Part
2 – Amtrak Empire Builder Seattle to Chicago – Sunday Jan 20 to
Tuesday Jan 22, 2013
After
picking myself up off the ground and with no apparent injuries I
returned to the station and waited to board the Empire Builder –
before heading for lunch I checked my smaller bags at the baggage
check – my big bag weighed in at 44.5 lbs which is below the 50 lb
max – I brought a luggage scale at the $$ store before the trip and
when I weighed it at home it matches what the digital weigh scale
came up with.
I
thought something was familiar with our car steward – his name is
Steve and when we got to talking about questions for tomorrow's wine
and cheese and trivia contest opened only to those in the sleepers I
remember I had him last year when I was returning from my Panama
Canal cruise – this will be the last time I will see him as he is
retiring at the end of February 2013 after more than 35 years with
the company.
After
getting settled in and given my small compo bottle of bubbly I am
asked by the dining room guru which dinner time I would like – took
the first one available – I choose the herb chicken dinner with
mashed potatoes and veggie medley and had a chocolate brownie
creation for dessert which I found to hard to chew with the dentures
– I did attempt to eat the salad but the lettuce sticks to the
dentures so didn't have salad the remainder of the trip. The chicken
was alright – I have had it before – always find it a little dry
but in comparison to some of the chicken dishes I cook at home and
which leave a lot to be desired.
A
couple on the train from Langley BC are doing a 50 some day cruise on
the Pacific Princess from Fort Lauder dale to Sydney Australia – we
would be joined by a number of other cruises to various destinations
as I made my way east and south.
I
always like the Empire Builder – it is the most profitable long
inter-city route in the system and it's on-time record is good.
While
we made good time the first day as we headed into the cold northern
tier states – North Dakota and Minnesota we started falling further
and further behind schedule – while some can be attributed to track
work being done why we continued to lose time I can't answer.
I
didn't sleep well the first night but was much better the second
night.
Monday
and Tuesday's brekkie's were a bust – while I am not a big egg
eater you aren't given many choices – my favorite is French Toast
but apparently it is now only offered on the west bound trains.
The
scrambled eggs tasted like they came from a powdery mix and the
potatoes were cold most mornings.
The
weather was fine - cold but dry as we climbed over Maries Pass in
Glacier National Park – I did get some pictures from the train but
the quality is always impaired because you are taking them through
the window.
After
lunch on the second day the Empire Builder puts on a wine and cheese
session – a chance to promote local US west coast wines – we only
had 12 people p participate as the train isn't very busy – not
uncommon during the winter months although we did have a fair number
either get off or on at Whitefish Montana as most were going skiing
in the region.
How
the wine tasting works – they pour a wine and then play trivia –
asked question and if you get the answer right you get the remains of
the bottle – well with only 12 of us they were only giving out full
bottles – one of the questions was geared for the Pacific Northwest
people among us – Steve is from Seattle and his question was does
any one know the name of the incident that almost caused war to break
out between Canada/Britain and the US in the Pacific Northwest – I
shout out the Battle of the Pig – that was the correct answer and
that relates to an incident when a Britisher killed an American pig
on San Juan Island – at that time the boundary through the Gulf and
San Juan Islands hadn't been determined and both countries had troops
on the island – i believe it was the Spanish King who mediated a
settlement and the boundaries that exist today were drawn.
Finally
made it into Chicago with 40 minutes to spare for the catching the
Capitol Limited to D.C. - didn't even have time to catch a quick
break in the lounge at Chicago's Union Station – they had us go
straight to the train so they could make our dinner reservations.
We
also got delayed because we had to follow a commute train into the
Chicago station.
I
haven't mentioned that it was cold – actually frigid at many of the
stops so I didn't waste a lot of time getting on and off the train
at some of the stops.
Up
next Part 3 – Chicago to Washington D.C.
