18 Aug 2016, 0dark15: It begins.
Actually, it began even earlier, but the cab was scheduled for 0315. We had to be ready well before then.
Preparations went back a week or so, but we'll skip over that.
Anyway! Cab from home to the San Jose train/bus station; bus to Emeryville; California Zephyr to Galesburg, IL; by ships to Portus Itius and thence by road to Rome, er, pick up a rental car and make for points Knoxville-ward.
First time I've been on a serious train trip. We had a Superliner Roomette, which is decidedly cozy, but not horribly expensive, and is a huge improvement on, say, sleeping in a coach seat amid the, er, unwashed masses.
So, the train thing. The roomette includes meals, and the food is good. The service is good. The restrooms are cramped. There isn't space in the roomette for more than a couple of what in airline terms would be carry-on bags, so the suitcases (what Amtrak calls carry-on items) get stowed below, accessible but not entirely convenient.
We somehow missed hearing some important early announcements, including the call to lunch, but the very helpful attendant got that sorted out for us.
The roomette has one-each 120V outlet, marked "razor only", though the attendant assured us that it was OK to use for other things, such as cellphone chargers and laptops. The coach cars have something like two outlets per seat; go figure. The clever little folding table is big enough for a laptop but not a mouse in addition; this turns out to be of little consequence to me, as I can't actually use the laptop (nor, indeed, read a book) while the train is in motion.
Motion, yeah. We've been off the train for 10 hours now, and the ground is still moving. Maybe after a night in a bed that's not wibbling around with four degrees of freedom my senses will be back to normal...?
Quite a variety of passengers, including a large Amish contingent. Actually, more than one Amish group, boarding at various places. Also some Indians (dot-type), Japanese tourists, and assorted Mundane-Americans.
Lotsa Amish families in view this trip, both on the train and elsewhere. Women in funny hats, men with scethrogs, kids looking like something out of a good-old-days-in-America dramatic presentation.
Random observation: Amtrak has some weird restrictions on what can be transported. Like, no archery equipment, even in checked baggage. Eh? Maybe it'll go off in the baggage car and depressurize the train? Or, by not allowing archery equipment on board, we avert the menace of marauding Indians (feather-type)?
Anyway... arrive at Galesburg slightly ahead of schedule, which is good, 'cause the car-rental place closes at noon on Saturday (and isn't open at all on Sunday), and, with the train scheduled to arrive at 1141, the timing was a bit worrisome. The car I wanted was "something like a Corolla"; the car Enterprise offered that seemed like the right category was "something like a Chrysler 100"; what they actually had was a Chrysler and a Corolla. We took the Corolla. It seems to be fine, except for the lack of lumbar support, which becomes an issue for me if I sit too long. Oh, and the CVT takes some getting used to, even relative to the Prius.
After a lunch break in Galesburg, hit the Interstate. Stop for dinner near Cincinnati. After dinner, get back in the car, and
KER-WHOOSH!
It do get a mite damp all of a sudden, don't it?
After some cautious driving through a most impressive thunderstorm, we reached a non-rainy area, and eventually reached a motel in Georgetown, KY, where I'm composing this. We arrived here just behind another large Amish family.
Bedtime now. Past bedtime. Tale to continue as opportunity allows.
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