Joe goes Stateside Oh, hi there Amtrak

Tonight’s my last night in the US, got most of the day tomorrow free in New York and then I’m catching the red-eye out of JFK at about 11pm.

My last few days in San Francisco were good fun, I spend most of the time exploring. Walked all the way through Golden Gate Park to get my first glimpse of the Pacific, went to the brilliant Picasso exhibition at the de Young museum, and wandered down to, and through, the Castro. Reckon I saw I pretty sizable chunk of the city, and I’m really looking forward to going back at some point.

Since then (Tuesday evening) I’ve been on buses and trains pretty much the entire time. Bus out of San Francisco was fine, but I got thoroughly lost trying to walk from the bus station to the train station once I got to Los Angeles. It’s still really not a city for pedestrians and the road signs weren’t much help. From the little bit of the city I saw, and from talking to some locals on the train to New Orleans yesterday, I think I made the right decision in not spending much time there. Would like visit when I can rent a car (or at least afford the taxi fares), but I don’t think I would done very well on foot.

My journey on the Sunset Limited, the train from Los Angeles to New Orleans, was nothing if not eventful. The train arrived over an hour late into LA on Wednesday afternoon, then broke down a few minutes out of the station, forcing us to go back. Then, after the problem had supposedly been fixed and we’d left LA again, we had another breakdown and had to wait while they switched locomotives. Eventually we got underway again, only to have to backtrack to the nearest stop for a medical emergency. We were doing reasonably well until Thursday afternoon, when we had another medical emergency while we were in the middle of nowhere and had to reverse for about fifteen minutes to get to a tiny town that the paramedics could reach. Apparently a rather large guy, who had been entertaining kids in the observation car with zombie make-up and fake wounds, had himself a heart attack. Rest of the journey was fine, chatted with quite a few people including a left couple from Santa Monica, a couple who’d had their Chicago-West Coast train cancelled too but had managed to find an elaborate route to California, and a poet girl (I say girl, she was at least a year older than me) who bore a striking resemblance to Kat Griffiths.

As a result of all the breakdowns and sick people we were about 6 hours late into New Orleans, so I missed my chance to see the city. Just showered and crashed out on the gigantic bed (first hotel room of the trip, there was even a balcony), which I had to drag myself out of at five in the morning to make sure I was on the train to New York. That train, the Crescent, was also mostly fine but we did manage to hit a car this morning. Apparently in the States they don;t have barriers on rural roads that cut across railway tracks – maybe they should think about installing some.

Detrain is, in Amtrak English, apparently a word.

I just got into New Orleans (six hours late). It’s 10pm, I have to catch another train at 7am and I haven’t slept in a bed since Monday so this will not be a long post.

I am, however, alive and other than the delays my journey has been fine. Met lots of people, seen some beautiful (and other considerably less beautiful) views and managed to get some sleep in transit for once.

Just checked into the Holiday Inn (It’s five minutes walk from the station), my room is bigger than a lot of the dorms I’ve been sleeping in and has a massive double bed. First double bed and first non-shared sleeping space in five weeks. Shower then sleep then train then sleep then flight. Can’t believe I’ll be home on Tuesday.

Watching the game through chicken wire

The final score

I have literally no idea if that’s how baseball scores are supposed to be written. Today, completely by chance, I ended up watching a San Francisco Giants game (they’re the current ‘world champions’). Was planning to go to the Museum of Modern Art this afternoon after a morning wandering around Chinatown and climbing up the Coit Tower in the morning, but the queue was massive so I carried on walking. Ended up at the ballpark, then found out that there was a game on this evening and that there was a free ‘hole-in-the-wall’ (actually several barn door sized holes) where I could watch 3 (of 9) innings. Went for the first three and no one asked me to move so I stayed for the whole game. Quite enjoyed it, the atmosphere was fantastic, and before the game it seemed like the whole city was flooding to the stadium in Giants gear. The noise during the ninth inning when a Mets batter was on two strikes was phenomenal.

Coit Tower

The financial district, from Coit Tower

Bay Bridge and some piers, from Coit Tower

West from Coit Tower, with the Golden Gate bridge still shrouded in fog.

Have spent most of the past three days exploring. On the first day I wandered down the Embarcadero by the bay from Bay Bridge up to Fort Mason, and on the second I walked up to and through the Presidio, across the Golden Gate bridge (stopping for some fantastic views of the underside at Fort Point) and then back to the hostel through Japantown. Only downsides so far have been that Alcatraz was totally booked up (which I really should have thought about in advance…at least it gives me something cool to do next time I’m here) and the mist. Only managed to see the top of the Golden Gate bridge when I was on it, and even then often only for a few seconds at a time. Planning to hit Golden Gate park and the de Young museum tomorrow, catching a bus to LA late Tuesday and then starting the long train ride back to New York on Wednesday.

I’ve taken a ludicrous number of photos (over 500 – although that’s in part because my camera stuck itself on burst mode for a while without me noticing) the last couple of days. Will try to sort through the all on the train back east and put the decent ones up on facebook and flickr.

The Golden Gate bridge from Fort Point

One of the few times I caught of glimpse of the top of the bridge

[I wrote this yesterday at about one in the afternoon (Pacific). Had wifi when I started the post, but not when I finished.]

This train seems to have wifi. I’m not going to risk uploading photos in case that sends it over the edge, those will have to wait until San Francisco.

Just had lunch on the train with a friendly couple (who are apparently on reasonably social terms with the former Governator and own lots of polo horses) and a journalist for the Vancouver Observer. All good fun, and surprisingly good food.

I enjoyed Seattle, but I thought that the 4th was a bit of an anti-climax. Had a barbeque at the hostel, then went to watch the fireworks over Lake Union. Had expected there to be people filling the bars afterwards, but they were all virtually deserted. Ended up drinking in the hostel basement with a German couple, a few Canadians and a South African into the early hours. Fun, but not exactly how I pictured Independence Day.

Did all the standard touristy stuff while I was there: Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Underground Tour, Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum (complete with Battlestar Galactica exhibit!). Also broke one a my cardinal rules (always start a story at the beginning; also a lesser rule about not paying to watch Michael Bay movies) by going to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon one night (I’ve not seen the first or the second film). I’d never managed to get to an IMAX before, the ticket was really cheap (less than a Cineworld 3D showing at home), and there was nothing going on at the hostel that night. Film was fine but a bit forgettable, IMAX was awesome. Will have to make the effort to go once I’m in London. Interestingly, the IMAX was the one place so far where I’ve seen Americans queue successfully – they really can’t manage at all when trying to board trains and buses.

Speaking of buses, other than an utter failure to get any sleep, the Greyhound wasn’t too bad. Sat next to a really great guy on the first bus (he saved me from having to sit next to a horrifically obese woman and we chatted about films, TV, comics, Neil Gaiman, and politics). Most of the rest of the people I sat next to were fairly quiet, other than the almost-70 year old black woman who offered me Worther’s Originals and told me not to bother taking photos because “the people on YouTube will have already taken much better ones.” Not untrue if you replace YouTube with the internet (or, say, Flickr), but not very positive. She also, in relation to a slightly odd (I’d guess autistic but I didn’t spend much time on atypical psych) guy who kept on trying to talk to her, kept on repeating that she was not Nurse Ratchet. Charming.

One week in San Francisco before I start the journey home (which takes the best part of a week). Really looking forward to it, just hope that all the people I’ve spoken on the trip who’ve told me that it’s pretty much the best place ever haven’t raised my expectations too high.

Survived the Greyhound, which was actually much better than I expected. Met some cool people, didn’t have to sit next to anyone too awful, and saw some fantastic scenery. Montana is beautiful.

Didn’t get a whole lot of sleep though (I reckon maybe an hour and a half in the last 48 hours) so will write about it properly when I’ve recovered.

A bird attacked me twice today. At least, I assume it was the same one. It was in basically the same spot several hours apart. I was walking the path along the coast of Lake Michigan (the first time just wandering south, the second time making my way back into the Loop) and both times it just smacked into the back of my head, flailed a bit with its talons, and then retreated to a tree. Didn’t seem at all bothered by any of the other people around. Bastard.

Today was my last day in Chicago, tomorrow I’m braving the greyhound and (with a bit of luck) hopefully my backpack and I will arrive safely in Seattle on Saturday morning. I really like the city, if I happen to get seconded here I’ll be pleased as punch, and I’ve had an ace week.

Tourist-y highlights were mostly on my Ferris Bueller (lite) day when I went up Sears Tower (I even went out onto the Ledge, against my better judgement) and spend the afternoon in the Institute of Art.

My feet on The Ledge

I was going to upload more pictures, but it took about fifteen minutes to upload that one. Maybe there will be faster wifi in Seattle.

I like this hostel. It’s not quite as sociable as the one in New York but it’s got lots of big communal spaces, solid wifi, and everywhere seems really clean. Sadly, their booking system totally failed yesterday and I got a rather unpleasant surprise in the early hours. I went to sleep reasonably early (I only got about three hours sleep on the train the night before) and was woken up at about 2am by a guy who claimed I was in his bed. Both our receipts were for the same bed, and apparently he’d been there since Thursday. Front desk eventually managed to sort it out (for some reason his check-in hadn’t been logged by the computer, so it thought it was free and allocated it to me) and I found somewhere to sleep. Spent a decent chunk of the night just waiting around, freezing, and hoping that they’d find a bed somewhere. The guy in the bunk below my new one seems to have made a fort out out blankets – I want to take the picture but so far I haven’t been in the room alone.

After that trauma, I spent most of today exploring. Went to Millennium Park fairly early and saw the Crown Fountain and Cloud Gate/the bean, which was really impressive.

Crown Fountain

Cloud Gate

Cloud Gate from below

Then I went into the Chicago Cultural Center, originally because someone told me they had an exhibition of hand-painted movie posters from Ghana on (which they did, and it was awesome, but sadly no pictures allowed). Turned out to be a gorgeous building, and there were quite a few cool exhibits on.

The dome at the Chicago Cultual Center

Rest of the day I explored the Loop, and worked out roughly what to do for the rest of the week. Planning to visit to the Art Institute tomorrow, and probably go up the Sears (Willis now, apparently) Tower.

Near Navy Pier

Marina City

A newish Trump building. There were loads of people having wedding pictures taken nearby.

Got on a train at about 4pm yesterday, rolled up in Chicago about 10am this morning. We were a bit late in (I think that’s just the Amtrak way), but there was a ridiculous amount of legroom and I even got a bit of sleep. Just in the lobby of the hostel in Chicago now, waiting to check in and shower. Keen to get out and explore.

Spoke to Amtrak yesterday about my Chicago-Seattle bind, and apparently the trains aren’t likely to start up again before July 5th. Decided to bite the bullet and book the Greyhound. Hopefully it won’t be too horrific.

I had a pretty great day today (including watching a Senate session where Al Franken was presiding and Harry Reid, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins were speaking, the National Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum) but Amtrak has just stuck its boot into my plans.

My train from Chicago to Seattle is cancelled on June 30th (probably due to flooding in North Dakota, but they didn’t say) so now I have to come up with an alternative. I can take the Greyhound, but it’s expensive this close to the trip and I’m not sure I really fancy it for two days. If I can find extra accommodation then I could get a flight, also expensive. I thought I might be able to get a train to another city instead (30-day rail pass means this would be free), the route to which isn’t flooded, and then head to San Francisco afterwards but most of the long-haul trains are sold out.

Right now I’m leaning toward the Greyhound despite feeling that it’s going to be seriously grim, and the fact that it’s a lot more than I want to pay to spend the best part of two days on a bus with the dregs of American society.

Train to Chicago tomorrow (which hopefully won’t be cancelled – if it is then I’m getting a flight home instead), and my first overnight Amtrak adventure. Exciting times.

(It dawned on me as I started writing this that I have left my camera in my room, where there are people sleeping. I’ve got my photos from yesterday, and I’ll edit the others in when I get the chance).

View east from the Washington Mounument, toward Capitol Hill

View east from the Washington Monument, toward the Lincoln Memorial

I’ve been in Washington for two whole days now, and I’m becoming a bit of a fan. I’m not sure I’d want to live here, but so far it’s made for a brilliant little trip. I’ve mostly stuck to the mall (which is still a pretty massive area) because that’s where most of the tourist-y stuff is. I did walk out to Arlington yesterday (which was beautiful, moving, and unbelievably vast), and I’ve done a bit of exploring in the early evenings when the sun has been a little bit less oppressive, but the mall has been keeping me pretty busy.

The White House from the Washington Monument (the windows could really use a clean)

The north side of the White House

The White House from the south

I’d always pictured it as this immaculately manicured lawn punctuated with monuments and lined with museums, which was half right. Cambridge has drummed into me the idea that grass is almost never supposed to be walked on, but as well as the tourists during the day the mall plays host to dozens of softball and kickball games in the early evenings.

[There will be a picture of the kickball here when I get my camera]

It’s just a fantastic space (maybe it could do with a couple fewer joggers) and I’ve spent a lot of time wandering/lazing around it. My only complaint is that they’re currently restoring the reflecting pool between the Washington and Lincoln monuments. Right now the view from the Lincoln Memorial looks a little like this:

The building site that should be the reflecting pool

Yesterday I mostly explored, hit presidential and war memorials and tried to get my bearings. Today I had a bit of a ‘goverment’ day – went to Capitol Hill and saw a brief session of the House (Boehner led the House in the pledge of allegiance at the start, first famous person I’ve seen this trip – although I did see the President’s ludicrously long motorcade yesterday), had a tour of the Library of Congress (Hi Gutenberg Bible), and went into the Supreme Court. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get into the Senate Gallery, and to go to the Air and Space Museum. Everything I’ve done so far (and everything I want to do tomorrow) has been/is free which is brilliant.

Jefferson Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial