Ally and I were ready! We had everything packed, we were able to carry everything in one trip, and we had left a day early so that we could have an easier trip from Salem than traveling to Portland from Coquille. We started out with a great crepe breakfast at French Press, spent a couple of hours at the Salem Art Fair and Festival, bummed around the Shar’s apartment for an hour, and then the texts from Amtrax started popping up on my phone.
The first said two hour delay, departing at 7:00pm. “No problem,” we thought, “we’ll just eat dinner first and kill the extra hour and fifteen minutes that way.”
We were driving up through sluggish traffic on I-5 south of Woodburn when a second text bumped the delay to 7:30pm. We were driving just south of Oregon City through sluggish traffic on 99E, having given up on I-5, when the next text bumped the delay to 8:00pm.
Union Station in Portland was packed when got there around 6:00pm. Our train wasn’t the only one delayed it seemed. We got into the ticket line and stood for 15 minutes or so before I noticed the automated ticket machines. Tickets securely in my backpack, we started looking for somewhere to wait comfortably.
We found a chunk of wall that was unoccupied. Ally sat next to our luggage playing Subway Surfer, I chatted with Shar, and we waited.
Shar and I said goodbye at 6:40pm, she had a night of salsa dancing planned, and Ally and I waited.
A couple of seats on a nearby bench opened up, and Ally and I were comfortably waiting.
Two trains, one heading south and the other north, showed up around 7:15, and three quarters of the people in the station happily left.
At 7:30pm an attendant announced another hour delay, but they brought out boxes of Popeyes containing three chicken tenders, a biscuit, and mashed potatoes. A few cases of small water bottles followed. Ally and I moved back to the main station area, sitting down on large wooden benches. A large fan located in that area was conveniently pointing at us.
Now we were full, much cooler, comfortable, and we waited…
The announcement came at 8:20pm that we were going to start boarding at 8:30pm and everyone cheered. I finished up a little on my old school Bard’s Tale video game I had downloaded for the Mac, and we gathered up our stuff. At 8:30pm people started to line up, but since there really isn’t any need to do so for getting on a train, we hung back and were one of the last few to board.
That decision may or may not have been a good one. The last two seats together were the front row by the entrance to the Observation Car. These seats don’t have tray tables, which can present other future challenges, but may be a little bit more roomy in the legroom department. Another negative is the constant flow of people coming and going to the Observation Car, and the extra light because of the proximity to an entrance/exit. I’m was hopeful that another pair of seats would open up prior to Chicago, given us a chance to compare and contrast.
By 8:45pm we were sitting, relaxed, and chugging north towards Washington. I passed on to Ally what limited information I had gleaned about train travel from Shar and I’s trip to Seattle, showed her where the nearest restrooms were on the level below us, and finished relaxing.
Quiet hours start at 10:00pm on the train, but they didn’t dim the lights until 10:30pm. Ally struggled to get to sleep, I plugged my earbuds in for a bit and listened to music as the sunset faded. By 11:00pm Ally was curled up and sleeping. She has always had the ability to do that anywhere. I had left our sleeping bags at Shar’s place and had spent $30 on a pair of “Sleeping Bag Liners” from Fred Meyers. They are basically a fleece blanket with a zipper. Ally had tried one for our only night at Shar’s apartment and reported it was warm. While the train has been somewhat cool, it wasn’t freezing, and I slipped into my bag and found it almost too warm. They work dropped over you as a fleece blanket, and the space and weight savings is incredible over our bulky sleeping bags. Feeling good about the bedding choice, I finished up the last of the free Popey’s chicken, and began seeking a comfortable sleeping position of my own.
I tossed and turned for a couple of hours, falling into deeper sleep a few times, when a particularly large jolt knocked my grey water bottle off the luggage rack above our heads. I was wearing earplugs and a sleeping mask by this point, but managed to get it picked up before too much water spilled. I turned my phone on to discover that it was 3:30am and we were outside of Spokane, WA. Slipping back into my Keen sandals I headed down to use the restroom, grabbed a handful of extra napkins to wipe up the water mess, and practiced walking quietly back to our seats. I was too awake to try and sleep again, so I decided to catch up on blogging our first day’s adventures. I will admit that I sleep better than I do on a red eye flight, but had yet to find a position that provided maximum comfort. I had a real bed waiting in Alton, IL, on the 24th, so I wasn’t worried by the loss of good rest.
Comments
Post a Comment