I’ve managed to meet my writing friend Wendy several times during our travels. For several years, she lived near St. Louis, and recently, she and her husband moved to Chicago. On this trip, we had expected a six hour layover at Union Station in Chicago while waiting for our next … Continue reading →
We think traveling Amtrak is best when your destination times are flexible, and you don’t need to get somewhere in a hurry. Surprisingly, we run into many people on the train who arrange their work schedule so they can use the train for travel on a business trip. This approach … Continue reading →
There’s something enchanting about submarines. As an aside, my friend, Tom Vetter, a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander and career-long submariner, just published a memoir about his singular historical career, and I’d be remiss not to include a link to more information about this tremendous book. The submarine pictured here is … Continue reading →
The Texas Eagle runs from San Antonio to Chicago (or, from Chicago to San Antonio, if you prefer). Since we almost always leave from and return to San Antonio, the Texas Eagle route figures prominently in our train plans. If we decide to leave from Temple, Texas, the Texas Eagle … Continue reading →
We used Enterprise Car Rental in Sacramento. They were wonderful. They picked us up at the train station, took us to the rental location, handled all the paperwork efficiently, and, when we turned the car in, offered us a ride back to our hotel (or anywhere else we needed to … Continue reading →
We were supposed to catch the train from Reno to Sacramento; however, this was where we experienced our first aberration in the trip. I was sitting in the hotel lobby waiting to check in when I received an automated phone call from Amtrak notifying me of a delay in the … Continue reading →
During the day, announcements are made throughout the train about upcoming stops, but no announcements are made during quiet hours (10pm – 7am). The final announcement is usually made about 9:30 pm. Quiet hours are more critical when traveling in coach class on the train. This ensures there are times … Continue reading →
Welcome back to another month of Merry Go Round Blog conversation. This month we’re talking about on line reader communities. I’m afraid I don’t have anything unique to offer over what’s already been talked about. GoodReads and LibraryThing, both sites I participate in on a peripheral level. I’ve been a … Continue reading →
Walter and Boomer are appearing on the game camera during overnight hours. At least, I think it’s Boomer. Walter is easy to discern. Boomer, not so much. It’s more that there’s a cat that isn’t Walter or Junior or Sneaky of one of the sundry other periodic visitors, and it … Continue reading →
Last time we were in Los Angeles, we took a VIP tour of Universal Studios. This time, we signed up for the VIP tour of Paramount studios. The most amazing thing we learned was how many massive scenes have been crammed into the tiny lawn in front of Lucille Ball’s … Continue reading →
