1) Another reason I love the train is that loved ones can go right up on the platform with you! In fact, remember how great it was when people could meet you at the gate at the airport? You can get that feeling on the train! In fact, I even saw someone with no ticket at all help a family member on to the train and then get back off once the family member was settled in. Right on the train! With no ticket!
2) Do you remember how I wondered how people know which car to get on, on the Capitol Limited since the cars weren't labeled? I found out! It turns out there are nice, helpful people stationed along the platform who ask you where you're going and direct you.
3) You get to choose your own seat! But the experience isn't all panicky like when you fly Southwest Airlines. Why? Because every seat is huge. Every seat has so much leg room that I (at 5'2") can only reach the seat in front of my by stretching out my tippy toes. And there are no middle seats. Basically, the only choice you have to make is aisle or window!
To make this train, I had to get up at 5am. Those of you who know me well know that such an hour is torture for me. Well, I'm learning each time I have to sleep in coach how to do it better. This was the second time. I brought earplugs, first of all. They made a huge difference. Luckily, the train wasn't full, so the seat next to me was empty, and I knew just how to set myself up to snooze! By the end of 30 days, I'm going to be a total pro.
Those of you who know me well also know that I am almost never cold. As I tried to go to sleep I was freezing cold. As a car attendant walked by, I asked if there were blankets and pillows available. Here was his awesome answer: "I'm sorry. We haven't had pillows and blankets since the Pillow Fight of '95. It took two days to clean that car." He was dead serious. Of course, I was immediately filled with questions: How did the pillow fight start? Did everyone join in? Was it violent? Did anyone get hurt? Anyway, I love that there is an event in history called "The Pillow Fight of '95."
As the car attendant walked away, he turned back with a twinkle in his eye and said, "The reason it's so cold is to get people buy more coffee and hot chocolate. It's a marketing ploy." Then he turned and walked away. What?! Was he kidding or serious? I have no idea. If it is true, it's mean and brilliant all at once.
Just a quick note, FYI. On the train, I ate my Double Trouble cupcake from the Oakmont Bakery. Oh, my heavens to Betsy. People, this may have been the best cupcake I've ever eaten in my life. It was a moist chocolate cupcake, infused with chocolate mousse, with a mound of chocolate mousse on top, covered in a chocolate shell. Holy Toledo.
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