My Jamboree Adventure

[Jambo Bound]

Yup home safe and sorta sound, will get to that later.

As I was wrapping up things so I could go in the wee hours of last Friday I kept checking the CZs status, well a power outage put and end to that and I had to settle on the knowledge that the train was unlikely to make up the 2 plus hours it was running late as it kept loosing time at every stop. Still I drove the two hours south in a downpour of rain dreading the sight of pulling into Ottumwa in time to see the back end go out of sight. Well that didn't happen as the train was 3 hours late, so I had a chance to catch my breath and compose myself a bit. The Amtrak employe at the ticket booth was most helpfull and changed my return trip start from Thurs to Tues at no charge and issued the 5 tickets I needed for this trip. My fellow passangers were quite a mix but most were at least pleasant, cept on old fellow who kept demanding service but would not state what would make him happy, maybe it was yelling at the car attendant while blocking the upper level aisle and the stairwell? She on the other had was a model of calm and diplomacy.

Sadly the CZ continued to lose time because of heavy rainfall which soaked the ground under BNSF's tracks, over 4 hours late by the time we reached Union Station.

This caused my real problem, my flight left with out me, infact by the time I got to O'Hare the live body ticket agents had gone home too! So instead of sleeping on my sisters couch in Falls Church Va. I slept on a bench in the airport, only real worry was the announcement that only people with a valid ticket would be allowed to stay the night, well I acted like I belonged there and trusted that my story might cut some slack in challenged, but I never was, I did move from the seats next to the escalators to over by the baggage checkin because the AC air was falling on me and phlem started building in my throat causing me to cough. It also allowed me to lay down.

I'm sure I didn't use the CTA train to best effect as I walked all the way to the first station that would allow me to board the train that went to the airport when I should have used the closest station and done a transfer.

to be continued...

 

[caravanman]

Hi,

I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.. Mishaps tend to be a pain for the traveler, but sure make for interesting reading!

Not sure which station you boarded the blue line at, but the nearest one to Chicago Union station is Clinton, about 5 mins walk..

Cheers,

Eddie

 

[Jambo Bound]

The 2nd day:

Awoke to an increase in noise around 5:30, because I was a bit cold all night much stretching was involved. Then I toddled off in search of a live body to see if I could buy a another ticket. Well I was bout dumbfounded when they said because the train made me late my ticket still had value, standby, for the first flight out that morning. So I stood by for that flight and the next one too, seemed a good time to put my BSA uniform on, maybe they might try a little harder?

Third time was a charm for both me and a bunch of other "standbyers" I had grown to recognize, they stuffed us all into a small jet where the only seating difference between 1st class and coach was 1st class only had three seats across the body of the plane while coach/sardine class had four, that was one small turbojet! The upside was my vent had plenty of cool airflow and I was on the north side of the plane, the down side was my broad shoulders in a window seat, a cabin temp ten deg too high and heavy cloud cover for most of the trip. But they got me to National at no extra cost, could have been much worse.

I knew it had been a while since I had visited my sisters in DC but it took a bit of wandering around to find my way over to the Metro station, kinda surprised this is not an enclosed station instead of just a canopy as the catwalk over the highway is even inclosed. Metro has some slowdowns right now from track repair but really they are quite minor, it works very well, it does need more track repair/upgrades as the ride was a bit rougher than I remember. The trains seem to be running more units than before as well. Red line to Metro Center, Orange line out to East Falls Church and then a problem I had not thought of at all, while I had made the trek from Metro to my sister's many times it had been over 8 years and this was the first time not in winter, the last few visits they insisted on driving. What a riot of green in a place I had only thought of as brown and gray,well I made one wrong turn on the MUP which added a couple blocks, house key was where she hid it and her cats promptly complained about everything, till I fed them. That shower felt so good.

To be continued.

 

[Jambo Bound]

My rest day, cept it was not, it dawned on my a practice run from where I was to Union Station would be a very good idea both in knowing much better how to get there and how long it should take.

Well it took forever, Metro runs fewer trains on weekends but that day they were ofter packed with baseball fans. That and my usual luck of hearing the Metro pull out as I step onto the escalator. One train was so packed and the announcement so garbled I missed my transfer at Metro Center, that alone added half an hour. I did learn that if possible I wanted to be in the first car of the east bound red line as that would put me at the escalator up to Union Station. Well I promptly visited the Amtrak area learning the basic gate layout and where the information could be found. Then it was time to eat and browse the shops, only bought a replacement 2nd Inf Div pin as my old one is getting a bit tough. Metro back was more of the same however the weather had broke and much cooler, knew that would not last, not the first time I thought it would be nicer the Capitol was still in Philadelphia. Did try to find groceries in Ballston but that area has changed greatly since the 12 years I was there, did find the at Virginia Square. It also dawned on me just now I could have reconnoitered Union Station the day before, I didn't mention I had ridden the Blue Line out to the east end before transferring to the orange while heading west, had to do something to balance out the spam in a can air flight.

 

[Jambo Bound]

Monday, of to the Jamboree, the main reason for the trip.

Unlike the day before my Metro experience that day was charmed.

A two minuet wait for the Orange, the transfer to the Red was snug enough I couldn't position myself in time for the front car, but at least I was heading the right direction. Union Station was more businesslike and my train was on time and I was 45 minuets early.

As I was traveling counter to the commuter traffic the car was not full, and to be honest the view the least interesting of any train trip I have taken. Fredericksburg my luck changed, no sigh of transport over to the Jamboree, wandered into the local visitors center and they very kindly called me a cab, sixty bucks later I was at the Jamboree an hour late.

Round three o clock I started asking if anybody was headed west as I didn't feel like shelling out another sixty bucks, well one kind soul said he had some errands to run over that way and if I didn't mind waiting in the car he would take me. told him I he got me to the station by 7PM I was tickled happy. Well in his wanderings to find someplace else we came across the station and I promised to send him the family rhubarb recipes. It was just late enough the visitors center had closed so I could not thank them again for their help, spent the next hour wandering at a shuffle pace and my feet were killing me by then till I found a nice place to eat, then back to the station by 7.

Only things worth mentioning bout the train northbound was my craving for orange juice, three containers worth and if I had known how, I could have detrained at Alexandra for the Metro and been home sooner. The last high point was my sister was finally home and though coming down with bronchitis, she picked me up at E Falls Church, I was toast.

Next, the long trip home.

 

[Jambo Bound]

Tuesday, time to ride the Capital Limited!

Spent most of the day chatting and squaring away my stuff for the trip home, another ride to the Metro station (thanks again sis!), smooth Metro connections and I'm back in Union Station again. Unlike the day before where I left WAS by an underground route the tall Superliner train is at ground leval, infact I noticed they had to cut away some of the canopy support for clearance.

The best sight seeing was through the Harper's Ferry area, special to me because of a visit over ten years before in late winter and I had noticed the good trackage then.

My usual luck held, when I want a window seat I get aisle and vicie versie, some of this is the preferential boarding system, single young healthy people get whats left. Should have been in the sightseer car, next time.

Not much else happened that day.