Until next time

The Lake Shore Limited continued to chug along, and we finally reached Worcester about twenty minutes late. I ended up de-training there as it's a little closer to my house than Boston so I would be home about two hours earlier.

In summary, this trip took me through 15 states in 5 days, and on three different trains. Now to plan the next one!

Day 5: the Lake Shore Limited

I hopped into bed immediately following the wine reception. For some reason, sleep eluded me for a good portion of the night as we rolled along. After sleeping fitfully for a few hours, I decided to go have breakfast. It was around 7 am and I had slept through Indiana and Ohio.

For breakfast I opted for the quiche, which was not an option on the Western trains. It was a ton of food - as per normal. 

I tried to get some pictures of the sun rising. 

This is the Erie, PA stop. It is kind of hard to see but that is a crumbling platform above. It looks like it is no longer in use. Much of the scenery through this section of the train is just like this in that it hardens back to a time when this area had more people, more industry, more trains, etc. As we passed outside of Buffalo I saw an amazing yet crumbling train station. 

It was the old Buffalo Central Station which was completed in 1929 and was an Art Deco masterpiece. Now it sits vacant although it is owned by a nonprofit with the goal of restoring and redeveloping it. 

We also passed Lake Erie a few times. It was very icy. A light snow covered the ground for much of the day. Where is spring?!

We also passed by a snowy vineyard. 

At the Utica Station I saw these old train cars parked outside. 

At some point I had lunch with two other people traveling alone. One gentleman leads meditation retreats and he is heading to a center in Mass for two months. The woman was from Washington and was traveling to NYC to visit two of her grown children. 

I went back to my room and napped for a while. At some point Tim and I talked and we decided I should detrain in Worcester. I found the car attendant and let him know so that I could be sure to head to the right door at Worcester. 

We arrived in Albany about ten minutes late but since there is a long dwell time there, they completed the station work quickly and we left around 4 or 5 minutes late. Outside of Pittsfield we sat on a siding for about half an hour and then the westbound 449 passed us on the way to Albany. I think they were running late. 

At 4:30 I headed to the lounge car for "dinner". They have an abbreviated menu for sleeper pax. 

I saw with a couple from Martha's Vineyard. Their families have lived on the island for generations and she runs a liquor store on the island. A very interesting couple! I opted for the pasta and passed on dessert. 

I actually think I had this same dish in summer 2012 when I was last on this train. 

I headed back to my room to watch the countryside glide past. Western Mass has a familiar quality to the landscape and I felt happy to be close to home. We followed streams and went through the woods. There was snow on the ground and the trees were bare. I imagine this is a lovely ride when the foliage is changing colors in the fall. 

Providence to New York and back - a preview trip

I took a quick trip down to New York City this weekend, and of course traveled by my preferred method, Amtrak Acela.

Friday morning I took the Acela 2155 from Providence to New York. My journey started the night before, however, where I turned in a one class upgrade coupon to the station agent and walked out with a first class ticket. My husband received these coupons earlier the week because he is an Amtrak Select member. He got three of them, and I will definitely be using all of them during the year.

The train arrived on time in Providence, and the first class car was at the end of the train. There were two businessmen that also boarded in Providence, and the car was about 2/3 full. I luckily snagged the only remaining single seat, but sadly it was on the westbound side of the train so I wasn't able to watch the ocean as we made our way south through Rhode Island and into Connecticut.

There were two male car attendants. Their service was polite, and they came to drop off a menu and take my order shortly after boarding. I ordered the bacon and cheddar scone with sausage as well as some hot coffee, which was delivered within 30 minutes.  The attendants sat and read the newspaper for a big chunk of the trip and did not walk through the car offering refills on drinks. I did get a New York Times to read during the trip, as well.

There was a short delay someplace in Connecticut, and we rolled into Penn Station about 15 minutes late. I snapped this picture of the NYC skyline on the approach into the city.

I had an amazing weekend in NYC with two of my dearest friends from high school, and a great lunch with a group of women I met online. We went to the Top of the Rock, which had excellent views, 360 degrees, of Manhattan.

For dinner on Friday, we went to DBGB, which is the newest restaurant by Daniel Boulud. The bone marrow was delicious, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced Daniel Boulud eatery.

We went to a few speakeasy type bars after dinner. The first was called the Backroom, and it was Prohibition themed with cocktails in tea cups. My cocktail was bourbon and honey - delicious!

We also went to Lovers of Tomorrow, and I had a cocktail there that included blackberry preserves. So yummy!

For dinner on Saturday we went to Colicchio & Sons, the newest Tom Colicchio (from Top Chef fame) restaurant in New York. We had bone marrow (again!), and I also had the TC burger with chips. The burger was perhaps one of the best I have had in quite some time. However, after this weekend of bone marrow and burgers I will definitely need to be eating salad for weeks!

I returned to Penn Station for my trip on the Acela 2252 on Sunday. I got there about half an hour early and waited in the Club Acela. I had called to reserve my upgrade earlier that morning, and picked up my ticket at the Club Acela and asked for a redcap to help me with my bags. This is the best thing to do if you want to get a choice seat on the train, as the redcap will bring you down to the platform before the general boarding call. I got on the car early and selected a single seat towards the back of the car. Unfortunately it was not on the water side this time as well, but I knew that the train was going to be full.

There were two car attendants, June and Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson greeted every guest by name as he collected tickets in the first class car. Mr. Johnson offered polite service throughout the trip, and flattered me by carding me when I ordered a cocktail. He seemed to really go the extra effort and offered some service flourishes that reminded me of the romantic rail travel of eras gone by. He made clever announcements throughout the first class car - reminding folks to not be annoying on their cell phones since the car was very full - and brought all of our luggage onto the platform for all of the detraining passengers in Providence.  However, he did forget to bring me a cocktail refill which I specifically requested, which was a little disappointing.  I had the lasagna for lunch this time, along with some jack & ginger and some sparkling water.

Acela First Class Car

We had a smooth ride and pulled into Providence two minutes early.  I had a great trip, and it just made me all the more excited for my adventure. I leave in one week!