sky12065
Conductor
Someone expressed that they were looking forward to my travelogue on my current trip originating out of Albany/Rensselaer to Los Angeles then Portland OR then back home again. Such a request only emphasizes the importance of - as Porky Pig would put it - "be vawee-vawee carefoo of wat you wish faw!" I don't feel that I'm much of a travelogue kind of guy but though I'd give it a go and see what happens. Don't say you wern't warned!!!
So... LET THE GAMES BEGIN NOW!
GO WEST YOUNG MAN (OR "GO WEST OLD TOOT" IF THAT MOVES YOU) IT'S CALIFORNIA OR BUST
Star Date 090625 or Jun 26, 2009 for those that don't have their heads in the clouds! (I know, I know... this ain't Star Trek!)
Today is the day we take a timeout from our unpacking and start packing for our trip. (just moved in 3 weeks prior) My usual paranoia begins along with the stress of the decision making as to what to bring along as well as the usual signs of resistance building in my lower tract... (or it that track?)! I grab a pair of socks then go take a rest! Later I grab a shirt then go take a rest! this continues well into tomorrow prior to our departure, but I do imporve as time goes bye-bye!
Star Date 090626 or Jun 27, 2009 (Getting the hang of the date thing yet?)
Our chauffer shows up at percisely her designated time to get last minute instructions on taking care of our 2 feline feme-fatales (or female cats as know by you humans) and our male cat better know as Butt-head of the famous Bevis & Butthead pair! We then pack the car - me being packed first - and head to the Amtrak Station.
Arriving at the station all 3 of us reflect on what we're about to find that we've forgotten to bring, and we then bid our farewell ados. Into the station I now proceed to find a place for me to perch and setup my laptop while my wife (bless her) checks one of our bags and arranges for me to be taken to our H room. We also find out that our train is going to be more that an hour late out of NYP because of some equipment with problems that had to be switched out. No problem for me since I have my laptop to keep me warm. Yea right... no problem except for I can't log into the Road Runner Wifi they have at the station.
I initially gave up trying to get a workable connection but tried about a half-hour later and discovered what the problem was. There was a recent update to the IE browser and I was not getting the connection web page at the station. I was getting a message that I could not connect dispite my having an ok connection to the network. In order to get the page I had to refresh the no connect page and low and behold there was the connection page... no moe problemo!
While waiting for the LSL we were quite surprised that the sleeper pax were called downstairs for what we found out to be some pizza and other goodies... and just for a relatively short delay. Is this part of the new Amtrak or what? 'Whatever, it had to give a boost to Amtraks good will credits!
Now, at the time initially indicated that the LSL would arrive, guess what actually happened? If you said it unexpectantly arrived... your correct... and right on the adjusted schedule! We were then taken to our car, me in a wheel chair and our luggage by their equivilent of a red cap. Believe it or not the station master was the one who pushed me out and he was even hesitant to take a tip for doing so. After considerable arm twisting (once) he relented and said uncle!
Obviousally one of the sleepers was involved in the equipment switch because there was no 4910 car as I was booked into and our sleeper was the 4911 car. The attendants at that car had to convice the station master that they were at the right car.
Finally, the LSL left the station and right on it's unscheduled schedule! Shortly thereafter we were served our dinner. My choice was the Vegitable Cavateppi Pasta which I'll give a 4 out of 10 for. It wasn't exactly something I enjoyed obvious by my rating.
Star Date 099627 (Glad you got it now)
We were up with the chickens but couldn't see them. The train was passing them by too quickly. The east bound LSL limited must have passed us by while we were asleep so I didn't get to see the car Printman was on with the huge 10 gallon hat sitting on the roof! For breakfast I had the Classic RR French Toast and would give that a 6/10 rating. It's probably the best they could do since the food is not prepared fresh like on the EB.
Our attendant Kevin was all spiffy and looked sharp and impressive in his Amtrak Uniform, but of respect I'll omit his last name to match the service that also seemed to be omitted. It wasn't bad enough that the call button didn't work (do they ever on the viewliners?) but the service wasn't too far off from being non-existant too. There were no pickups of our after meal materials, no checks to see if we needed anything beyone the customary meals and there seemed to be an attitude that attending our H room, including changing from day to night mode and visa verse was an inconvenience, making me wonder if he liked his job or not. Dispite this I'll give Kevin the benefit of the doubt about the whys but I didn't do the same about his tip! However, I can't say that I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express that evening - unfortunately.
The trip itself was quite bumpy and the rock and roll seemed quite excessive... at least to me. I can't say it was a fun trip, but wait until the next leg of the trip on the SWC where things got physically rougher for me personally and not because of Amtrak.
When we finally arrived at CUS we Red Capped it to the Metropolitan lounge and again I found my way to the lounge, found a comfortable place to lite and got out my laptop. Most everything was fine there, but I again had a problem with using the internet. This time it was not the browser update. Their router failed once and I just had to wait for the rebooting or refreshing. Then a short time late it failed again. When my wife said something, the only response she got was that "it happens." This time though she couldn't bother rebooting. I guess the seconds it takes to push the button or however they handle it was just too much to be bothered with.
(TOO BE CONTINUED)
So... LET THE GAMES BEGIN NOW!
GO WEST YOUNG MAN (OR "GO WEST OLD TOOT" IF THAT MOVES YOU) IT'S CALIFORNIA OR BUST
Star Date 090625 or Jun 26, 2009 for those that don't have their heads in the clouds! (I know, I know... this ain't Star Trek!)
Today is the day we take a timeout from our unpacking and start packing for our trip. (just moved in 3 weeks prior) My usual paranoia begins along with the stress of the decision making as to what to bring along as well as the usual signs of resistance building in my lower tract... (or it that track?)! I grab a pair of socks then go take a rest! Later I grab a shirt then go take a rest! this continues well into tomorrow prior to our departure, but I do imporve as time goes bye-bye!
Star Date 090626 or Jun 27, 2009 (Getting the hang of the date thing yet?)
Our chauffer shows up at percisely her designated time to get last minute instructions on taking care of our 2 feline feme-fatales (or female cats as know by you humans) and our male cat better know as Butt-head of the famous Bevis & Butthead pair! We then pack the car - me being packed first - and head to the Amtrak Station.
Arriving at the station all 3 of us reflect on what we're about to find that we've forgotten to bring, and we then bid our farewell ados. Into the station I now proceed to find a place for me to perch and setup my laptop while my wife (bless her) checks one of our bags and arranges for me to be taken to our H room. We also find out that our train is going to be more that an hour late out of NYP because of some equipment with problems that had to be switched out. No problem for me since I have my laptop to keep me warm. Yea right... no problem except for I can't log into the Road Runner Wifi they have at the station.
I initially gave up trying to get a workable connection but tried about a half-hour later and discovered what the problem was. There was a recent update to the IE browser and I was not getting the connection web page at the station. I was getting a message that I could not connect dispite my having an ok connection to the network. In order to get the page I had to refresh the no connect page and low and behold there was the connection page... no moe problemo!
While waiting for the LSL we were quite surprised that the sleeper pax were called downstairs for what we found out to be some pizza and other goodies... and just for a relatively short delay. Is this part of the new Amtrak or what? 'Whatever, it had to give a boost to Amtraks good will credits!
Now, at the time initially indicated that the LSL would arrive, guess what actually happened? If you said it unexpectantly arrived... your correct... and right on the adjusted schedule! We were then taken to our car, me in a wheel chair and our luggage by their equivilent of a red cap. Believe it or not the station master was the one who pushed me out and he was even hesitant to take a tip for doing so. After considerable arm twisting (once) he relented and said uncle!
Obviousally one of the sleepers was involved in the equipment switch because there was no 4910 car as I was booked into and our sleeper was the 4911 car. The attendants at that car had to convice the station master that they were at the right car.
Finally, the LSL left the station and right on it's unscheduled schedule! Shortly thereafter we were served our dinner. My choice was the Vegitable Cavateppi Pasta which I'll give a 4 out of 10 for. It wasn't exactly something I enjoyed obvious by my rating.
Star Date 099627 (Glad you got it now)
We were up with the chickens but couldn't see them. The train was passing them by too quickly. The east bound LSL limited must have passed us by while we were asleep so I didn't get to see the car Printman was on with the huge 10 gallon hat sitting on the roof! For breakfast I had the Classic RR French Toast and would give that a 6/10 rating. It's probably the best they could do since the food is not prepared fresh like on the EB.
Our attendant Kevin was all spiffy and looked sharp and impressive in his Amtrak Uniform, but of respect I'll omit his last name to match the service that also seemed to be omitted. It wasn't bad enough that the call button didn't work (do they ever on the viewliners?) but the service wasn't too far off from being non-existant too. There were no pickups of our after meal materials, no checks to see if we needed anything beyone the customary meals and there seemed to be an attitude that attending our H room, including changing from day to night mode and visa verse was an inconvenience, making me wonder if he liked his job or not. Dispite this I'll give Kevin the benefit of the doubt about the whys but I didn't do the same about his tip! However, I can't say that I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express that evening - unfortunately.
The trip itself was quite bumpy and the rock and roll seemed quite excessive... at least to me. I can't say it was a fun trip, but wait until the next leg of the trip on the SWC where things got physically rougher for me personally and not because of Amtrak.
When we finally arrived at CUS we Red Capped it to the Metropolitan lounge and again I found my way to the lounge, found a comfortable place to lite and got out my laptop. Most everything was fine there, but I again had a problem with using the internet. This time it was not the browser update. Their router failed once and I just had to wait for the rebooting or refreshing. Then a short time late it failed again. When my wife said something, the only response she got was that "it happens." This time though she couldn't bother rebooting. I guess the seconds it takes to push the button or however they handle it was just too much to be bothered with.
(TOO BE CONTINUED)
