7/14/09-7/16/09
Up before the wakeup call,as usual! :lol: Some coffee/pack/shower and dress/walk over to aneat
coffee shop for another light bkfst/visit Safeway for a few provisions(Diet Coke mainly! :lol: )
Hop a cab(too much luggage for the free metro transit!
to the station,check the luggage and
walk around the area!Lots of new condos/conversions etc.,reminds me of downtown Austin right now!
Im again impressed by the bus station which is the newest/cleanest Ive ever seen, and has better services
than the train station which is sorely lacking for such a great old building!Once again the dogs and PDXs
finest come through,whats with that?Buy a SP T-shirt I havent seen anywhere else/drink a couple of Diet
Cokes(is there a 12 step program for this? Watch 501 pull out Southbound/large crowd boards/gets off, these
trains seem very popular!A couple of old private cars parked over by a freight but cant really tell what
they are,look in need of renovation?Soon our train pulls in and its time to board!A loooooooooong consist,
the usual push/pull engines,2 business class cars(they were full when I booked),4 coaches and a
baggage car where folks are loading bikes!We are of course in the car behind the baggage ,find our seats and the
train fills up and rolls out on time!(12;15PM)for SEA!
Loop around awhile/cross the bridge to Vancouver,WAS,going very slow,quick stop and were off!
Im impressed, the train is in great shape/looks new/everything works and its ez to walk between cars
with the automatic doors!Have a bite of lunch in the cafe/bistro car/its full and the food is not bad,IMHO
better than the stuff on a regular ssl!The miles click off, a couple of brief stops and its a warm and sunny
NW day,the conductor tells me much warmer than usual!He also tells me there are fires in Southern
Oregon/N. Calif that may affect the CS!Lots of trees/water and we are having a smooth ride!No matter what some think about the TALGO im impressed with the ride and the look!
Soon we see Mt. Ranier, WOW,Ive never seen it from the ground,its usually cloudy and hazy in SEA when Im
there,a great sight,Stacy is impressed too!I didnt realize that the stop for Olympia was in the burbs,
being the State Capital I thought it would be downtown or @ least convient to the Govt. buildings?
We wind into Tacoma, through the yards,past large ships and lots of freights,stop @ a not so great station
(why cant they use the old downtown station,the pics Ive seen look great?)Then its off for Seattle as we wind through
the burbs,past Casinos( :lol: )usual suburban sprawl/industrial areas etc. Before we know it we pull into
the yards past the two Stadiums and stop @ King Street Station(more later on this),deboard and enter
to await our luggage!Finally 30 minutes later the luggage is delivered,no-one checks the tags and we go outside
to hop a cab passing a full lobby awaiting the Empire Builder later in the evening!Most interesting about Cabs,
there is a deadend/turaround and cabs come and go one @ a time/lots of busses parked "under the tree",
folks getting on/off etc. It takes us about 20 minutes to get a cab,we zoom through downtown and up the
hill to our hotel,another guy auditioning for destruction derby,not a bad ride for $10 however, it woulda been
$25-30 in NYC! :lol: Unload,check in and get ready for our brief 2 day stay in beautiful Seattle!
Up before the wakeup call,as usual! :lol: Some coffee/pack/shower and dress/walk over to aneat
coffee shop for another light bkfst/visit Safeway for a few provisions(Diet Coke mainly! :lol: )
Hop a cab(too much luggage for the free metro transit!
to the station,check the luggage andwalk around the area!Lots of new condos/conversions etc.,reminds me of downtown Austin right now!
Im again impressed by the bus station which is the newest/cleanest Ive ever seen, and has better services
than the train station which is sorely lacking for such a great old building!Once again the dogs and PDXs
finest come through,whats with that?Buy a SP T-shirt I havent seen anywhere else/drink a couple of Diet
Cokes(is there a 12 step program for this?
Watch 501 pull out Southbound/large crowd boards/gets off, thesetrains seem very popular!A couple of old private cars parked over by a freight but cant really tell what
they are,look in need of renovation?Soon our train pulls in and its time to board!A loooooooooong consist,
the usual push/pull engines,2 business class cars(they were full when I booked),4 coaches and a
baggage car where folks are loading bikes!We are of course in the car behind the baggage ,find our seats and the
train fills up and rolls out on time!(12;15PM)for SEA!
Loop around awhile/cross the bridge to Vancouver,WAS,going very slow,quick stop and were off!
Im impressed, the train is in great shape/looks new/everything works and its ez to walk between cars
with the automatic doors!Have a bite of lunch in the cafe/bistro car/its full and the food is not bad,IMHO
better than the stuff on a regular ssl!The miles click off, a couple of brief stops and its a warm and sunny
NW day,the conductor tells me much warmer than usual!He also tells me there are fires in Southern
Oregon/N. Calif that may affect the CS!Lots of trees/water and we are having a smooth ride!No matter what some think about the TALGO im impressed with the ride and the look!
Soon we see Mt. Ranier, WOW,Ive never seen it from the ground,its usually cloudy and hazy in SEA when Im
there,a great sight,Stacy is impressed too!I didnt realize that the stop for Olympia was in the burbs,
being the State Capital I thought it would be downtown or @ least convient to the Govt. buildings?
We wind into Tacoma, through the yards,past large ships and lots of freights,stop @ a not so great station
(why cant they use the old downtown station,the pics Ive seen look great?)Then its off for Seattle as we wind through
the burbs,past Casinos( :lol: )usual suburban sprawl/industrial areas etc. Before we know it we pull into
the yards past the two Stadiums and stop @ King Street Station(more later on this),deboard and enter
to await our luggage!Finally 30 minutes later the luggage is delivered,no-one checks the tags and we go outside
to hop a cab passing a full lobby awaiting the Empire Builder later in the evening!Most interesting about Cabs,
there is a deadend/turaround and cabs come and go one @ a time/lots of busses parked "under the tree",
folks getting on/off etc. It takes us about 20 minutes to get a cab,we zoom through downtown and up the
hill to our hotel,another guy auditioning for destruction derby,not a bad ride for $10 however, it woulda been
$25-30 in NYC! :lol: Unload,check in and get ready for our brief 2 day stay in beautiful Seattle!
