Busy Boston Weekend

For Alex's birthday, he wanted to go to Boston and see a game at Fenway Park.  So, I used points to book us on a NorthEast Regional train from Washington DC on Friday to Boston and used points to also book us on Acela First Class back home on Sunday.  I went on Priceline and found a hotel room for a rate that I thought was still high, but one week later was going to $200 more a night than I was paying so I stopped complaining.  Finally, I went on StubHub and was able to find tickets to the Orioles and Red Sox game on Saturday, September 22nd.

I picked up Alex from school on Friday around 10 a.m. and we hit the road to Washington DC arriving at Union Station around 12:30 p.m.  I had a pass to Club Acela and we checked in there and stored our luggage and used the restroom.  We then headed to Au Bon Pain to get lunch and chocolate croissants for the trip.  After eating lunch, we headed back to Club Acela to relax for a bit before heading out to the gate in preparation for boarding.  Seeing how busy the station was and knowing it was a heavy travel day, I thought we ought to get to the gate a little earlier and sure enough, a queue was already forming at the gate.  We went ahead and got in line so that we could get two seats together.  Once onboard, we found seats and as we were pulling out, the conductor announced that it was a sold-out train.

The ride up the east coast was uneventful and Alex and relaxed, watched movies, and surfed the internet.  We arrived in Boston a little after 10 p.m. and took a short taxi ride to our hotel, Club Quarters.  The Hotel was very small but clean, comfortable, and convenient.  We turned in for the night in preparation for a busy day.

On Saturday, we were up and out of the room by 9 a.m. and walked toward the waterfront taking in historic sites along the way.  After the waterfront, we continued our walking tour around downtown including the Old State House, Quincy Market, Fanuiel Hall, Kings Chapel, and some cemeteries.  We were fascinated by the old headstones in the cemeteries and their macabre inscriptions.

Finally, we made our way to Boston Commons where a very large festival was taking place and was very crowded.  From there, we hopped on the "T" which is their public transit system.  It is a subway system downtown that kind of turns into buses out in the suburbs.  The cars are very small but run frequently and it was fairly  easy to get around.

 

 

We rode the T to Fenway Park and really enjoyed our afternoon.  The crowds were friendly and the food at the stadium was very good.  Our Orioles won in extra innings, too, which made it a great day.

 

 

After the game, we took the T back downtown and walked back to our hotel.  We were exhausted and decided to order room service instead of going out for dinner. 

 

On Sunday, we slept in a little and then checked out of our hotel and headed back to South Station.  We visited Au Bon Pain yet again for more chocolate croissants and then checked in to Club Acela in Boston.  It is a beautiful lounge for first class and sleeper passengers.

 

 

They called our train to board and we walked out and boarded our train.  On the Acela, they have some seats where there are four chairs that face each other at a table.  It is designed for businessmen and women to be able to work while traveling.  We sat at one of these tables and was fortunate enough to enjoy it to ourselves for the first part of the trip.  After we left Boston, they bought us our first meal and it was very good.  I had mimosas all morning.

 

 

Except for the two seats across from us, the rest of the train was full.  Many people left at NYC but just as many boarded there including a group of four who could not find four seats together so they sat at the two across from us and the two single seats beside us.  They were friendly and we talked about the Ravens and the Orioles as they were from Baltimore.  There was an older gentleman traveling with them that the daughter-in-law kept calling Tom.  Later, I noticed one of the bags which had the last name "Clancy" on it and realized that we were riding with the author Tom Clancy and his family.  He didn't talk much as he spent most of his time reading a large book.  His son was following the football and based ball scores on the computer and we chatted with the daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  They left in Baltimore and by that time, there were only a few people left in our car.

 

 

All in all, we had a great weekend.  We loved Boston and enjoyed our train trip and are now ready for our next adventure.   Until then . . . . 







Beating the heat at Luray Caverns

After several days of sweltering heat, I was anxious to escape to somewhere cool.   Somewhere cool has been hard to find on the east coast, unless you went underground, so a cavern was the answer.  We are fortunate in that our part of the country, where limestone is abundant, there are several caverns open to the public.  Luray Caverns are some of the largest on the east coast and is a popular tourist destination.  Since I had not been there for many years, we thought it might be a good day to visit again.

Upon arrival, it soon became obvious that we may not have been the only ones with the idea of finding natural air conditioning as the parking lot was almost full.  After parking, one heads to the main building where we stood in line for a while to buy our tickets.  There were lines everywhere and it had a "DisneyWorld" feel to the place with all the lines and many foreign tourists.  While waiting in line, we did get to listen to a performer set up out front.  He was very talented playing a guitar, with a flute-like instrument around his neck, and small cymbals on his feet.  The crowd enjoyed his soothing, classical music.

After getting our tickets, the boys wanted to first try out the rope adventure park they have there.  Basically, you are harnessed and tethered to an overhead safety cable and then climb your way across ropes and suspended bridges of all sorts.

The boys enjoyed the activity and it reminded me of a C. M. Escher print.  Next to the ropes adventure park, they also have a garden maze that looked pretty fun, except when it was 104 degrees.

The boys were good and hot now, so we headed over to the line to enter the caverns.  The line moved pretty quickly and before long, we were entering the bowels of the earth in a steady stream of people.  When you get large crowds of people, there are always those you wonder what happened to their brains.  The couple in front of us with four small children were complaining trying to manage their very large stroller down the stairs into the caverns.  The man remarked "it didn't say strollers weren't allowed."   No, idiot, the world doesn't revolve around you and offspring.  Had you used your brain, you would have realized that you were going under the ground into caves carved by long ago rivers and the effects of underground water and it might not be stroller accessible.  For his next move, he got out his iphone but quickly put it away as he realized there was no service in a cave.

The caverns are a comfortable 55 degrees year round and it was very comfortable walking the 1.5 miles through the caverns.  The caverns are very beautiful, but the large numbers of people walking through and touching the formations, though told not to several times, has taken its toll.  These caverns are no longer a living thing and are no longer creating those wonderful formation.  These caverns are dead and have that dead feel to them.  Other caverns in our area, such as Grand Caverns and Shenandoah Caverns, see far fewer people and the landscapes are still changing.  Because of the large numbers of people, they also do not give a guided tour to small groups at a time, but rather you walk through at your own pace and there are employees posted at a few places to tell you about some of the features, but you generally cannot hear them because of all the talking people and crying children.  So you walk through and admire God's handiwork, but know literally nothing about what you are seeing.

Still, it was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on an extremely hot summer afternoon and should you get a chance, stop and visit any caverns to marvel at the other-world beauty of our earth.

Long weekend at Hatteras National Seashore

Since my weekend was not consumed entirely by baseball for a change, I decided to make a last minute trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. 

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a chain of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina connected by a highway which relies on bridges and ferries.  As a national seashore, much of it is protected from development and many species of fowl, reptile, and mammals call this place home.  One of the significant parts of the history of the Outer Banks is that it was the place that the Wright brothers chose to test some of their early prototypes for flight.  There are numerous sand dunes on the island which combined with the coastal breezes made a good place to test their theories on flight.  Today, there is a large monument to the Wright brothers and Jockey Ridge is now a state park where you can still spread your wings and hang-glide.

We stopped at Jockey's Ridge on our way down to our destination of Buxton, NC so that we could stretch our legs after riding all afternoon.  It was a beautiful day with a stiff breeze and we enjoyed climbing over the dunes.  Of course, climbing sand is very different than the hiking I am used to and my calves were screaming by the time we left.

We continued down Route 12 to Pea Island and noticed the encroachment of the sand on the highway.  The thing to know about Route 12 is that much of it travels down narrow strips of land and there are sections where you are literally on the beach on the ocean side  and the sound is just yards away on the other side.  After crossing the impressive bridge at Oregon Inlet, it is not long before you notice the damage from late last summer's Hurricane Irene including a makeshift bridge erected to span the new inlet created by the storm.  Further down in Miro, more damage is still very much evident to homes in this area.

When we finally arrived, we quickly unloaded and threw on our swimsuit to spend a little time on the beach before dark.  It was a beautiful evening and it framed the Hatteras lighthouse beautifully.  We also saw a couple getting married on the beach at sunset just up the beach from us.  It was very beautiful.

The next morning found us traveling back up Route 12 to Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.  Our mission was to sail on a headboat and do some fishing.  Unfortunately, the only headboat operating that day doesn't leave the sound and fishing is limited.  We sailed around several spots looking for the fish but none was to be had.  We did enjoyed watching some dolphins, though, and it was very cool out on the water.  When our boat returned to the docks, many of the charters that had went out to the gulfstream were returning and unloading their catch.  There were some impressive catches that day and we enjoyed watching them unload the fish.





We then headed back to Buxton and to the beach for more evening time at the beach.  Dusk is a beautiful time to be on the beach as it gives everything a different hue.

Next morning found me up bright and early to head to the Orange Blossom Bakery for their famed Apple Uglies.  These concoctions are homeade, delicious, the size of dinner plates, and go fast.  You must be there early or your chances of getting one are slim.  They have many other awesome breakfast sandwiches and pastries, but you have to try the apple uglies at least once.

We enjoyed another full day at the beach and enjoyed playing in the surf.  There were excellent waves this weekend and many surfers were out enjoying the surf.

The day of departure arrived and we enjoyed another couple of hours on the beach before hitting the road and heading home.  We had a great weekend and everyone should experience the beautiful, unspoiled beaches of the Outer Banks.

Home Sweet Home

Writing this from the comfort of my own home where I know I will sleep well tonight.

While waiting in Chicago to board our last train, I found out the the tracks at Donner Pass were closed not long after we went through due to a mud slide.  Whew, that was a close call.  The west-bound California Zephyr ended up being about 12 hours late as a result of the mudslide.

They called us to board and we pulled out of Chicago right on time.  Unfortunately, our almost perfect on time performance took a bit of a nose dive on this last leg of the journey as we were not twenty minutes out of Chicago when they put us in a siding and we sat there for an hour and a half while five freight trains went through.  You see, Amtrak does not own most of the tracks it travels on, but rather the freight companies do and they are supposed to give priority to Amtrak but sometimes they do not.  We never made up this time and ended up pulling into Staunton more than two hours late.  The Cardinal is probably my least favorite train because it is smaller and does not have a full diner nor a sightseer lounge car.  The tracks it travels on are extremely rough, too.  The scenery through West Virginia is very pretty, though.

As we pulled into Staunton, several police officers were there to meet the train and escorted a woman off the train.  She was in coach, so I don't know what her offence was, but it was obviously serious enough to get kicked off the train.  We had to have some drama on this trip, after all, though no where near my trip last summer.

All in all it was a great trip.  Now, where do I want to go next . . . . . .

Pictures are here if you would like to view https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3213484589157.139415.1627562189&type=1&aft=3213691514330&l=141f6ad3b5

One more train

I write to you from the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago as we await the boarding call for the eastbound Cardinal at 5:15.  The ride from Denver to Chicago is fairly boring as far as scenery is concerned with the only sights worth noting is the Missippi River and the many farms dotting the midwest.

Amazingly, we arrived in Chicago a little early.  The on time performance on this trip has been incredible with us arriving early or on time on every leg except for our arrival in to San Francisco due to the southbound train hitting a camper just ahead of us.  Considering that we will have traveled over 7000 miles, it is pretty remarkable that we have kept to the schedule.

Also amazing, the on board crews and staff have been super friendly and accomodating.  This trip has been much better than my big trip last summer for this reason and for not being many hours late each time.

The food has also been fantastic.  We have enjoyed delicious steak, crabcakes, duck with orange sauce, chicken cacciatore, angus burgers, soups, and fabulous desserts.   Here is a picture of the fabulous deep dish pizza we enjoyed in Chicago and a picture from the wine and cheese tasting on the Coast Starlight:

They will be calling us to board, soon, so I will sign off for today.  I'll post from home tomorrow night.  All aboard.

Rocky Mountain High

This morning found us speeding across the high Utah Desert headed toward the Canyons of eastern Utah.  Such beautiful rock formations are here.

Then we headed into the canyons of western Colorado which was dotted by ranches and a few vineyards.  We followed the Colorado river along until we reached the Rocky Mountains.  There was still some deep snow in spots as we crossed over the Rockies and then the snow was gone as we made the sweeping descent into Denver.  We are parked here in Denver next to Coors Field and we will soon be heading to dinner.  I think I will be having Ribs tonight.  We will turn in after that and wake up in Iowa after traveling through Nebraska.



Greetings from the desert

(written yesterday, but could not post due to no coverage)

Night is now falling on the desert outside of Winnemucca, Nevada.   This morning found us packing up early and hailing a cab from the hotel and heading to the Amtrak station at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.  We were ticketed to leave from Fishersman Wharf, but that is just a bus stop with no shelter and guess what, it was still raining in San Francisco.  So, we decided to leave from the Ferry Building stop instead because they have a waiting room there.  We waited there for them to announce the arrival of the bus to take us across the bay and into Emeryville where we would catch the number 6 train, the California Zephyr.  You may recall that the California Zephyr is rated one of the top ten scenic trains in the world, so we were pretty psyched to board to see the scenery, and to go home.

Unfortunately, the rain and fog followed us from San Francisco all the way up the summits of the Sierra Nevada obscuring what is supposed to be beautiful views of the American River and Cape Horn.  The clouds and fog did make for a pretty setting along the San Pablo Bay, though, with the multitude of shore birds to be found there.

Once we reached Donner Lake and Donner Pass, the sun did finally start peeking through the clouds and the rain slacked off.  It had snowed earlier in the week and there was a fair amount of snow on the Sierras.

After we reached the summit and started to descend into a cute little town called Truckee.  Once through Truckee, the train was busy as people who were headed to Reno for the weekend were getting ready to depart.  After Reno, the train was much quieter and the scenery became much more dramatic and desolate, in a beautiful sort of way.

At least we had finally left the rain and fog behind.

Tomorrow will be a big day of scenery, the canyons of Utah and the Rockies in Colorado.