Took My Chances on an Amtrak Train, Never Let Them Tell You That They're All the Same

The biggest surprise of the trip had to be California.  I figured it would be pretty, but pictures do it no justice.  It’s prettier than a picture, I tell you.  Prettier…than…a…picture.  Despite is natural beauty ;), I don’t think I could ever be a Californian.  I’m not a traffic fan, and Brad would go crazy with the no gun law, but it’s an excellent state to visit.  So excellent in fact, I’m planning a Spring Break trip there with one of my girlfriends from JMU.

When I was talking to Monongahela, Dr. Smedley, and Australia in the Dining Car, I wanted to know if I would wake up to anything pretty.  So, I asked about California.  From what I could tell, they didn’t seem too excited about the scenery, but maybe it’s because they have seen it before.  I know this entire blog is full of clichés (especially this post in particular), but my sunrise over the California desert was priceless.  Getting pictures of the colored sky was kind of difficult, though.  It took standing on multiple sightseer lounge chairs to capture the moment.  I don’t know if the lady who I leaned over in order to take the pictures appreciated my touristey-ness, but c’est la vie.

My favorite thing about California—the contrast.  Watching the “industry” spread across the countryside was pretty neat.  Seeing palm trees in front of snow-capped mountains was neat, too.  I also loved the orange trees peppered across yards with candy cane ornaments and fancy holiday lights.  Overall, everything about Cali caught me by surprise.  I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the multi-height skyscrapers, or as I stopped in the middle of busy LA sidewalks to snap pictures of palm trees 5 days before Christmas while I was wearing a t-shirt. 

My only complaint...California cows don’t look any happier than any other cows that I’ve seen.  In fact, they look pretty damn depressed.  That commercial is a friggin' joke.

Highlights from 12/20

Sighting: The Jesus body in the Snow White coffin in the Catholic church on Olvera Street.  Thanks again, Los Angeles, for taking pics inside the church when I felt uncomfortable doing so.

Topic: Eavesdropping on the woman talking "Hollywood" on the FlyAway bus to LAX.  It wasn't very difficult to eavesdrop.  She was pretty freakin' loud. 

Quote: "How do you spell 'mumbling'?" -Man sitting on bench in front of Los Angeles's Union Station

Railroad French Toast on Amtrak's Southwest Chief

When I first heard about Railroad French Toast, I was reading an article that compared the Super Chief that ran on the old Santa Fe Railroad to Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.  Apparently, the recipe is a bit of a legend to those who once dined on the Super Chief.  They bragged of fluffy, golden brown toast dusted with confectioner’s sugar and topped with sliced strawberries. 

I consider myself a bit of a French Toast connoisseur.  As a kid, my Dad made it every Christmas.  Even after munching on Santa’s leftover cookies, I could always make room for a slice or two (or four).  Now that I am an adult, I have started making my own French Toast with my own secret ingredients. In all honesty, though, it all comes down to the bread.

My favorite bread to use is the homemade cinnamon sourdough bread from the Dayton Farmer’s Market in Dayton, Virginia.  The swirls of gooey cinnamon rival the inside of the most epic Cinnabon, and that bread dipped in a pile of Log Cabin Light is divine.  Though I have also used cinnamon raisin bread, pumpkin spice bread, regular old white bread, and honey wheat bread, nothing tastes as good as French Toast made with Dayton Farmer's Market cinnamon sourdough bread. 

Because of my success with homemade French Toast, I rarely order it when dining out.  I have made an exception on two ocassions—1) at Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg, Virginia and 2) the Dining Car on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.  On the Chief, when I took fork and knife to those fluffy pieces of golden brown toast, which was dusted with confectioner’s sugar and topped with sliced strawberries, I felt like I was cutting into a piece of history.  When I took my first bite, I would have sworn that I bit into a legend. 

There was something about my Railroad French Toast that was just, well, special.  I don't know if it was because of the fellow adventurers I was sitting with.  If it was because I was on my very first cross-country train trip, or if the French Toast was just that good.  Maybe it was all of the above.  Whatever it was, eating Railroad French Toast while experiencing California's landscape for the very first time will be a memory I carry forever. 

Community Seating - Part Two

Shall we continue with this community seating theme?  Okay, you twisted my arm. 

Since I had such a great Dining Car experience Monday night, I decided to dine in the Dining Car again the next morning.  I woke up just before sunrise, rubbed my eyes, threw my pack over my shoulder, and went downstairs to shower in the sink.  After all, I had to be clean for community seating, needed to make a good impression for Team Coach. 

I was essentially an expert after three days of showering in sinks.  I had an excellent method I followed on Days 2 and 3, too, but for modesty’s sake, decided not to post it here.  Typed it out using pretty bullets and all but deleted it.  Sad face.  If you find yourself having to shower in sinks, though, let me know.  I’ll let you in on all of my trade secrets.  After getting Amtrak clean (different from house clean or hotel clean), I made my way to the lounge car.  I watched the sunrise over the California desert, and when it finished rising, I walked approximately twenty feet to the Dining Car. 

At breakfast, I sat with a couple who used to own their own travel agency.  I also sat with a fellow coach passenger, a woman from Mexico City living in New York City who was traveling to Los Angeles.  For me the highlight of our breakfast conversation was exotic animals.  We discussed Christian the Lion (Youtube it: http://bit.ly/uFK03E), a boxing kangaroo, and elephants.  I absolutely loooove elephants.

Also, Mr. Travel Agency sounded a lot like Johnny Cash which made his stories that much more fascinating.  He told me that it was good breakfast wasn’t any longer because he said that he had plenty of adventures to share.  One of those adventures was hopping on a boxcar and eating hobo stew, and that was interesting, but the stories I loved the most were his stories about the elephants in Africa. 

When Mr. Travel Agency was in Kenya, he and some travelers were on a safari.  Maybe Mrs. Travel Agency was there, too.  I don’t know.  Anyways, Mr. Travel Agency had seen plenty of elephants and decided it was time to put the video camera away.  As soon as he put it away, though, an elephant calf stampeded toward their group.  The elephant calf was stomping his feet and flaring his ears, and Mr. Travel Agency said, “He was just so darn cute!”  Now imagine Johnny Cash saying that…pretty friggin’ awesome, right?

Now onto the other story.  Mr. Travel Agency was in a hot air balloon in Kenya.  They landed in an elephant wallow, and all of the passengers had to climb out over the highest end of the basket.  The passengers from the hot air balloon then dined on a full breakfast spread including mimosas in the grasslands of Kenya.  There were even more elephants this time.  Really makes me wish my summer trip to Africa comes to fruition.  Time to start saving…

Stay tuned for a preview of tomorrow’s blog: Railroad French Toast, a History

Two Thumbs Up for Community Seating

The Dining Car is expensive, and it was a bit of a legend in coach.  Many of the people I traveled with didn’t want to spend that kind of money on food, and I don’t blame them.  I was even one of those people.  I tried to spend $10 or less on each meal during my trip.  That left me with a variety of options—Chef Boyardee ravioli out of the can, McDonald’s cheeseburgers, TCBY parfaits, and lint from my belly button.  You can’t live off that kind of stuff for forever, though, not even three days.  Not me, at least.  I wanted vegetables.  I wanted salad.  I wanted something substantial. 

So, when I couldn’t find anything good to eat in the Albuquerque Union Station, I decided to take the plunge.  I ran up to the Dining Car and asked if they could squeeze me in for a reservation at 7:45PM.  Jackie, the Dining Car attendant on the Southwest Chief, gladly obliged and sat me down next to a gentleman I didn’t know. 

A gentleman I now call Denton Smedley.  Unfortunately, I didn’t come up with that myself.  He did.  Not that day, but some time before that.  It was the name he suggested for himself in a book that his friend wrote that included a character based on him, Smedley.  Dr. Smedley is a professor at Colgate University in Syracuse, New York.  He’s from LA but got his degrees on the east coast.  On breaks, he used to hitchhike home.  Only one way, though, he never hitchhiked both ways.  I wish I could do that—hitchhike.  Don’t throw a fit...I won’t.  Promise.

Speaking of hitchhiking, though, I actually met a guy in Union Station who hitchhiked across the U.S. when he was twenty.  He looked to be about in his 30s when I met him.

I’m going to stick to the alias thing and call Australia “Australia” despite him introducing himself with his real name.  After all, aliases up the excitement level about 50%.  Australia was in the states for Holiday.  He had just spent a week in Telluride, Colorado, skiing.  Thanks to Oprah Winfrey, I do know one thing about Telluride—Tom Cruise has a house there.  As you may have guessed, I couldn’t really contribute much to Telluride as a topic, but there was one conversation I could surprisingly contribute to—a conversation about Einstein.  Thanks, Dr. P!  Hopefully, you’re reading this.  According to Smedley, I have to read Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and I will…eventually. 

In the Dining Car, Monongahela took care of us, and Monongahela told us some fascinating stories.  Like Tony, she listed a bunch of celebrities she had met.  I didn’t recognize a lot of the names, but my eyes lit up when she said she had met Lucille Ball and Bob Hope.  Monongahela had even held a real Oscar, and this past year, her float in the town parade was awarded “Most Humorous Float.”  She said her and a bunch of other “little old ladies” dressed as elves; I wish I could have seen that.  I also wish I could have spent more time with Monongahela.  She seemed so full of stories.  The saddest one she told me, though, was that her mother almost died from the Yellow Smog in Pittsburgh? In 1949. 

You may be asking yourself why I call Monongahela, Monongahela.  I’m pretty sure she said you used to live there as a kid.  She also liked saying the word, “Monongahela” and was able to clock in five Monongahelas before the end of our conversation. 

I will end this post with a couple of thank yous.  Thank you, Dr. Smedley for ordering a cream puff and giving it to me so I didn’t have to pay, and thank you, Monongahela for the excellent service and the free chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Besides, who needs Roast Beast when you have salad, bread, spinach lasagna, a cream puff, ice cream, tea, and coffee for less than $20 including tip?  Not me, that’s for sure.  Glad I took the plunge.  The Southwest Chief Dining Car was quite the train travel experience.  Community seating is such a great idea........

Highlights from 12/19

Sighting: The creepy tree in the above picture.

Topic: Ted Turner's buffalo.  According to Topeka, Ted Turner owns 60% of the buffalo in the United States.

Quote: "You're like that person in the 50's with the little pen, the little hat, and the notepad.  [Pointing at laptop] That's the upgraded version." -Los Angeles
^This might have been  said on 12/18...but I can't remember.  For the purpose of this post, though, it was 12/19.  Definitely 12/19.

I Heart the Holidays

If I would have traveled in the spring, I’m sure the rushing waters and the green grass and the blooming flowers would have been pretty.  There was something special, though, about traveling around the holidays.  I’m not afraid to admit it.  I do not consider myself a religious person.  Whenever someone asks, I always say the same thing, “I would call myself more spiritual than religious.”  Religion, however, is everywhere this time of year, and it seems to me that most people think that you can either be religious and festive or not religious and not festive.  I want to put it out there that I’m spiritual and festive.  I appreciate and respect the magic of it all.  This time of year really is magical, but what I consider magical is different from what you may consider magical.  And that’s fine by me.  My magic is a soldier surprising his family for the holidays, a child opening a present from “Santa,” and tacky Christmas lights, among other things. 

I love tacky Christmas lights, and I saw plenty on my trip across the country.  Tomorrow (Thursday, 12/22) I will be putting a string of blue icicle lights on my deck.  They’re tasteful, unfortunately.  Someday, however, Brad and I will have a house of our very own, and whether he agrees with me or not, I will be the most obnoxious person in our neighborhood when it comes to decorations.  The houses I saw on this trip gave me plenty of ideas for the future.  Colored, blinking lights, blow-up Santa Clauses, candy cane yard ornaments, you name it…….I probably saw it, but my favorite decoration of all was the blow-up Santa in a helicopter.  This Santa in a helicopter was on top of a motel on the side of the road in Colorado.  The Travel Inn looked pretty sketchy, but I probably would have stayed there anyways because of the owner’s excellent taste.  

Honestly, there were decorations everywhere I went.  The Great Hall in Chicago’s Union Station was very festive.  From the snow shadows to the life-size ornaments, there was no way I could have forgotten it was the holidays.  The Art Institute of Chicago was decorated, too.  For example, there were two statues of massive lions outside the doors of the museum, and around the lions’ necks was a beautiful green wreath with a perfect red bow.  Some of the exhibits in the museum even had a holiday theme.  In the Miniature Exhibit, there were rooms decorated for both Christmas and Hanukkah.  Many of the towns I passed by had wreaths on the light posts.  Other towns had subdivisions with massive participation in the holiday lights department.  Olvera Street in Los Angeles (which I will blog about in a few days) was decorated for the holidays, as well.  The pavilion in the middle of the square housed a large nativity scene with golden statues.  They probably weren't real gold, but they were beautiful nonetheless.  LAX even joined in on the festivities.  At my gate, there were nutcrackers over 10 feet tall!  And though I didn’t see it myself, I heard the TSA agents at LAX even sang holiday songs for the travelers.    

Over these past few days, I could not help but be in the holiday spirit.  The Christmas lights at night were probably my favorite kind of decoration.  I can only think of one thing that would have topped those lights.  A passenger dressed as Santa Claus who.....there's a stipulation here-didn't break character.  One guy did have a Santa hat hanging over his seat.  It’s too bad that I forgot to take a picture. 

Happy Hanukkah 

Happy Kwanzaa

Merry Christmas

And to all you atheists out there, have a great Sunday.  

P.S. I'll post again tomorrow.  The plan is to publish a post a day until I'm all out of stories from this trip...may take me a while.  Hope you're ready to keep reading. 

Southwest Chief Lounge Car-Colorado to New Mexico (written in New Mexico)

I thought I was spoiled the first time I rode the Capitol Limited.  I didn’t think I ever would have an experience like that again.  I knew I would ride trains, but I figured the people I would meet wouldn’t share their stories like the people on the Capitol Limited shared theirs.  Boy was I wrong.  Gina and I met a ton of people in the lounge car today. 

Here are some brief bios…

We met a woman who previously lived in Sweden.  The woman played in the World Table Tennis Championship games in Tokyo, Japan, and I don’t know where else.  She’s been to South Korea and “all over Europe,” too.  Now most of the woman’s family has relocated to San Diego.  She misses Sweden, though.  She said it was a great place to raise kids.  The nature reserve by her house in Sweden sounded beautiful.  I think she said it was called, “God’s Green Pasture,” but I’m not sure who named it that.  Her children spent a lot of time there using “their imaginations.”  I bet if Brad and I live off the grid some where our kids can have that type of experience, too.  I know it’s cliché, but there’s nothing like the great outdoors. 

The woman who previously lived in Sweden was sitting next to a young man from Oklahoma.  He was a world traveler, too.  He mentioned that he had been to Kenya before.  I forget where else he said he had been and where he was traveling to.  I don’t forget, though, how much he said he loves to snowboard.  He said I should try it sometime, and I definitely will because it’s on my #bucketlist. 

Gina and I also met a woman from Tokyo.  The woman from Tokyo and I sat together while listening to the history lesson the conductor provided us about Wooten Ranch and Raton Pass.  Tokyo is studying at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.  I don’t know what she’s studying, but she was reading what looked like a school paper before we started talking.  Somehow, my trip to Africa came up, and the woman from Tokyo mentioned that she traveled to Botswana in 2008.

Toward the end of our time in the lounge car, Gina and I spent a lot of time talking to Topeka.  He got on in Topeka, Kansas and was getting off in Albuquerque, NM.  I never asked where he was from.  I know he is in the Army and has lived all over the place.  His last deployment was his third, and oddly enough he was in Afghanistan at the same time as Brad was.  Same general area, too.  The reason I call Topeka “Topeka” is because that’s where he boarded the train.  I mentioned to him that I live in Harrisonburg, VA.  He then pulled out a wooden lighter that he bought from Shenandoah National Park.  While chatting, Topeka informed me that he was the “Stony Man Trail champ,” and he received that honor after his friends and him raced to the top of the mountain.  Topeka also informed me that he would love to hike the Appalachian Train.  Just like Brad and myself, he wants to go southbound (i.e. Maine to Georgia). 

I remember the first time I told Uncle Jack, I wanted to hike the AT.  I think he thought I was crazy.  He told me to make sure I hiked Maine to Georgia so I was hiking downhill the whole way. =) Thinking about that makes me smile.  Hence, the smiley face.  I saw a pretty neat rainbow mural on the side of a building in Albuquerque, NM.  That made me smile, too.  As many of you have, I’ve seen a ton of rainbows since Uncle Jack’s passing. 

Back to the lounge car, I don’t know much about the little boy who made a snowball from the snow that blew into the connecting car, or the man who previously traveled the Southwest Chief in the spring.  But they were sightseeing with Gina and me, too. 

           

Snow in the Desert? WTH (written in New Mexico)

In Kansas City, MO, I made a new friend.  Her name is Gina, and she is taking the train to surprise her family in Flagstaff, Arizona.  She’s twenty, and this is her first train ride.  Once we started moving, she wondered if the clanking was normal.  She wondered if the shaking of the car in front of us was normal, and if the lack of security was normal, too.  I assured her that everything would be just fine, and we became fast friends.  I love the way she says, “Gotcha” and also the way she says, “Ya Know.”  Gina’s from Minnesota, and her accent reminds me of Bobby’s World.  Gina said I have an accent, too, which is something I rarely ever hear.  Except, of course, when Brad makes fun of the way I say, “Pancakes…..and coffee.”  Accents seem to be a bit of a theme today.  The White woman behind me was laughing at the way her Spanish-speaking seatmate said, "Sugar."  Had a few choice words at that moment.  Kept them to myself, though.  Maybe I shouldn't have. 

Gina and I commandeered a couple of seats in the sightseeing lounge early in the morning, and that’s where we spent most of our day.  It’s been snowing off and on since we woke up.  We have even traveled through a couple of blizzards.  Maybe it’s just one big one.  I don’t know. 

The Colorado prairies were stunning.  We went through Lamar, La Junta, and Trinidad.  I especially loved this leg of the trip.  The homes on the side of the road had a lot of character, and as many of you know, I love run down houses. Some of houses had old truck and car parts in their yards.  Others had pastures full of cattle, and on the cattle’s fur was a layer of new fallen snow.  I’ll make sure to post pictures after I get home. 

In Colorado, we also rode passed the Wooten Ranch.  Once I get internet access, I need to strengthen the history sections of these blog posts, but for now, it is what it is.  I like being unplugged, but for the purpose of accuracy, I do wish I had access to Google.  About Wooten--he was an outlaw, and he was shot dead by someone.  Before he died, he charged people money to use the Sante Fe Trail which ran on his property, and if it wasn’t for the snow we would have been able to see his gravesite.  It’s only 100 yards from the track. 

After passing Wooten Ranch, we climbed to the top of Raton Pass (7,000 feet).  When we entered the tunnel, we were still in Colorado.  When we exited, we were in New Mexico.  New Mexico is not what I expected.  In my mind, I thought tumbleweeds.  In actuality, I should have thought snow and lots of it. 

Because of the snow, we are running about three hours behind schedule.  Apparently, the police have shut down some interstates, and many of the travelers on the train are worried about their loved ones driving to the stations.  For once, I have nothing to worry about because I’m a drifter.  I was born to walk alone.  The Southwest Chief is the only train I’ve ever known.  That’s a lie, I know the Capitol Limited, too.  Hopefully, you all get that reference.  I know a few people that should.  Otherwise, I'm gonna just feel like a dork.

Seeing snow in the desert is pretty ironic.  The last time my dad traveled cross-country, there was snow in New Mexico.  So, maybe it’s a Brasseur thing?  I don’t know.  A lot of people are upset about the delays, but like Steinbeck said, “A journey is like a marriage.  The only way you can go wrong is to think you can control it.”  Traveling with that attitude, you can’t go wrong.  I doubt I’ll get to see the Pacific this trip.  Maybe I will, but I doubt it.  Good thing is, I met a friend from Los Angeles, and Los Angeles has helped me to figure out some back-up plans.  Hollywood Walk of Fame, Universal Studios, and a train ride to LAX.

Another history lesson.  Felicia, please help me out in the comments section.  In New Mexico, we traveled by Glorietta Canyon.  The battle held there is known as the Gettysburg of the West, and the fields we passed are often referred to as the killing fields.  An American flag near a pavilion marks the spot of the battle’s memorial.  I couldn’t get a good picture, though, because it was dark and snowy.  It was a dark and snow night.......there's another one!  Get it?  Anyways, hopefully, I can find something online once I get home.

More Posts Coming Soon (I'm home)

Got a little behind on blog posts.  Too much adventure and not enough writing.  I'm back in H-burg, but I still have a ton to catch everyone up on, a ton (i.e. tour of Los Angeles from Los Angeles, a special guest post, etc.) Once I get some sleep, I'll post.  Really, I will.  Promise.