The EPIC train ride

In order to return home to Long Island we have decided to take the train. A 20 hour train ride is by definition an epic train ride. A legendary train ride. A train ride work documenting.
January 5th, 2010; 7:12 pm
We have arrived at Union Station in Chicago. We even managed to get our tickets. Interestingly enough, MY barcode worked instantly on the machine, it was Annegret’s that we had to go to the ticket people for.
January 5th, 2010; 7:28 pm
We found Gate C and the waiting lounge. We’re wondering why everybody is standing in line waiting to board an hour before boarding begins. We’re wondering why there is a “boarding time” – why can’t you just walk out on the track and get on the train? We’ve used train in countless regions and countries, me do not think using a train is a big deal (but yes, 20 hours IS epic, legendary even), and everywhere else we’ve been you just go to the track, wait for the train to come and get on.
January 5th, 2010; 8:45 pm
We’ve made it out the gate and onto the track. We’re confused why there’s a person telling everyone how to get onto the train. It’s NOT that difficult. Even if the train is splitting, you can just mark the wagons.
January 5th, 2010; 9:05 pm
We’re pulling out of the station. We tested how far back the seats go… satisfactory. But we are wondering how we’re supposed to put our feet up with this much leg space.
The guy in front of us has started talking to the young student from NYU next to us. He will be talking the entire ride.
January 5th, 2010; 10:32 pm
Somewhere between Illinois and Indiana. I have decided to use the bathroom before settling in, taking off my shoes and getting comfortable. There is snow in the part in between the wagons. It’s like its own mini-snowstorm in there.
I am glad to announce that the bathroom has two 120-volt outlets. Just in case I decide to blow-dry my hair. Or curl it. Or both. At the SAME time.
I am slightly amused by the fact that everything in the bathroom is labeled: FLUSH, TRASH, TOILETTE PAPER, WATER… and everything is labeled in Braille, too. I have thought about this before. How do blind people KNOW there is something to “read”? Even I had to look for some of the labels – do blind people REALLY pat down all the walls first thing when they use the bathroom? In my dorm all the door signs (even the one next to my door 207D) have Braille on them, but you kinda have to know they’re there…
January 5th, 2010; 10:49 pm
I know most of the guy in front of us’s life history: how many times he has been married, what his first wife thinks of him, how many kids he has from which marriage and how he ended up getting a really good deal on a vacation in Disneyland. I know some interesting stories about his cousins (and how many there are in total/how many per Aunt/Uncle), which baseball team he roots for (and that his wife knows nothing about sports) and plenty more.
He REALLY is going to be talking all night.
January 6th, 2010: 1:45 am
We’re guessing Ohio. I dozed off and was tossing and turning unable to find a truly relaxed position. Usually I am quite good at curling up in tight spaces and conking out for the night. Apparently, there is an in-between size of not large enough to completely stretch out (say, a bed or a couch or a large comfortable chair) and small enough to jam yourself in somewhat comfortably (a bus seat works pretty good).
I watched the last few lights of Indiana pass by in a winter wonderland of snow and dozed of somewhere in Ohio, my last thought being.
He is STILL talking! I now also know a lot about his and his wife’s eating habits and that microwaves zap all the nutrition out of the food.
January 6th, 2010; 2:45 am
Near Toledo, OH. I woke up. Probably because the sudden realization that it was silent in the wagon startled me.
The two of us finally figured out what the mysterious extra handle on our seat was (imagine me, hair standing up straight on one side standing, pulling the handle going – it’s gotta do something. It’s gotta led the seat slide down or something – and finally discovering that you could pull up something akin to a foot rest which solved the problem of that extra foot of space that was keeping me from sound sleep.
January 6th, 2010; 6:54 am
Eerie, PA. I woke up as the train stopped. And was struck by two facts:
a) The guy in front of us was talking again…
b) This is the town my father grew up in! This is his Schriesheim so to say. The place he spent most of his childhood and the left, and never went back to.
I was going to have a moment of silence for this momentous occasion, but was too distracted by a full report of how easy it is/or isn’t to shave in a train bathroom (and why one should do it, no matter how difficult).
January 6th 2010; 11:25 am
Syracruse, NY. Just as we pulled out I decided it was time to stretch me legs, relieve my intestines and combine these two necessities with a short expedition covering a few wagon lengths. It appears that that little snow storm I described earlier is not a problem. I do worry about the other end of our wagon, though and about who will dig a tunnel through the snow mountain in there to keep up connected to the other half of our train.
January 6th, 2010; 1:28pm
Somewhere past Syracuse, NY. While we found it quite amusing to “watch” the movies the guy in the seat across the aisle is watching without sound and guess what the movie is and what’s happening. We are not amused by the fact that Gary (the chatty guy in front of us) and Emma (the student from NYU) have decided to watch an odd movie (we have no clue but think it might be the horror version of Snow White if there is such a thing…) in front of us without using headphones (which I believe is the custom with portable devices…). It’s kinda nerve wracking. I also wonder if it’s legal. Because that movie certainly isn’t rated G and there’s a three year old (with severe food allergies and other issues as I have gathered from her mother’s loud phone conversation to various people in New York) sitting behind us who might accidently see some of it in addition to hearing most of it, which could potentially traumatize her for life.
January 6th, 2010; 2:40pm
Near Albany, NY. Quick stop de-couple a couple of wagons and send them on to Boston. Do not fear, we were in the right part of the train! We did get out to sniff some fresh air along with all the smokers. Well, I guess they didn’t get out to sniff fresh air, but they were the only other people who got off the train.
January 6th, 2010; 5:08pm
Amaaaaaaaaazing sunset. Beautiful. Taking a late afternoon snooze feels great when you’re dozing off to the patter-patter of train and have a breath-taking scene in front of your eyes every time you open them!
January 6th, 2010, 6:03
We enjoyed coming up on NYC’s night skyline and after being stuck in a tunnel because there was too much “traffic” an Penn Station we arrived 20 minutes early – just in time to run through the station, grab a station and hop on the LIRR to Stony Brook.
Home.