Part One
It's been a whirlwind of a trip! You'll read of Amtrak travel, sightseeing in Chicago and Portland, old and new friends and mini family reunions. I'm now tucked into my mountain home and have no new adventures planned.
It began with friend and neighbor, Carson traveling by car to La Posada in Winslow, AZ.
The Southwest Chief would arrive at 5AM to pick us up. We treated ourselves to a lovely dinner in the Turquoise Room of the historic La Posada Hotel and took to bed early. We boarded with first light and enjoyed the ride together as far as Lamy, NM where Carson was met by her niece.
Having taken the Southwest Chief before, I was looking forward to my favorite stretch - that being Raton Pass coming up before sunset. The journey passed unremarkably throughout the night and sunrise in Kansas occurred before I knew it. I travel Coach on Amtrak and tell folks I do get good sleep in the reclining chair if passengers are not loud. Amtrak does ask for quiet hours 10PM -7AM. As the train arrived into Chicago Union Station, I made Uber arrangements to my lodging the next three nights.
I stayed alone at a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer's apartment in the West Side. She was with her family in The Maldives and generously turned her historic apartment over to me. I got settled and then took off to find a badly needed meal! As an Amtrak Coach passenger, one doesn't have meal service. I got a good night's sleep then decided to stroll back to Union Station to greet Nina, my son's girlfriend who wanted to ride the train with me from Chicago to Maryland. We would spend two more sleeps in the Windy City before that happened. After meeting Nina, we dropped her luggage at her hotel near Navy Pier and starting sightseeing.
We encountered good music at the pier and spend some time enjoying that after a shoreline walk along Lake Michigan. More sightseeing the next day along Michigan Avenue and, of course The Bean.
I made my way to the apartment timely for a show I had arranged to see. Nola, a British Blues singer player this one night only at Thalia Hall, just a two block walk from where I stayed. What a perfect venue! This old opera house, build in 1892 had comfy cushioned seats in the balcony where I sat. I enjoyed watching the energy of the standing/dancing attendees on the floor below dance. Yola is an amazing performer who engages well with her audience. If you ever get a chance, do get to her show.
The next morning I found myself at an urgent care since I knew I had come down with a UTI. Nina generously gave up a day of sightseeing the Chicago River by boat to accompany me for medication. We picked up my things and got ourselves ready to leave on a late afternoon train out of Chicago. We had a surprise when we boarded our cars. Because I was departing earlier, we could not sit in the same car. That didn't trouble us as there's always the Lounge Car to meet up in.Once in Maryland, I was greeted in Rockville by my son, Sean and my grandson, Jake. Nina went back to her place in Baltimore after helping me with my luggage.
Jake's HS graduation from Einstein High School in Silver Spring would be held at The Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in D,C. at the end of the week. Family would collect at nearby hotels for the occasion as well as lunch the following day at The Cheesecake Factory. It was a wonderful celebration!
The week allotted to MD/DC went remarkably fast. I had a good time catching up with Victoria, Phyllis, Donna, Genelle and her family and Mary Julia! Soon I'd be back at the Rockville station waving bye-bye as I headed West.
I took Amtrak Floridian which was over an hour late but my transfer in Chicago would not be at risk. I had hours between trains. I found an iconic diner for a hearty breakfast before many hours on the next train. Lou Mitchell's aims to please with homemade pastries and marmalade.
The late afternoon Empire Builder train pulled away from Chicago and headed toward Wisconsin. The sun went down as we traveled into Minnesota and I turned in early by putting on my eye mask and earplugs. I awoke at first light over North Dakota. I found a seat in the lounge car and waited for coffee to be ready in the Cafe car. I stayed the entire day switching sides to take in the sights as we entered Montana. It was a lively setting as we traveled farther and farther West. My new friends departed in Whitefish, MT and it was time for rest.
I ordered an Uber for my overnight lodging at an AirBNB near Cathedral Bridge and City Park. Kim's place is beautifully surrounded with flowering shrubs and fruit bearing trees. I stayed in a well lit bedroom of this vintage home. After getting my things into the room, I immediately took to the deep old tub for a nice soak!
After a short rest, I walked to the Cathedral Bridge then got an Uber to the historic Mississippi Avenue area to wander and find a meal. My younger self might have stayed longer in this energized area of Portland, but I needed a good rest!
The next leg of my Amtrak Pass had me taking the Coast Starlight from Portland to Los Angeles. I certainly was looking forward to traveling this route.
Somehow, I was expecting to see more of the Pacific Ocean - clearly, I had not done sufficient research. However, the ocean did reveal itself after a marvelous drop from the mountains of California and through the peaceful fertile valleys of the Santa Ynez Valkey to the coastline. Once again, I had taken to the Lounge Car for this visual delight.
I struck up a conversation with a young lady from Beijing. Evie is obtaining her doctorate in Pittsburg and speaks Engish well. A few hours out of LA, I sought out a conductor and asked the conductor about the situation in LA as we were coming in the day military troops had been ordered by the President. When he said, "it's bad" I asked what to do. As a matter of personalizing the question, I asked , "What would you tell your Mother?" He told me to exit the train in Burbank. I came back to Evie and explained the situation and encouraged her to exit with me. We found that our independent lodging was just a few miles from one another and shared an Uber...potential crisis avoided.
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), Jenny responded a few months ago when I posted a one night request on RPCV COUCHSURF. I arrived close to 11PM, but she was very gracious, even coming outside to greet me. We walked her neighborhood which is near Culver City the next morning and found good breakfast at Breakfast Republic. Jenny accompanied me to LA Union Station after breakfast. As our Metro car approached the station, passengers aboard gasped at the sight of militia and crowd control vehicles which were lined in the street. Only a handful of demonstrators could be seen simply standing across from armed soldiers.
Soon enough it would be time to get on the last leg of my train adventure. I would have a sleep on board and wake up before the sun rose. As I prepared myself for departure, I couldn't find my roller bag. A conductor found it wedged where even he couldn't retrieve it! Luckily there was a bigger built conductor on board to use brute force! I thought I was the only one departing at Winslow but found out that some "rude" person was getting kicked off and met by police! I would drive home and enjoy three days before the next adventure.
I spent three days at home catching up with the garden, a medical appointment, getting an oil change, and seeing old friends in Payson for June only. Friday, June 13th I drove to Vegas. I had a ticket to see my nephew Max in the lead role of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat " the next evening. At my age, I like to get somewhere early enough to chill out. As I got into the Baker house (my sister, Kay and her husband, Doug), I realized I'd better have a lot of energy for the next few days. Without going into a lot of details, right away I was greeted by Max, in a mini panic. It seems he'd JUST had a series of bites from a scorpion! He'd iced his leg and headed out for the next to last night's show. Shortly after he left, his pug dog, Yuki was discovered missing.
Evidently, it had been hours since anyone had seen her. She was found at a nearby house getting a pampering session by a 13 year old. She must have been rescued off the hot street pretty quickly!
The next day, Saturday - Jake arrived to attend the play with the rest of the family. Jake spent many hours in the pool the next few days. Aunt Mimi came to the boredom rescue with pizza and bowling one afternoon. After four sleeps in Las Vegas, Jake packed up his things and guided me to the Jeep. He drove out of Las Vegas into California.
We stopped at Peggy Sue's Diner in Calico and thought about how his father would love this quirky eatery in the desert. We switched driving in Victorville as I knew the CA freeway system would be happening soon. Jake was good company along the road, an excellent driver and a stellar navigator!
We drove to Long Beach and stayed two nights with Grandma Suzanne and her husband, Steve. (It's complicated, but here goes: After Mike and I divorced, he married Suzanne. They are no longer married, but we are all friends.) We walked to a nearby Farmer's Market shortly after arrival and had kettle corn for a movie later. The next day we enjoyed a barbecue hosted by Suzanne and Steve with Mike and his girlfriend in attendance. Oh, what we do for Jake....our common thread! After the barbecue, we visited Suzanne's mother in a nearby condo on the beach. I can't imagine waking up to the views she has every day!
Jake and I would leave early the following day in order to attend Rachel and Aric's Retirement Ceremony from the Navy.
We arrived at Naval Base Point Loma timely and I was ushered to the front row, towing my three grands.
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My sister, Mimi sat in the front row and took amazing photos of the day. I have never attended a Navy retirement and had no idea what to expect. It's so impressive to see the gathering of service people in their Dress Whites. The professionalism of the ceremony was not a surprise, but the content was heartwarming and beautiful. I was especiallly moved by the poignant details of their parents speeches dedicated to their military children, Grayson and Gabby.
Remarkably, they were presented with U.S. flags flown at the stations their parents served. It was wonderful to see a large gathering of family and friends who came from all points across the country.
Following the glitz and glamour of the ceremony, Jake was passed along to Mimi and Shannon. He would travel with them to Florissant, CO to help prepare their eight acres for the alpaca farm to be developed in late summer. Mountaiin Meadow Menagerie currently homes domestic cats and dogs with curious wildlife as visitors.
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This time next year, we expect alpacas, chickens and a llama settled in many months. Mimi and Shannon have a great set up for visitors - even hook ups, so look them up for a stay!
I returned to Camp Pendleton to help with gleaning and packing that comes with a move. I've been involved with nearly all of their moves in either the pack out or pack in and sometimes both.
