Not my complete trip, yet, but I noticed I was still at a pretty good spot where I covered the Gathering itself but could still make a part two happen for the rest of the trip. Better than nothing at this point, eh? ^_^ This covers Thursday, October 4th, through sort of early on Monday, October 8th.
... I'll keep this beginning to what happened, and limit the rants as much as I can. One day of the request off, my birthday, did get screwed up. I still think things would have worked if some other people hadn't pulled some even screwier schedule modifying stuff than I was. The store manager, when she returned from her vacation (which is probably what caused a portion of the fail in the first place) still asked if there was some way she could still fix things at all. This being the Monday before my birthday... I had already canceled 300, 30 Chicago to Toledo, took myself off the Toledo-Philadelphia reservation, booked and canceled a St. Louis to Chicago flight on Southwest, and booked a US Airways St. Louis to Philadelphia nonstop flight that if on time could have let me still catch train 148 anyway, after making a points run on 95 to Washington DC to meet up with everyone laying over from the Capitol Limited. If only because I was tired of mucking with bookings, I declined. Working on my birthday went smoothly enough, with the "squee trip's almost here" feeling overriding any rage I anticipated feeling... Plus, y'know, I was up bloody early by my standards, as usual. I mainly went through the day in a sort of zombie-like mode, like I tend to.
The 4th started well enough, with hearing a random freight as I got dressed and packed the last few things. The taxi got me about 4 AM, and I got to the airport and through the line to check my suitcase and security by about 5:20, when I made my "violated" comment on Facebook and Twitter ("Flying. To meet with train peeps. I feel somewhat violated (not even counting having to go through the Rapidscan and a TSA person having to check my back for some reason)"). In hindsight, I probably should have attempted to self direct to Terminal 1's security lane five, since it turned out the lane three line was roped off, redirecting to the the backscatter machine at lane four (with one exception allowed that I observed). After that, I still effectively got felt up in the back and arm/armpit area - maybe a more sports-type bra "confused" the machine? That the only semi logical conclusion I can come up with, even now. Found the location of my gate, backtracked a bit and got a pumpkin spice latte with an extra shot of espresso in it at Starbucks (but, I want to say, had a brain fart and only ordered their medium - still, caffeine!), and looked briefly in a little shop - noting but not buying http://www.flickr.com/photos/mistyolr/8092430896/ this shirt (yes, pronounced as "misery" in this case, at least in my opinion ... I still want that shirt, so I guess I'll have to look one up online that's at least similar).
After a little conversation with Illinoisgirl and a few other random tweets, I activated airplane mode on my phone about ten minutes before boarding happened (about 6:45, five minutes late or so). The flight itself was uneventful... Once the control tower would accept a flight plan, anyway. On the third try, about forty-five to sixty minutes late (had my accessories, including my newly acquired orange watch, off for the checkpoint, and hadn't put it on after for some reason), things worked and we started out. My first post flight Foursquare check in, at Philadelphia International Airport terminal A, is marked as 11:12 AM local time. My suitcase was within the first ten off the plane, so I was at the station waiting for the next train toward Center City ten minutes later... But still 14 minutes late for the last train that could have placed me at 30th Street in time to make 95... After some texting back and forth with Piotr, we got both reservations canceled - me getting 95 just in time, him taking care of 148.
After that disappointment, I tried getting into the Fairfield Inn early... Got in to dump my stuff, after more fail (and after I explicitly called to confirm what they authorize at check in! -_- ) I got in by giving them $400 in cash and letting them authorize $200 to the Mastercard. I rested a bit and received a response to the tweet about getting into the hotel early from Matt (one of my New York friends) saying I should do a book or blog with all the travel I do. I responded with something along the lines of "don't remind me, I'm like a year behind on travel blogs".
I tweeted my Foursquare check in (with the comment "Ohhh... Hello, 30th St! /Doctor" at 1:33 PM. Being early to meet 148's arrival, but not wanting to wander away on a train, I think I ate something from the food court at this point, but don't remember what. Stayed here awhile, with the first train I met being 2121. After a trip back to my hotel and the Courtyard, waited at 30th Street more, with the last train I met being 92 (it arrived a little over an hour late)... And yes, I greeted Kevin as I did on purpose.Everyone else at this point had food at the pub in the food court, I had Subway for the cost and the fact pub food just didn't sound good at that point. After dinner, I went into Club Acela briefly, mainly to say I had been to the one in Philadelphia. I consider it somewhere between St. Louis and Chicago as far as lounges go – sure, it's got a soda fountain, but it had no caffeine-laden choices to my recollection. Still, a pretty cool view of the rest the station from there. I headed back to Eastwick with everyone, and alighted there at 8:58. After I got to my hotel, I caught up on my Internet stuff, and was asleep by about midnight.
I don't remember what time I woke up Friday, just that it was early enough that I could eat breakfast before having to head out... I wasn't very hungry, but I made myself eat something, and had a carton of milk to help compensate a bit. I checked into the Courtyard at 9:43 AM, and Eastwick at 10:14 AM. I know I wandered the station's food court a bit, and I ended up buying a white mocha coffee and a cookie from Saxby's Coffee. I ended up drinking the coffee but not eating the cookie, heh. How was the day in general? Very good, as riding trains with AU people always is.
After lunch, we started with PATCO again, going from 8th & Market to Broadway, then covered NJ Transit's River Line. We sort of touched the Northeast Corridor line, going from Trenton to Princeton Junction, and took a run on the Princeton Dinky before reversing the maneuver to end up back at Trenton to grab SEPTA's Trenton Line to Suburban Station. Dinner was at the Ruby Tuesday at Liberty Place. I don't remember what I had to eat, but hey, it was my birthday dinner in my opinion, and I was with friends. That's what mattered, and it helped that the gang knew well enough to not have any employees sing happy birthday to me (like we weren't being enough of a pain in the rear as it was, being a group thirty-odd people at one time).
After dinner, it was almost time to greet Will at 30th Street, where we'd agreed to meet. I started out heading to the platform with similar timing to the group, but after actually making it to the platform with them and checking the next scheduled train time, I decided to just walk to 30th Street. I didn't care that the group would possibly beat me back to 30th Street, because I was in a sort of nervous energy mode then, like when I'm waiting outside the house at the start of a trip even though its still 15 minutes before the cab is scheduled to come. Met up with Will, Joann, Maggie, and Maggie's service dog Deidre outside 30th Street, and we drove to the Fairfield Inn from there... Yes, being out of town and in a car felt strange. The rest of the night was resting and using the hotel Wifi to upload the day's pictures to a temporary folder, which I jokingly blamed John for because he had his pictures up already.
Saturday, I woke up to a Facebook post on my wall from Kevin, asking if I wanted to take the 8:30 shuttle with him and Dick or wait about an hour and head out with Alan and everyone else. I answered by saying I would head out on the later one because I had just woke up... Then as Will and I were walking over to the Courtyard, about ten minutes before the time I was told the shuttle would leave, the shuttle with everyone else was turning on to Bartram Avenue! Good thing Eastwick was so close, because Will and I had to walk it that time. We still made the 9:42 train with no problems.
At 30th Street, my attention span made me make a trip through the food court, in search of possible food and caffeine... I can only confirm that I hit Au Bon Pain, because I ended up buying a Diet Pepsi. Group boarding was cool, as usual. We ended up getting down to the platform a few minutes before train 663 got in (one minute early), and we departed Philadelphia on time, arriving Harrisburg 6 minutes early. Had Taco Bell for lunch, sitting aside from the group with Will because of how the tables were set up, and some neat ice cream for dessert - vanilla flavored, but dyed a few different colors.
After walking back to Harrisburg station with the group, finished my ice cream and looked into the little shop in the station. I ended up buying a shot glass for my collection and a coffee mug, old Amtrak logo of course
Back at 30th Street, our next run was SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Line, then to come back we walked to Chestnut Hill East and took that line to back to 30th Street. Dinner... I had Subway, I want to say. The rest of the night was similar to the night before - After "dragging" Kevin and Will along for coverage (I went with first available, which turned out to be the 36 trolley to that Eastwick), we went back to 30th Street, and eventually back to the Airport Line's Eastwick (after seeing John again, since he'd left to do something else at Parkesburg), got to the hotel, wasted time on the internet, and went to bed... Especially because tomorrow we all had to be up earlier than the previous days if we were going to make the shop tour.
Where was the first check in Sunday? The Courtyard, at 7:18 AM - After all, wasn't going to miss the hotel shuttle as closely as I had yesterday! Eastwick was 7:35 AM, and 30th Street was 8:18 AM. Next was train Amtrak 153, departing Philadelphia and Wilmington on time, at 9:33 AM and 9:55 AM. How did this shop tour newbie see things? To steal a line I've seen Will use - "Holy...!" The tour was bloody amazing, and considering we didn't get a tour in Seattle, well worth my wait. After that, still high on what I just experienced, was the Wilmington/Newark Line to Market East, a cheese steak from Spataros, and more SEPTA - the Manayunk/Norristown Line, the Norristown High Speed Line, and the Market-Frankford Line.
After the Norristown High Speed Line Penfield Station, I don't have any more Foursquare check ins until I checked into Philadelphia Airport's Terminal E stop about two hours later, probably because by then, the "convention" was over, and even with my own plans in New York still ahead of me, I didn't want to leave. By the time I arrived at the airport, it was raining a little, which I only remember this far out because while I wasn't quite as easily irritated as one Saturday night in Seattle, I made a little bit of a "... just like last time on my last night in town" comparison. Since I had to wait to return to Eastwick anyway, I walked around the pre security area a little at the airport. I arrived back at Eastwick at 8:02 PM, and went to Wawa because I knew now was most likely my last chance to get there.
About that time, Alan texted me, saying that he and his mom were at the Ruby Tuesday's by my hotel. I responded that I was getting food at Wawa (while I didn't know about it before I arrived, I was impressed with the hot prepared food, and being able to order by computer). He responded with one of his quips. I responded with "lol"... A little later, he sent me another one, saying that I should go now that it had stopped raining. Told him I had already been, since I'd had to walk from Eastwick anyway (no shuttle to Eastwick from my hotel, as I found out the next morning, Even if there had been? I probably wouldn't have taken it anyway, had to get some exercise on the trip
What did I get at Wawa? Chicken strips and meatballs, hard stuff to mess up but still tasty. Took it back to the hotel and ate while doing my usual Sunday night thing of three chats, a radio show, and random internet (by this time, Joann, Maggie, and Deidre had gone home, taking the car with them).
I want to say that I was asleep by about midnight because my next foursquare check in was at 7:06 AM, as I was almost on my way to Eastwick station (check in there was at 7:14 AM). 30th St. station was at 7:32 AM. I ended up getting a croissant from Au Bon Pain, spinach and cheese, and Piotr showed up to ride train 172 with Will and me. Our departure from Philadelphia was at 9:21, three minutes late, and we arrived at Newark, New Jersey at 10:32 AM, six minutes late.
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