I returned recently from my Spokane-Washington DC trip (or, at least Washington DC was the intended final destination) The trip didn't turn out as I intended, but it happens. I once again traveled with my uncle, who had flown out to my neck of the woods from Illinois and was staying at my mom's. I began with the 50 or so mile trip from my mom's to the parking lot near the Spokane Airport, where I would park my car for the duration of the trip. (Yes, I park near the airport for a train trip!!! ) The lot in question has a shuttle service that includes transportation to/from the Amtrak station in Spokane. Our first leg of the trip was on the EB, from Spokane to Portland. The EB was an hour late getting into Spokane, not bad considering the problems it has had this summer, and considering it had made up an hour and a half from Havre. We boarded right away as we had a sleeper, room D. Debra, who was the excellent coach attendant on my trip to Portland in June, was the one who directed us to our sleeper. We left Spokane at 3:30 AM, about 45 minutes late. We immediately went to bed. I awoke at the next stop, Pasco, and showered then. Shortly after getting cleaned up, we headed to the lounge for our underwhelming boxed breakfast. It wasn't bad, with a fruit selection, blueberry muffin, yougurt, and bagel, but nothing like the boxed dinners on the Portland section of the EB. Unlike the last time we'd had a sleeper on the Portland section of the EB, we didn't get "preferred" seating in the lounge and so got treated to a spectacular view of rocks and dirt :lol: as all the seats in the lounge facing the Columbia were taken. It's not as if I haven't seen the Columbia at sunrise before, though. After breakfast, I took full advantage of the view out the railfan's window and did a lot of photography and videotaping out the window. It was a beautiful day for travel along the Columbia!
We made good time all along the way, making up a minute or two at each stop. Jason was our car attendant, and he was very personable and did a good job, at least for the small amount of time we were on the EB. He had one personal touch I don't remember seeing before: Along with the usual water, juice, and fruit, he had a dish full of candy, including Havilland mints. Just what a diabetic needs! :lol: At Vancouver, we had to make a second stop, because a couple of passengers had forgotten to get off. We arrived into Portland only ten minutes late, having made up 35 minutes from Spokane and almost 2 1/2 hours from Havre. Gotta love that padding!! After we got checked into the small lounge in Portland, where Frank, one of the best lounge attendants I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with, was on duty, we went to lunch. Our first choice was Wilf's, located next to Portland's Union Station, but discovered it isn't opened on the weekends for lunch. (This was on Saturday the 7th). So we walked down to Jake's Famous Crawfish, a favorite of mine. After lunch, we went to a small grocery store, where my uncle bought amongst other things two 2-liters of diet Coke (which for almost all of the trip didn't do us any good, as you will soon see). Once back at Union Station, we relaxed in the Metro Lounge, waiting for our second leg, the Coast Starlight from Portland to Sacramento. The CS didn't live down to its reputation as the Starlate, as it rolled into Portland 13 minutes early. We boarded the CS, in Bedroom D again, ready for our next leg of the trip. So far, so good!
We made good time all along the way, making up a minute or two at each stop. Jason was our car attendant, and he was very personable and did a good job, at least for the small amount of time we were on the EB. He had one personal touch I don't remember seeing before: Along with the usual water, juice, and fruit, he had a dish full of candy, including Havilland mints. Just what a diabetic needs! :lol: At Vancouver, we had to make a second stop, because a couple of passengers had forgotten to get off. We arrived into Portland only ten minutes late, having made up 35 minutes from Spokane and almost 2 1/2 hours from Havre. Gotta love that padding!! After we got checked into the small lounge in Portland, where Frank, one of the best lounge attendants I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with, was on duty, we went to lunch. Our first choice was Wilf's, located next to Portland's Union Station, but discovered it isn't opened on the weekends for lunch. (This was on Saturday the 7th). So we walked down to Jake's Famous Crawfish, a favorite of mine. After lunch, we went to a small grocery store, where my uncle bought amongst other things two 2-liters of diet Coke (which for almost all of the trip didn't do us any good, as you will soon see). Once back at Union Station, we relaxed in the Metro Lounge, waiting for our second leg, the Coast Starlight from Portland to Sacramento. The CS didn't live down to its reputation as the Starlate, as it rolled into Portland 13 minutes early. We boarded the CS, in Bedroom D again, ready for our next leg of the trip. So far, so good!