I was fortunate to be able to take a holiday train trip again this year and chose to go to New York on the Cardinal and return to Chicago on the Lake Shore Limited. As usual, I started my trip from the Metropolitan Lounge and enjoyed seeing Union Station all decked out for the holidays. I arrived at around 4:00 PM and was surprised how many people were in the lounge waiting for the Lake Shore Limited. I can't think of anything much more boring than sitting in the Metropolitan Lounge for 5+ hours. I really hope people weren't hunkering down in there because they were afraid to walk around in Chicago.
When we were called to the train, we were taken out through the front of the lounge and told to wait by the track until the train pulled in. That was a first for me. We didn't have to wait long, though.
I had a roomette and was once again annoyed by the placement of the outlet by the toilet. The water from the sink splashed so much, I was afraid I was going to short out the thing a couple of times.
I didn't mind all the hours of darkness on this trip, because there were so many beautiful holiday lights along the way. Those Hoosiers really know how to decorate!
The scenery through WV was beautiful, and because the passenger load was so light, the SCA told us to feel free to use the open roomettes to check out the scenery on both sides of the train. I took advantage of that offer.
By the time we got to Charlottesville, there were only two people in my car and two more in the other sleeper. The SCA told us there were only 60-some people in coach. The other occupied roomette was right across from me. We both kept our doors open most of the time which was nice.
My car mate was an artist from France whose work was being displayed in a gallery in New York. She's probably famous, and I'm too big of a doofus to know it. She was just finishing up what would be a dream train trip for me: New York - New Orleans - Los Angeles - San Francisco - Seattle - Chicago - New York.
The trip went smoothly, but we did have to stop for some kind of safety check around Orange. I'm not sure what happened, but we didn't stop for very long.
I enjoyed riding through the northeast urban areas just as much as I liked riding through West Virginia. It was interesting to experience first hand how close those cities really are to each other.
I wasn't hungry at either of the dinner times, but I did have breakfast and lunch. I chose the continental breakfast and the salad for lunch. The salad was good, but I will sure be glad when this goat cheese craze is over.
We arrived a few minutes early. I didn't spend a lot of time in New York, because the real point of my trip was just to take the Cardinal. It was nice to be able to say that on the train and not have anybody act like they thought it was weird.
I started my trip back in Club Acela where one of the attendants took my dinner reservation. I've never had that happen before. I find the Lake Shore Limited to be the least interesting of the long-distance routes I have taken so far. My roomette wasn't on the Hudson side, so there was little to see.
The lock on my door didn't work, which was awkward, but luckily the door didn't spring open at any inopportune times.
I had the lasagna for dinner which was good. Afterwards, there was an announcement that there was a sing along in the diner, but I decided to skip it. For breakfast I had scrambled eggs and potatoes. It was good to have a real diner again.
This trip also went fairly smoothly, but we were delayed by some freight traffic. When we were getting close to Chicago the conductor played a couple of holiday songs and My Kind of Town over the speakers. We pulled in about an hour late, and once again, I was hit by a blast of wind when I went outside.
I wasn't able to get many pictures, but there are a few, along with a few short videos, in my Flickr album here.
When we were called to the train, we were taken out through the front of the lounge and told to wait by the track until the train pulled in. That was a first for me. We didn't have to wait long, though.
I had a roomette and was once again annoyed by the placement of the outlet by the toilet. The water from the sink splashed so much, I was afraid I was going to short out the thing a couple of times.
I didn't mind all the hours of darkness on this trip, because there were so many beautiful holiday lights along the way. Those Hoosiers really know how to decorate!
The scenery through WV was beautiful, and because the passenger load was so light, the SCA told us to feel free to use the open roomettes to check out the scenery on both sides of the train. I took advantage of that offer.
By the time we got to Charlottesville, there were only two people in my car and two more in the other sleeper. The SCA told us there were only 60-some people in coach. The other occupied roomette was right across from me. We both kept our doors open most of the time which was nice.
My car mate was an artist from France whose work was being displayed in a gallery in New York. She's probably famous, and I'm too big of a doofus to know it. She was just finishing up what would be a dream train trip for me: New York - New Orleans - Los Angeles - San Francisco - Seattle - Chicago - New York.
The trip went smoothly, but we did have to stop for some kind of safety check around Orange. I'm not sure what happened, but we didn't stop for very long.
I enjoyed riding through the northeast urban areas just as much as I liked riding through West Virginia. It was interesting to experience first hand how close those cities really are to each other.
I wasn't hungry at either of the dinner times, but I did have breakfast and lunch. I chose the continental breakfast and the salad for lunch. The salad was good, but I will sure be glad when this goat cheese craze is over.
We arrived a few minutes early. I didn't spend a lot of time in New York, because the real point of my trip was just to take the Cardinal. It was nice to be able to say that on the train and not have anybody act like they thought it was weird.
I started my trip back in Club Acela where one of the attendants took my dinner reservation. I've never had that happen before. I find the Lake Shore Limited to be the least interesting of the long-distance routes I have taken so far. My roomette wasn't on the Hudson side, so there was little to see.
The lock on my door didn't work, which was awkward, but luckily the door didn't spring open at any inopportune times.
I had the lasagna for dinner which was good. Afterwards, there was an announcement that there was a sing along in the diner, but I decided to skip it. For breakfast I had scrambled eggs and potatoes. It was good to have a real diner again.
This trip also went fairly smoothly, but we were delayed by some freight traffic. When we were getting close to Chicago the conductor played a couple of holiday songs and My Kind of Town over the speakers. We pulled in about an hour late, and once again, I was hit by a blast of wind when I went outside.
I wasn't able to get many pictures, but there are a few, along with a few short videos, in my Flickr album here.
