My Intrepid Niece …
Some
of you might remember my niece Wendy who visited me at Christmastime.
She lives in NY City and is a free lance artist. She's not
constrained by a standard job and can come and go at will. She's
also a great devotee of train travel and proved it last week when she
boarded an Amtrak headed West … a 72 hour trip that climaxed in
Seattle, Washington !
At first gasp all I could think was ... THREE DAYS ...without the luxury of a sleeper! But Wendy loved every minute of it. She was able to sketch, read, write emails and just plain relax. Here are some of the details that she shared with me as the days wore on:
At first gasp all I could think was ... THREE DAYS ...without the luxury of a sleeper! But Wendy loved every minute of it. She was able to sketch, read, write emails and just plain relax. Here are some of the details that she shared with me as the days wore on:
This
is the detail of the ceiling of Union Station in Chicago. (This
picture has many more details than the others because she was able to
take advantage of the indoor lighting.)
This
sunset is over the swollen Mississippi at La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Minot,
North Dakota. As they say there: “Why not Minot?”
Foothills
of the Rockies toward Glacier National Park. Unfortunately it was
overcast, but still beautiful and they even saw 3 moose!
To
quote Wendy: “It's so
interesting to watch the parade of passengers: Wisconsin
brought whole families of Amish and Mennonite. One Mennonite guy had
a booming cell phone call behind me, talking in the strangest pigeon
German/English.
Minnesota
brought all characters who could have come straight off a Prairie
Home Companion set (I had a long chat with an antique dealer who
specializes in historic bottles. He
does the garage sale circuit, only on a bike! If he buys large items
he goes back with his van, but he says the bike saves him time -
sometimes he rides 30 miles in a day.)
In North
Dakota, it's Native
Americans.”
I loved
my vicarious journey with her. It
was a reminder of the
amazing likes and differences that make up our amazing United States.
No wonder the politicians have a hard time appealing to all !
posted by Ginnie at 5:00 PM
7 Comments:
Ah younger folk than me -- sounds like an interesting trip as I've considered train travel. Am surprised it was only 72 hours. When I was younger sitting up would not have been so bothersome but think I'm past that stage now. Think I'd likely need a compartment for sleeping. I wonder if she had to make many changes as I would want none.
That sounds like fun for a somewhat younger person.
I love trains. But 72 hours is a bit long for me. My mother used to take the train from NC to visit my brother in Oregon. She loved it and traveled the northern route one way and southern route the other. She made so many friends on those trips and they exchanged cards for quite a while.
Such a vast country with such variety! Much to celebrate and be proud of!
I can totally relate to her delightful journey. She obviously enjoyed meeting all the different types of folks that would make her trip interesting and informative. I love how she embraced the opportunity, not sure I could do 72 hours sitting up no matter how interesting it was. Youth helps.
Years ago, I made a similar trip across the U.S. via the Southern Route. All sorts of adventures along the way, including a proposal of something or other.....
Oh I would have loved doing that in my much younger days! Today, I would need a Pullman sleeper with my own bed and private potty! LOL! Just call me spoiled!
I am thinking that the Mennonite guy was probably speaking what we call Pennsylvania Dutch back up in the Poconos. Sounds like my Uncle. Sometimes his English was so backward, it was hilarious. But, I grew up in a home where there were a mixture of languages often being spoken in the same sentences. Magically, we all understood one another.
What a great trip she had. I hope she shares more of it!
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