Quick Update to Schedule

Just a quick update.  I don’t like writing too much in my blog while at friend’s places as I’d rather use the time to enjoy.    On the train I have much more time to write detailed blogs.   So far all my friends have had high-speed wireless which helps when uploading large amounts of photos.  

I’ve opted to change my schedule slightly and stay in Seattle overnight.   It’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit anyways.    I’ll arrive around noonish on Saturday, then catch the Amtrack Cascades early in the morning and take it to Vancouver, BC.   This SHOULD get me in on time to catch the Via Rail Canadian leaving at 5:30pm.    If I had left Friday, as my original plan, I’d have to take a bus from Seattle to Vancouver, arriving at 5pm.  That would have been cutting it too close.   If I had missed the train in Vancouver I would have been stuck there for a couple of day until the next train.

This way I’m not rushed and I get to explore a city I’ve always wanted to explore.   A few years back Harper’s Magazine voted my home city of Halifax, NS, the 2nd hippest city in North America --- Seattle was 1st.    This was during the ‘grunge’ period of pop music.    All the footage of seen of Seattle suggests that it’s a pretty nice city, and I’ve often considered it as a place to live.   As a sailor, I’ve always had dreams of living on a houseboat and Seattle seems to have this down pat.   Not sure if I’ll get to see any, but we’ll give it a try.   Of course, they are way out of my price range, but there are always other cities, harbours, and inlets.

How it SHOULD be

Wouldn't life be so much better if every office you entered didn't have that ulilitarian feel? This is the DMV in Aberdeen, Wa. It's part animal shelter --- they have a couple of crows, a raven, two cats, a chicken, a dog --- part country store. And apparently they still have room for Christmas decorations! And having to take a trip to the DMV to renew your licence plates is an enjoyable experience! There are more photos of this interesting place....click here: http://www.dailyhotshot.com/Aberdeen/ 

Kickin' Back

Mark and I figured the best way to relax after a busy weekend in Bakersfield was to kick back in the leather recliners, with a ice cold drinks, chips and dip, and put the new DVD release of Airplane the Movie on the HDTV big screen and laugh our overly comfy butts off. Photo courtesy of Suzie who opted out of our little man-fest.

After working for the KCSOS Kern County Superintendent Of Schools fixing their buses for 7 yrs, and a previous 14+yrs experience working in similar fields, Mark decided it was time to go out on his own. And he hasn't looked back since. He's known for his excellent customer service and personal touch. If you're ever passing through Kern County, CA, with some electrical problems on your big rig give him a call. His webpage is: http://www.callshockdoc.com He specializes in Mobile Diesel Electric Repairs for over 19 yrs and is ASE certified.

Union Pacific Stanford

Here's another of the Business Class cars that was tagging along with us. According to my info, one of these was cars was totally done out in 'formica', the 'new leather' of the 1950's. 

Union Pacific Sunset

I noticed these two cars trailing along behind us while I was eating lunch. I didn't realize thier historic significance until talking to one of the Amtrak guys just before detraining in Olympia.

So, at 3:30am I hopped on some frosty benches and snapped these photos of the Union Pacific Sunset they were pulling away. 

Me and Bobby (McGee)

When I boarded the train in Sacramento the car attendant insisted on assigning seats, even though the car was less than half full. I got paired up with this gentlemen and we soon found out we shared similar histories with women.

I included the 'McGee' as a reference to the fact he is a writer of black history, and a member of the Black Douglas clan. A graduate of Berkeley, he has researched Black history in Europe and has even attended the Highland Games wearing his clan kilt. I didn't ask him what he wore underneath :) 

New Photos

New Photos from the last couple of days posted here:

http://www.properguitars.com/RailtripJan2324/

BTW,   the website ProperGuitars.com is my brother’s….he makes custom handmade guitars.

Currently my ETA in Olympia, WA is 2am.  That’s almost 8 hours past our scheduled time.   We just stopped in Eugene, OR at around 10pm.    The train seems to be running faster, and a bit more bouncier.   Not sure if this is normal speeds for this area or they are trying to make up for lost time.    I’ve barely gotten any sleep….maybe an hour or so here or there.    Please excuse any sleep deprived, on-the-fly typos or misinformation.

Benchmark

This is the end of a bench in the Sacramento train station. I'm taking a guess that these benches are at least 1950's or older. The unique thing is they have heaters built into the tops of each one of them which I'll show in a later photo. The tops get pretty hot. It's a wonder there have been no lawsuits with children (or childish adults) burning themselves. 

Mt. Shasta

Now, I need some sleep! 

Sunrise at 80mph

I made this photograph at sunrise just before hitting the town of Chico, CA. The windows in the SightSeer Lounge are pretty dirty. They probably only clean them at one end of the two-way journey and I'm at the wrong end. However, they kind of added to the softening effect for this photo.

Currently still 4 hours behind as far as I can determine. Not sure how they are going to make that up. If the ETA to Olympia is TOO late I'll have to make some sort of arrangement for my friends to pick me up in the morning or something.....maybe sleep on a bench in the station IF they remain open at all. We didn't leave SAC until at least 5:45am.....it was supposed to leave at midnight. We are currently at Redding and it's 10am. I haven't really slept much, and will probably end up sleeping through the prettiest parts. Either that or it'll be dark by the time we get to those parts. 

3am in Sacramento

3am in Sacramento

I’ve just heard that a Cal-train train hit a car, or a person.  That’s what’s holding up the Amtrak that I’m trying to catch.   This is unconfirmed…I haven’t seen anything on the CNN or FoxNews websites.

In other tidbits, if I wasn’t inside charging my laptop I’d be outside the station taking advantage of the open wifi hotspot.   The SSID is ‘linksys’  which is a default for those routers.  

I’m very tired.  But refuse to fall asleep with the laptop on charge, and my camera bag out in the open.  Because I’m getting off in Olympia there is no checked baggage.   That means I’m lugging ALL my luggage (5 pieces) with me.   Guess I stuff some of it into the luggage racks on the lower level of the car.   Not the most wonderful option.

I just overheard an arrival time of 5:45am for the Coastal Starlight.   That’s another 1+ hour past the last estimated time.    Of course, as with anything, rumours abound.   Once the batts are charged for the laptop and I post this I may try that sleep thing my body is telling me about.

Link to Bakersfield Photos

Here’s the link to the photos. Let me know if any don’t come up…I’ve been having problems getting them loaded to the server.

http://www.dailyhotshot.com/bakersfield/

Right now we are sitting in Sacramento waiting for our connection on the Coastal Starlight coming up from LA. It’s running 4:30 hours behind so far. It was supposed to leave at midnight, and we didn’t get here until 12:15am. So guess it’s kind of a blessing it at least didn’t leave without us. But that puts us coming into Olympia, WA at after 10pm. And that’s if it stays with no other delays!

Link to Bakersfield Photos

Here’s the link to the photos.  Let me know if any don’t come up…I’ve been having problems getting them loaded to the server.

http://www.properguitars.com/bakersfield/index.html

North from Bakersfield

This is a snapshot I took of the engine at sunset just before leaving Bakersfield headed north to Sacramento. I'll catch a connection in Sac, and onwards to Olympia, WA.

BTW, feel free to comment as much as you want. It let's me know there are actually people reading at least parts of this blog.

You don't have to have a blogger acct to leave a comment, but it helps. 

Bakersfield Weekend

Currently onboard train.  Monday 5:45pm leaving Bakersfield.

I’m in Car 3 of this train.   First thing I noticed was that it has wifi access, and according to the FAQ, in each car.   But at $6.95 for 24 hours, I’ll opt (the SSID is opti) out for the 5-6 hours I’ll be aboard.  

I tried to upload some photos from my friend’s net earlier but there seems to be a problem on my hosting side.   Uploading was very slow if not at all.   If I knew it was corrected I might have gone with the wifi option instead of using my T-mobile connection.   The car has tables and I was lucky enough to share one of the ones that has 110v outlets.  I can listen to music and such all the way to my connection in Sacremento at 11pm.

Just to backtrack a little, the train was late getting into LA on Friday.   Arriving late enough that I didn’t catch the 1:15pm connecting bus to Bakersfield.   They put another charter bus online soon after we arrived and we got underway around 3:30pm.   That put me arriving in Bakersfield just before 6pm.   Somehow,   my checked baggage arrived before I did….it was never put on the same bus as I was on.

I was met at the station by my longtime friend, Mark, whom I hadn’t seen in almost 7 years.   I told him just look for the only guy in California wearing shorts and a t-shirt that day.   Apparently the temperature dipped below 70F and most natives were in long pants and sweaters.

After loading up my luggage in his service truck he informed me that his wife and another good friend, Suzie, was under the weather.   We were going to pick up some eats for takeout at the Original Roadhouse Grill.   Busy as hell, but since we were getting takeout we went right up and ordered from the hostess.    Then we proceeded to the bar area to wait for our order, and grab a beer.   They had Amber Bock on tap…my newest fav for about the past year.   It’s a semi-dark beer with a great full flavour.

6:07pm We are at our first stop…Wasco, CA

Anyways, this is one of those restaurants that has free peanuts which you throw the shells on the floor.   I used to have a issue with those years ago…but have come to enjoy them.  This one had wooden barrels with the tops filled with peanuts everywhere!   The floor was full of shells as it was quite busy.    When I ordered my beer the bartender asked whether I wanted the 32oz or the 64oz.   I opted for the 32oz…I hadn’t had a drink in a few weeks and knew I’d be a lightweight after lack of sleep on the train.   He handed me this HUGE Mason jar full of frosty cold beer.   Mmmmmmmmmm…..damn, the 64oz’er must occupy two hands!   By the time I had finished my beer and eaten more than a few handfuls of peanuts, our Ribeye Steaks were ready.   We had ordered them with sides of baked potatoes, mushrooms, and au jus.    A hearty meal for anyone.

Arriving at Mark and Suzie’s house we dug into our supper and got re-acquainted in real-life.   They’ve been friends since ’96, but we rarely get a chance to get together.  And this was the first time in their new house.   Fabulous house is was too…..HD Big Screen, Island Kitchen, Walk-in closet, Jacuzzi and separate shower, etc.   Roomy and well thought out, that’s for sure.   But, after a good meal, a 32oz mug of beer, and two days of travel it didn’t take me long to fade to black.

I awoke several times, and not hearing any sound figured the train had stopped at a siding to let freight by before remembering I was actually on solid ground.  

Saturday in Bakersfield, CA.

The next morning Mark and I headed out to do some errands in preparation for a party that night.   On the way we stopped at a local eatery and I had a huge plate of Charuso (sp?) & Eggs.    I couldn’t finish it all, and I don’t think Mark finished all of his huge plate either.   I picked up the bill for breakfast….although I’m sure it didn’t even out for the Ribeye’s from the night before.  

We dropped off some chairs and did a little sightseeing, the highlight of which was Bakersfield Heights which overlooked a working oilfield.   I posted the picture previously.   It was a beautiful day…the perfect temp, and just a slight haze.   A few more errands and we headed back home.    I was able to get some photos posted to the blog….luckily he had wifi in his home so connection to the internet was hassle-free.  

I forgot to mention that earlier I got to meet his Mom who lives on the same parcel of land, although further back.   She seemed like a sweet lady….very intelligent and alert.  On the way back I took the photo of the horse in the mist/fog that you’ll see once I get them loaded.

Early in the afternoon we headed back to the party place and help with the setup.   By the time we finished it was almost time to eat.    One lady was throwing a ‘thank you’ party for all her friends, and had made all the stuff herself from scratch.   We had appetizers of stuffed mushrooms, veggies and dip, and moved onto a salad,   some of the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted.   And to top it all off some German Chocolate cake!   A good time was had by all, especially me.

Sunday in Bakersfield

Sunday we all piled into the PT Cruiser with our cameras and headed through the mountain pass carved by the Kern River and up to Lake Isabella.    This Canuck surprisingly found it a bit chilly….must have been the wind, 3000’ and ‘dead of California winter’ as my friends put it.    In reality, it was sun shining and 54F most of the day.   If a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll let the soon to be posted photos do the talking for me.  

Ooops…forgot we had brunch at Buck Owens Crystal Palace.   I’m not a big country music fan but I grew up watching Hee-Haw, and I just love visiting kitchy places.   Got a few photos inside, including the convertible on hanging behind the bar.  

The day was topped off with homemade Tacos, a wonderful game of Scene-it (which I won, but not by the blowout I expected), and a newly acquired copy of the movie Airplane on DVD which kept Mark and I in stitches while munching on potato chips and homemade dip.

And that was the weekend in Bakersfield.   Today was spent doing laundry, trying to upload photos, etc, until it was time to drop me off at the station.   All I can say is that I had a WONDERFUL time and it was all due to my gracious hosts and good friends Mark and Suzie (I still call her Suz ().    I hope I get the chance to visit again sometime!

No Swimming!

A reminder that what looks like a lovely river through the mountains has actually been pretty dangerous. Included in that count are some unfound bodies from last year. I've got some photos from our drive through the mountains from Bakersfield to Lake Isabella (elv. 3000'). They should be posted soon. You'll see other views of this river.