We flew from DAL to MSY on Saturday afternoon. The beginning of a weeklong odyssey. Somehow, the g/f got the free pass ticket through the TSA, while I did not. There was a 70+ year old gentleman in front of me in the “hold your hands up “ scanner, and when he exited, I saw the look on the TSA guy’s face that told me I was in for a wait. And that was true. They patted this guy down from head to toe. Wanded him with metal detector, made him pull his pants up almost to his underarms (since he had no belt) and patted him down some more. Then they got some kind of paper stuck on a gun looking thing and swiped it across his hands. Then they called for a supervisor, who fiddled around with this poor old gentleman for about 5 more minutes, and finally pulled him off to the side. The guy never said a word that I could hear. Then I got in the scanner and walked out. I was wearing shorts, and the guy at the end (who was not the original guy, as he was still with the elderly man and the supervisor) came up to me and said he had to touch my knee, he said he could see there was nothing there, as I was in shorts, but since the supervisor was there, he had to touch it….then I went through. The g/f was about halfway through reading War and Peace before I caught up to her.
Otherwise flight to NOLA was uneventful. Got a private car ride to our hotel in the French Quarter and settled in. G/f first trip to NOLA and she was flabbergasted with Bourbon Street and the atmosphere. We ate well, walked a lot, and had a blast on a Ghost Tour with the Voodoo Bone Lady (http://voodooboneladytours.com/) We rode the St. Charles streetcar from end to end, getting off several times. Saw the riverboat, aquarium, and casino. My best meal in NOLA was red beans and rice at Royal House, and hers was a chili dog from Lucky Dog street corner stand on Bourbon Street.
We got a cab to NOLA Union Station, and checked three bags to NYP, and went to the Magnolia Room to wait the Crescent’s departure. Magnolia Room is really sparse, stale bagged pastries and very black coffee…..We were escorted out to the gate for the Crescent and walked to our car to be met by our SCA, Rob. We had bedroom B, which was in pretty good operational condition. Rob was a good SCA, as he was easy to find when needed, and out of our way when not needed. We really enjoyed the crossing of Lake Ponchatrain, and went to breakfast right out of Slidell. As we were directed to a table, there was a 65+ year old lady and a 9 or 10 year old boy already at the table. As we were seating ourselves, I introduced us to the lady, and the boy, and was met with a coldness that chilled me. As we ordered, the lady was specific about her eggs, and the boy dutifully said he would have the same. Our attempts at small talk (Is this your grandson? First time on the Crescent?, etc.) were answered with curt one word replies by the lady. I saw a couple across from us alone, wearing Steelers shirts, and struck up a conversation with them. Needless to say, we sat with the Pittsburgh couple at all meals after this one. They were a delightful couple who had left Pittsburgh, gone to Chicago, then to Memphis for a few days, then on to NOLA for three days and were going to DC before returning to Pittsburgh….all on Amtrak. Their first rail trip, and what a doozy! After each meal we lingered in the Diner as long as possible to visit.
Our bedroom was just fine, and we both slept on the bottom bunk together easily. Meals were sufficient, except the steak was waaayyy undercooked. Burgers, salad, French Toast, grits and eggs were just fine. No complaints. The server was someone I had seen on the LSL a few years ago. Meal service was not great, but was sufficient enough to merit tips. Early morning the g/f was getting her morning medicine, and mistakenly swallowed a swig of eye make up remover instead of water, and we quickly looked up what to do, which was to drink milk. I went and got Rob, and told him, and he went and got her two glasses of milk from somewhere…and she was ok an hour or so later. Rob stopped by a few hours later to check on her. Nice . Rob was very well tipped for his good service and genuine concern.
We said goodbye to our tablemates in DC, and Rob suggested we go watch the engine change, which was interesting. We reboarded and enjoyed the rest of our trip in to NYP. Rob forgot to get us a red cap, as he was busy with two wheelchair pax, but the SCA from the next car walked us to the baggage claim, and the attendant there told us to wait and after he got all bags given out, he would help us out and get a cab, which he did in a few minutes. Again, another person was well tipped for great service.
Our cab took us to our hotel quite easily; a short trip and we were in our room in no time. HUGE thanks to many here on AU for some excellent suggestions and advice on what to do and how to do it in NYC. With this advice, we succeeded on the subway, found good food, and navigated the parts of the city we wanted to explore. The g/f cried at the sight of the NY Public Library (Her doctorate is in some kind of library stuff) and we both enjoyed Grand Central Station. We loved Bryant Park, and liked the bustle of Times Square. We saw an excellent rendition of “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway, and due to a suggestion on AU, we took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry one afternoon and rode across in daylight and saw the Statue of Liberty quite well. We had a decent steak dinner on Staten Island, and returned on the ferry at night to see the Statue lit up and saw a great Manhattan skyline at night. Thanks for that suggestion; it was a highlight of our trip.
We got a car to LaGuardia, and had an uneventful trip through the TSA, and a quiet, but long, flight back to Texas.
The g/f had never been to NOLA or NYC before and she seems to have loved it. A bit overwhelming at times, but she came home a happy camper.
Now to plan our next adventure.
Otherwise flight to NOLA was uneventful. Got a private car ride to our hotel in the French Quarter and settled in. G/f first trip to NOLA and she was flabbergasted with Bourbon Street and the atmosphere. We ate well, walked a lot, and had a blast on a Ghost Tour with the Voodoo Bone Lady (http://voodooboneladytours.com/) We rode the St. Charles streetcar from end to end, getting off several times. Saw the riverboat, aquarium, and casino. My best meal in NOLA was red beans and rice at Royal House, and hers was a chili dog from Lucky Dog street corner stand on Bourbon Street.
We got a cab to NOLA Union Station, and checked three bags to NYP, and went to the Magnolia Room to wait the Crescent’s departure. Magnolia Room is really sparse, stale bagged pastries and very black coffee…..We were escorted out to the gate for the Crescent and walked to our car to be met by our SCA, Rob. We had bedroom B, which was in pretty good operational condition. Rob was a good SCA, as he was easy to find when needed, and out of our way when not needed. We really enjoyed the crossing of Lake Ponchatrain, and went to breakfast right out of Slidell. As we were directed to a table, there was a 65+ year old lady and a 9 or 10 year old boy already at the table. As we were seating ourselves, I introduced us to the lady, and the boy, and was met with a coldness that chilled me. As we ordered, the lady was specific about her eggs, and the boy dutifully said he would have the same. Our attempts at small talk (Is this your grandson? First time on the Crescent?, etc.) were answered with curt one word replies by the lady. I saw a couple across from us alone, wearing Steelers shirts, and struck up a conversation with them. Needless to say, we sat with the Pittsburgh couple at all meals after this one. They were a delightful couple who had left Pittsburgh, gone to Chicago, then to Memphis for a few days, then on to NOLA for three days and were going to DC before returning to Pittsburgh….all on Amtrak. Their first rail trip, and what a doozy! After each meal we lingered in the Diner as long as possible to visit.
Our bedroom was just fine, and we both slept on the bottom bunk together easily. Meals were sufficient, except the steak was waaayyy undercooked. Burgers, salad, French Toast, grits and eggs were just fine. No complaints. The server was someone I had seen on the LSL a few years ago. Meal service was not great, but was sufficient enough to merit tips. Early morning the g/f was getting her morning medicine, and mistakenly swallowed a swig of eye make up remover instead of water, and we quickly looked up what to do, which was to drink milk. I went and got Rob, and told him, and he went and got her two glasses of milk from somewhere…and she was ok an hour or so later. Rob stopped by a few hours later to check on her. Nice . Rob was very well tipped for his good service and genuine concern.
We said goodbye to our tablemates in DC, and Rob suggested we go watch the engine change, which was interesting. We reboarded and enjoyed the rest of our trip in to NYP. Rob forgot to get us a red cap, as he was busy with two wheelchair pax, but the SCA from the next car walked us to the baggage claim, and the attendant there told us to wait and after he got all bags given out, he would help us out and get a cab, which he did in a few minutes. Again, another person was well tipped for great service.
Our cab took us to our hotel quite easily; a short trip and we were in our room in no time. HUGE thanks to many here on AU for some excellent suggestions and advice on what to do and how to do it in NYC. With this advice, we succeeded on the subway, found good food, and navigated the parts of the city we wanted to explore. The g/f cried at the sight of the NY Public Library (Her doctorate is in some kind of library stuff) and we both enjoyed Grand Central Station. We loved Bryant Park, and liked the bustle of Times Square. We saw an excellent rendition of “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway, and due to a suggestion on AU, we took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry one afternoon and rode across in daylight and saw the Statue of Liberty quite well. We had a decent steak dinner on Staten Island, and returned on the ferry at night to see the Statue lit up and saw a great Manhattan skyline at night. Thanks for that suggestion; it was a highlight of our trip.
We got a car to LaGuardia, and had an uneventful trip through the TSA, and a quiet, but long, flight back to Texas.
The g/f had never been to NOLA or NYC before and she seems to have loved it. A bit overwhelming at times, but she came home a happy camper.
Now to plan our next adventure.
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