# ELP-LAX-PDX-CHI-NOL



## Rail Freak (Sep 2, 2012)

Well, I flew out of Tampa a couple of days early to avoid Isaac, & arrived in El Paso with 2 days to spare. I stayed at the La Quinta on East Gateway, which had a Denny's on one side & a Mexican restaurant on the other. ( nice place to hang out watching the weather channel to track the storm) Took the American Shuttle to the station on Tuesday (the 28th) to catch the #1, car #130 rm #7, to LAX. Train was on time & Lisa was my SCA. I have read horror stories about Lisa, but she was quite good & even though we arrived at 4:30 AM, she allowed me to stay on the train til 6:30. ( Although she did want to make up the bed around 6 AM) I checked my bags for a few hours ($4 per bag) so I could check out Phillippe's. Then, went to the Trax Lounge to hang til boarding #14 (#1431 rm #7) The wait time at LAX was nice as I enjoyed the cool breeze with the beautiful sunrise!!! Around Mt Shasta, I got a call from Amtrak saying my #59 trip would terminate in Memphis, so I was fortunate to be able to cancel New Orleans Hotel & change Plane reservations to Memphis!!!

Arrived into PDX 4 minutes late & ran from the #14 to the #28 (Car #2830 RM#10) with only minutes to spare. The #10 rm was great beacause of the back Rail Fan Window!!! Charles was my SCA on the #28 & he ran a smooth ship!!!! We arrived in Chicago with 5o minutes to spare & was able to catch the #59 with no problem!

I'm currently in the Memphis La Quinta Airport Hotel. Just came back from Marlowes Restaurant, on Elvis Presley Blvd. They picked me up & brought me back in a Limo, stopped by the Graceland Gates & took my picture out front. Tomorrow I'm taking a 6 hour tour of Memphis before flying back to Tampa on Tuesday!

This has been an extremely relaxing & enjoyable 2 zone trip!!!!! ( One of those "Roll With The Punches" types)

RF


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## Amtrak Cajun (Sep 2, 2012)

Im glad your trip went smoothly Rail Freak.

Im sorry that you didnt get to make it to New Orleans, but hey, Memphis isnt a bad second choice either. I hope you have a safe flight home as well.

Anthony


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## Rail Freak (Sep 2, 2012)

Amtrak Cajun said:


> Im glad your trip went smoothly Rail Freak.
> 
> Im sorry that you didnt get to make it to New Orleans, but hey, Memphis isnt a bad second choice either. I hope you have a safe flight home as well.
> 
> Anthony


Thanx,

Got a picture of myself in front of the the pearly gates, or is that not the one I should be looking for???


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## Amtrak Cajun (Sep 2, 2012)

No No good sir, being that it was an Amtrak trip, you must have at least one pic of yourself in front of a train car, or sleeper car, whichever the case may be, pictures of planes or pearly gates dont count!! Haha, kidding. I hope you took plenty of pictures though, and I hope that the trip was a great one.

Ive actually been to Graceland only once. I was young though and I dont remember much of it.


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## Rail Freak (Sep 2, 2012)

Amtrak Cajun said:


> No No good sir, being that it was an Amtrak trip, you must have at least one pic of yourself in front of a train car, or sleeper car, whichever the case may be, pictures of planes or pearly gates dont count!! Haha, kidding. I hope you took plenty of pictures though, and I hope that the trip was a great one.
> 
> Ive actually been to Graceland only once. I was young though and I dont remember much of it.


:lol: Actualy, I've taken 576 pics ( & counting )!!!


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## Amtrak Cajun (Sep 2, 2012)

Wow 576 pictures, yikes. Good luck downloading all of that to your computer Haha.


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## GoldenSpike (Sep 3, 2012)

Rail Freak said:


> Arrived into PDX 4 minutes late & ran from the #14 to the #28 (Car #2830 RM#10) with only minutes to spare.


There is a one-hour gap between the CS arrival in PDX and the EB's departure.

Did you mean the CS arrived in PDX 4 minutes after the EB was due to leave which would explain the need to

run to the EB?


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## Rail Freak (Sep 3, 2012)

GoldenSpike said:


> Rail Freak said:
> 
> 
> > Arrived into PDX 4 minutes late & ran from the #14 to the #28 (Car #2830 RM#10) with only minutes to spare.
> ...


We arrived four minutes past the #28 departure time & the #28 waited for us!


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 3, 2012)

:hi: Glad it worked out for you! I wouldnt go so far as to say Memphis is is on a par with New Orleans, but there are worse places to layover! (Beaumont/El Paso/Sanderson/Maricopa/McCook, Ne etc. :lol: )Did you eat any of the Great Memphis ribs?? Had Elvis left the Building? ^_^


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## Rail Freak (Sep 3, 2012)

Yesterday, I asked the front desk girl about restaurants close by. She told me about a place called Marlowe"s that would pick me up at the hotel in a Pink Cadillac for free. So, guess where I ate last night. Had a rack of ribs that were pretty damn good! The same front desk clerk booked me for a Memphis Tour today. (6 hours of Memphis, lunch on Beale St, & all that Graceland had to offer!!! This change of plans has turned out quite nice! Flying back to Tampa in the morning. Thank Ya, Thank Ya Very Much!!!! :lol:


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## Amtrak Cajun (Sep 3, 2012)

Wow Rail Freak, this trip just keeps getting better and better. Have a safe flight home.


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## johnny.menhennet (Sep 3, 2012)

Have a safe trip back! i'm glad you've gotten (relatively) lucky and everything's (more or less) worked out, and that you were able to make the best of the changes thrown at you!

BTW, I hope to see many pic later - I took 1200 when I spent 8 days in Nicaragua Christmas 2010, and 300 just on the CZ between the Bay Area and Denver. I love photography and I look forward to seeing some of the highlights of your trip.


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