greatcats
Engineer
Last week I posted our Arizona to DC trip, which was quite a success. That segment was really more interesting with what will follow, but here it is anyway: My friend Eric and I were on a concert going trip, which is a hobby of ours, preferably reached by train. We spent three days in Washington, with a Beethoven chamber music concert and the " Missa Solemnis " presented by the National Symphony at Kennedy Center. ( I sang in Westminster Choir there for the Moravian Music Festival in September, 1971, the fifth day that building was open, and also in 1973, just before I graduated Westminster Choir College ) We attended church at the " President's Church, " St. John's Episcopal Lafayette Square just north of the White House and also another choral service in Arlington, Virginia, reached by Metro and cab.
Monday morning we went to Union Station and rode Business Class on Train 86 to Boston. There was nothing remarkable about this trip other than it ran just fine several days after Hurricane Sandy. From my vantage point, as we passed through my home state of New Jersey, not much appeared to be abnormal, although we know what damage there has been. Standing water was in evidence in the area of NJT's Meadows Maintenance Complex, where the Dispatching facility was flooded. ( Duh! Why was it put in a place prone to flooding out in a swamp? NJT is my former employer. )
When our train was stopped in New York Penn, a former NJT co-worker called me. She lives in an apartment building in Hoboken, and had just had her power turned back on a week later. Her car had been ruined.
My friend from Arizona
had never ridden the Northeast Corridor and he quite enjoyed the ride with the New York skyline and the Connecticut shoreline. Our Business Class car was OK, with fairly nice seats and a free cup of coffee, but there was not all that much to recommend it otherwise. We arrived Boston six minutes early. His friend picked us up in his car and proceeded to run out of gas in the Big Dig Tunnel. We were rescued by the State Police and a tow truck. Ah, the adventures of travel. After a delayed dinner in Cambridge we were driven back downtown and we stayed three nights in the new Hostelling International. I know longer stay in hostel dorms, but we decided to book a private room for $99 per night. Not a luxurious hotel, but it was a good place and I enjoyed being among the young international traveler set.
The Boston Symphony was the main feature of our visit, also not the first time I have been to a concert here. The weather turned cold and nasty and on Thursday we took a cab to Logan Airport. My friend is disabled and talked United into providing a wheelchair, which enabled both of us to bypass waiting in the dreaded security line. We were headed to Los Angeles via Houston. The flight in Economy Plus was OK, except that there were about three sandwiches on the plane to feed a full house and I was expecting to order food. One attendant, who was rather embarrassed by this, said the plane was supposed to have been stocked in Denver - something had goofed up. Two ginger ales fortified me to Houston. We were flying on Frequent Flyer miles and this itinerary had us in First Class to LA. Free drinks and a very attractive cold plate of food. ( Another flight attendant said there is a surprise every day working for United. ) Sure beat sitting with the masses. It was close to 11pm when we arrived, which was a bit early, but I told my friend that I was not fooling with the FlyAway bus and subway late at night after our long day, and I would pay a cab regardless of cost. This came to over $60, but the convenience was worth it.
We stayed three nights at the Millenium Biltmore, the grand old hotel within walking distance of Walt Disney Hall This was my third stay here and I rather like this place. We attended the LA Phil and heard more marvelous church music on Sunday at First Congregational ( world's largest church pipe organ ) and St. James Episcopal. Eric and Eric ( that's us ) like combining these wonderful musical events with train travel, which happened to have an air segment for expediency thrown in, which was more forgettable. We heard fabulous music and visited other landmarks and museums and took in three movies, in Chicago, Boston, and Hollywood. ( the new release " Lincoln. " )
Two nights ago we went to Union Station and boarded #2, the Sunset, back to our starting point in Tucson. This was another case of nothing unusual happening. Other than some rough track during the night, our sleeper was fine, passengers were friendly, breakfast was tasty, and arrival Tucson was 20 minutes early. Union Pacific did not disrupt our trip at all! ( I did read in another post on this forum today that UP " demolished the platforms " on the Pioneer route. Such a wonderful company.....sigh......)
Eric and I drove back the 200 miles to his home in Pine, AZ at the Mogollon Rim and I then returned to Flagstaff through the beautiful forests of northern Arizona. I am now home, within earshot of the BNSF mainline. My next Amtrak trip will be from Flagstaff to New York in May. This writeup did not have all that much to do with trains, but they played a major part in our two week trip and we definitely had good experiences. Goodnight.
Monday morning we went to Union Station and rode Business Class on Train 86 to Boston. There was nothing remarkable about this trip other than it ran just fine several days after Hurricane Sandy. From my vantage point, as we passed through my home state of New Jersey, not much appeared to be abnormal, although we know what damage there has been. Standing water was in evidence in the area of NJT's Meadows Maintenance Complex, where the Dispatching facility was flooded. ( Duh! Why was it put in a place prone to flooding out in a swamp? NJT is my former employer. )
When our train was stopped in New York Penn, a former NJT co-worker called me. She lives in an apartment building in Hoboken, and had just had her power turned back on a week later. Her car had been ruined.
My friend from Arizona
had never ridden the Northeast Corridor and he quite enjoyed the ride with the New York skyline and the Connecticut shoreline. Our Business Class car was OK, with fairly nice seats and a free cup of coffee, but there was not all that much to recommend it otherwise. We arrived Boston six minutes early. His friend picked us up in his car and proceeded to run out of gas in the Big Dig Tunnel. We were rescued by the State Police and a tow truck. Ah, the adventures of travel. After a delayed dinner in Cambridge we were driven back downtown and we stayed three nights in the new Hostelling International. I know longer stay in hostel dorms, but we decided to book a private room for $99 per night. Not a luxurious hotel, but it was a good place and I enjoyed being among the young international traveler set.
The Boston Symphony was the main feature of our visit, also not the first time I have been to a concert here. The weather turned cold and nasty and on Thursday we took a cab to Logan Airport. My friend is disabled and talked United into providing a wheelchair, which enabled both of us to bypass waiting in the dreaded security line. We were headed to Los Angeles via Houston. The flight in Economy Plus was OK, except that there were about three sandwiches on the plane to feed a full house and I was expecting to order food. One attendant, who was rather embarrassed by this, said the plane was supposed to have been stocked in Denver - something had goofed up. Two ginger ales fortified me to Houston. We were flying on Frequent Flyer miles and this itinerary had us in First Class to LA. Free drinks and a very attractive cold plate of food. ( Another flight attendant said there is a surprise every day working for United. ) Sure beat sitting with the masses. It was close to 11pm when we arrived, which was a bit early, but I told my friend that I was not fooling with the FlyAway bus and subway late at night after our long day, and I would pay a cab regardless of cost. This came to over $60, but the convenience was worth it.
We stayed three nights at the Millenium Biltmore, the grand old hotel within walking distance of Walt Disney Hall This was my third stay here and I rather like this place. We attended the LA Phil and heard more marvelous church music on Sunday at First Congregational ( world's largest church pipe organ ) and St. James Episcopal. Eric and Eric ( that's us ) like combining these wonderful musical events with train travel, which happened to have an air segment for expediency thrown in, which was more forgettable. We heard fabulous music and visited other landmarks and museums and took in three movies, in Chicago, Boston, and Hollywood. ( the new release " Lincoln. " )
Two nights ago we went to Union Station and boarded #2, the Sunset, back to our starting point in Tucson. This was another case of nothing unusual happening. Other than some rough track during the night, our sleeper was fine, passengers were friendly, breakfast was tasty, and arrival Tucson was 20 minutes early. Union Pacific did not disrupt our trip at all! ( I did read in another post on this forum today that UP " demolished the platforms " on the Pioneer route. Such a wonderful company.....sigh......)
Eric and I drove back the 200 miles to his home in Pine, AZ at the Mogollon Rim and I then returned to Flagstaff through the beautiful forests of northern Arizona. I am now home, within earshot of the BNSF mainline. My next Amtrak trip will be from Flagstaff to New York in May. This writeup did not have all that much to do with trains, but they played a major part in our two week trip and we definitely had good experiences. Goodnight.
