to Sacramento on time and checked in with my sister, Judy, as to where she and her “was-band” Al were in their trip down from Seattle. Unexpectedly, they were about 30 minutes from Sacramento, so they swung by and picked us up, saving us from having to wait until 4:55 for the train to Merced, CA, and giving us that much more time to spend with them. Good-bye to train travel for a couple of weeks!

Easter Weekend with the Chicago Thomases

Since leaving downtown Chicago last Thursday, I’ve been staying with my brother, Ken, and his family in their beautiful home in Plainfield, IL. He and his wife, Jean, have created a comfortable, welcoming oasis in their corner of Suburbia and I’ve enjoyed this opportunity to reconnect with my youngest brother and his family! It’s been a real treat to share briefly in their busy and interesting lives and hearing a bit of their hopes and dreams. We’ve played cards, gone for walks, visited the surrounding area, died Easter eggs, danced to the Wii and eaten wonderful meals! It’s been a perfect break from life on the road!

Meet my brother and his family:

Kaylyn, Candice, Elizabeth, Sean, Jean, Ken, Ryan

Ken is working out of the home now as a Field Operations Manager for Integration Partners, a data and voice network company. He is good at what he does – having grown his staff 3-fold in the 8 months that he’s been working for them – and seems to enjoy it.  That makes 3 of 4 of my siblings that work out of the home. Hmm, it must be because we are responsible and reliable, right?! Ken is the go to guy in this house for fixing computers, remodeling bathrooms, moving doors and generally fixing what needs to be fixed. But, he's about to embark on a pursuit of his personal passion for flying: he's going to build his own plane!

Jean's Gingerbread Shoppe

Jean is a talented crafts maker with a skilled eye for display. Their guest room is a great example of that – I’m sleeping in a room of Easter bunnies and bears and cute signs and great scents! She and Ken are taking advantage of her vision and skills. They have leased a storefront on the main street of Plainfield in the artsy downtown area of their community where Jean plans to sell her own crafts along with creations from artisans around the world. Their plans seem to have considered every variable and the potential for success is very exciting!

Kaylyn in her Versa

Ken and Jean have three bright, friendly, and welcoming daughters. Kaylyn, their youngest and a high school junior, is the only child left in the nest. She has a ready smile and is always ready to join in the fun (except for dying Easter eggs after a long day at work – go figure). She misses her sisters, but is busy with work and school and the Color Guard for her high school band. Next week she sits for the ACTs and is starting to look ahead to studying music education or music therapy at a college someplace WARM (we hope she chooses ECU)! Kaylyn is the proud owner of a new-to-her Nissan Versa and is an excellent driver – which I can say from experience!

Candice, their oldest daughter, is a sophomore at Lewis University in the romantically named town of Romeoville, where she is studying Criminal Justice and Forensic Science.  Candice is warm and laughs easily, bantering teasingly with Ken and her mom like good friends. She has a boyfriend, Ryan, who is an EMT and they seem to really have fun together. Candice is between jobs at this point, which allows her to focus on her studies and – lucky for me – spend more time with her family!

The Exelon Nuclear Garden

Elizabeth, their middle daughter, is at Joliet Junior College and hopes to go to the University of Illinois at Chicago to finish her degree in Elementary Education. She is bright and grasps irony quickly. While walking past a garden sponsored by Exelon Nuclear, she spotted the irony in all of the dead grass around the sign – a subtle but powerful point the rest of us had missed! Her boyfriend, Sean, is also hoping to teach but is looking to teach math at the high school or college level. She is working the graveyard shift and providing childcare for a curious 3 year old, all the while finding time to study – and to visit with her grateful aunt!

Traveling in Style

Yesterday I learned what it’s like to travel in style: the romantic style of train travel from books and old movies.

Not realizing I was special, I had waited with the commoners prior to boarding the train to Chicago. When the time came to board, the Amtrak attendant called me - and a couple of others who weren’t aware of their true and proper status - up to the front of the line and told us that we should have waited in the “members only” section along with the other sleeping car travelers. We had missed out on the opportunity for waiting in comfort with drinks and snacks at our fingertips and a place to store our luggage for free. We should have known better.

The Capitol Limited Train

My Roomette

As we sleeping car travelers walked out to the tallest train I’d ever seen, I realized the full coolness of my trip.  And then I saw the roomette!! After sleeping with strangers – and trying not to sleep ON strangers – in coach, I was overwhelmed with having not one, but two large seats and a door all to myself!! I believe I took 10 pictures, one from every possible angle! There was a closet, and a towel and two washcloths, and water, too! Snacks, coffee, juice, and more water – all free (well, already paid for) – were just down the hall. There was even a shower! The dining room attendant came by and asked what time I would like to dine. Since meals are included when you’re a sleeping car traveler, I chose 6 pm. Then the sleeping car attendant came by to see what time he could “turn down” my bed for me. I told him that 10 pm would be perfect. I am learning to enjoy sleeping car life.

Dining In Style

Dining on the upper level of a two-story train was better than I had ever imagined! Sharing a table and conversation with other travelers while being served a 3-course meal and watching the mountains and rivers roll by out the window was straight out of an Agatha Christie movie (without the murder – so far as I know). The food was actually quite good and went well with the bottle of wine I bought (which helped me with the ‘conversation with other travelers’ part). Then, at bed time, the rock and roll of the train, the rattle of the track, and the soft sound of the train whistle helped me to enjoy a good night of sleep! Not a “home in my own bed” kind of night, but better than any other means of travel!

Chicago from the Train

"The Picasso"

"The Bean"

After arriving in Chicago this morning, I had about 8 hours to kill before heading out to my brother’s house. So I set out to get a feel for Obama’s hometown. I learned tidbits about Chicago’s modern, post modern and contemporary architecture on a walking tour of “Modern Skyscrapers,” including the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower and the Trump Tower. I visited “The Picasso”, which has been wearing a Black Hawks helmet ever since they won the Stanley Cup in the hopes of a repeat victory. And I found a much-needed sunny bench in Millennium Park for my picnic where I was entertained by the unusual artwork of “The Bean” and the huge faces in the Crown Fountain.  A sampling of Chicago that left me wanting more…

Washington, DC

 Welcome to my first attempt at a blog! I promise it will get better...!

On April 18 I packed my bags and boarded the train to head west. Other than running a little late the first leg of the train trip, which took me to Washington DC, was pretty uneventful. When I got to DC I had to navigate the Metro to get out of the city and that was interesting. Finally a nearby drunk helped me push the buttons and enter my cast to get a pass. I was nice and gave him 15 cents for his efforts.

The next two evenings I stayed with my friends Nancy and Glenn. Without going into details, it was a WONDERFUL visit!  One of those why haven't we done this more often kind of things.

Museum of the American Indian

On Tuesday, while they were at work, I headed back into DC to be a tourist. I did need the help of the drunk again, but had to figure it out on my own - and did! Actually got back into the city all by myself and wandered around the National Mall. The Museum of the American Indian was fascinating. The introductory movie was the best I've ever seen - a media event with movies on the dome, movies on the screen and movies on the big stone in the middle of the room. All were synced so that we were immersed in the setting. The displays of different Indian nations were filled with profound native philosophies and inviting glimpses into the past and present of these culture. My brain filled up fast so I left to picnic on the Mall.

Mud Man

Crochet Reef

After filling my stomach and resting my brain, I ventured down the Mall, breezing past the Hirschorn Sculpture Garden, where I met Mud Man (my name, don't know what the actual title is), and ending up at the Museum of Natural History. Me and a hundred thousand families and school groups. Despite the crowds, the displays were relatively easy to access and captivating. I saw ocean life and cave men and bones and THE mastodon. The crocheted reef - done by folks from the community - was especially interesting! Once again, my brain shut down after seeing only about 30% of the offerings. Full, but very satisfied!

Today I get back on the train - this time a Roomette, very upscale - and head to Chicago...