I'm sitting on a train, zooming through Illinois right now. I figure than I can write a bit now, then post it later.
Christmas in Walton was nice. This was probably our last Christmas with Grandma so just about everyone went home for the holiday. We had a great feast and some fun, although the peaceful terms between warring factions of my family were stretched pretty thin. I'm glad,for my Grandmother's sake, nobody got into it this year.
I left Albany, NY by train on the 29th, then stopped in NY at Penn Station. My next train left the next day, so I went out to The Motor City Lounge for a few beers (few = a bunch of PBRs, a couple of Newcastle bombers mixed with several rounds of Jameson). The music was good and I met some folks from Pirates Press Records that were pretty cool. Amy (an old friend from Denver) met me at the bar and took me home for the night. She had just arrived back in NYC from Denver. We had a nice visit. This was the first time I had been able to visit her on her turf.
The next day I got back on the train. 9:15 am 12/30 NY to Chicago arriving 10 am 12/31st. ( 24 3/4 hours)
Booze seems to help all parts of the Amtrak experience become easier and more relaxed, enjoyable even. This train has a cafe car that serves domestic beer wine and cocktails, in addition to sawiches and various snacks. Everthing is small and overpriced. Good thing I brought my own. Before we get into that though, let me share this with you from Amtrak's Rules and Regulations as found on my ticket envelope.
Alcohol: Passengers are not permitted to consume their private stock of alcoholic beverages in a public area. Only Sleeping Car accomodations for which a passenger has a valid ticket are considered non-public areas.
The reason I bring this up is the big difference between getting 86'ed from a neighborhood pub and a train is the walk home. (This actually happened to my friend Morgan a couple of months ago. He had to catch a Greyhound to get home.) Don't get caught!
On this leg of my trip, I packed two 750ml bottles of The Captain's finest, one bottle of Korbel's brut (which I thought to consume on New Year's Eve) and a flask full of Maker's Mark.
Being a bit under the weather from the night before, I nursed the flask for about an hour and went to sleep. A couple hours later, the train stopped and more people got on. The train was filling up and now I have a train buddy sitting next to me. Melanie is from Philly and is on her way to Somewhere, Wisconsin to see some old friends. After introductions and a cordial chat, we watched The Magnificent Seven on my laptop while enjoying rum mixed with Coke procurred from the cafe car.
Before the movie had ended the first bottle of rum did, so after the movie we cracked the second and retreated to the cafe car to sit at a table and play some cards. Drinking your own in the cafe car requires a bit of stealth. I found that buying a couple from the easily made good excuse for the telltale aroma that arises from a well poured C&C.
Amtrak should have a smoking car.
After a while, I realized that while my private stock was more than enough for one it was not enough for two. I had not planned on sharing. So, after the rum was gone,I opened the brut in the bathroom and we drank from the bottle back at our seats. We talked and laughed for a while then went to sleep, cozy with our Amtrak issued pillows, and a new found friendship. Thank you Captain!
1:50 PM 12/31/05 Chicago Union Station
I just boarded the California Zephyr. While I was waiting, I asked a street walker where I could make a purchase and was directed to the Osco mart which is convientlly located across the street at the west terminal. I picked up a botlle of vodka and two bottles of Korbel's brut. I also got a new razor and a new tooth brush. (I left my toothbrush at Amy's house and accidently dropped my razor into the toilet on the train last night. oops!)
6:00 PM Mount Pleasant IA
So far this has been a sleepy train. I checked out the lounge and spoke with the bartender. He said that they usually close down the bar at 11:00 but that he was getting off before that and someone else would take over the bar . Maybe, he said, that person could be persuaded into staying on a bit longer. hmmm
One thing that is missing that I was hoping for is the sound of Europeans or Aussies. My fellow travellers seem, for the most part, to be returning home from the holidays.
There are a ton of noisy children with their travel worn parents.
I opened the vodka and began mixing with some cherry lemonade that I got at Osco's. Not bad. Two drinks in and the night is still fresh.
7:27 Somewhere near Ottowa NE
Stopped for a smoke in Ottowa, met some other boozers while smoking outside the train. I agreed to play some spades with Mike, Ramona, and their newfound buddy, K.C. Talk about fucked up. I feel bad for poor Mike because his girl can't hold her liquor and started making a scene. I bowed out for a while to relax in my seat.
10:30 ???
when I came back to the bar car, both Mike and Ramona were gone, replaced by other folks that were looking for a good time on Amtrak.
Josiah was drinking a can of Bud and pissed of about what he paid for it. Mac is underage, fancies wearing suits and is looking sharp. No one else has brought their own shit, so I pour vodka into a juice bottle to pass around with the lads. We sat around bullshitting for a while then went up to the viewing car to meet Shanna, Pheobe and an older fellow whose name i can't remember. We watched the ball drop in Times Square on a tiny portable tv and drank some champagne provided by our new friends. By this time I am feeling pretty good. We have settled in for some drunk chat and I am enjoying meeting some new folks. Mike came back after putting Ramona to bed. We plowed through the vodka and played some more cards.
11:35 PM Lincoln, NE
The train has stopped for exactly 30 minutes, so Josiah and I split to find a bar to get a drink. No one else was willing the risk of being stranded in Nebraska. The two of us ran into a place called The End Zone, a sports bar full costumed revellers. We drank some beers and counted down to midnight, then ran back to the train. Weee!
I don't know how long I lasted or stumbling back to my seat. I woke in Denver with a hangover, happy to be home.
Christmas in Walton was nice. This was probably our last Christmas with Grandma so just about everyone went home for the holiday. We had a great feast and some fun, although the peaceful terms between warring factions of my family were stretched pretty thin. I'm glad,for my Grandmother's sake, nobody got into it this year.
I left Albany, NY by train on the 29th, then stopped in NY at Penn Station. My next train left the next day, so I went out to The Motor City Lounge for a few beers (few = a bunch of PBRs, a couple of Newcastle bombers mixed with several rounds of Jameson). The music was good and I met some folks from Pirates Press Records that were pretty cool. Amy (an old friend from Denver) met me at the bar and took me home for the night. She had just arrived back in NYC from Denver. We had a nice visit. This was the first time I had been able to visit her on her turf.
The next day I got back on the train. 9:15 am 12/30 NY to Chicago arriving 10 am 12/31st. ( 24 3/4 hours)
Booze seems to help all parts of the Amtrak experience become easier and more relaxed, enjoyable even. This train has a cafe car that serves domestic beer wine and cocktails, in addition to sawiches and various snacks. Everthing is small and overpriced. Good thing I brought my own. Before we get into that though, let me share this with you from Amtrak's Rules and Regulations as found on my ticket envelope.
Alcohol: Passengers are not permitted to consume their private stock of alcoholic beverages in a public area. Only Sleeping Car accomodations for which a passenger has a valid ticket are considered non-public areas.
The reason I bring this up is the big difference between getting 86'ed from a neighborhood pub and a train is the walk home. (This actually happened to my friend Morgan a couple of months ago. He had to catch a Greyhound to get home.) Don't get caught!
On this leg of my trip, I packed two 750ml bottles of The Captain's finest, one bottle of Korbel's brut (which I thought to consume on New Year's Eve) and a flask full of Maker's Mark.
Being a bit under the weather from the night before, I nursed the flask for about an hour and went to sleep. A couple hours later, the train stopped and more people got on. The train was filling up and now I have a train buddy sitting next to me. Melanie is from Philly and is on her way to Somewhere, Wisconsin to see some old friends. After introductions and a cordial chat, we watched The Magnificent Seven on my laptop while enjoying rum mixed with Coke procurred from the cafe car.
Before the movie had ended the first bottle of rum did, so after the movie we cracked the second and retreated to the cafe car to sit at a table and play some cards. Drinking your own in the cafe car requires a bit of stealth. I found that buying a couple from the easily made good excuse for the telltale aroma that arises from a well poured C&C.
Amtrak should have a smoking car.
After a while, I realized that while my private stock was more than enough for one it was not enough for two. I had not planned on sharing. So, after the rum was gone,I opened the brut in the bathroom and we drank from the bottle back at our seats. We talked and laughed for a while then went to sleep, cozy with our Amtrak issued pillows, and a new found friendship. Thank you Captain!
1:50 PM 12/31/05 Chicago Union Station
I just boarded the California Zephyr. While I was waiting, I asked a street walker where I could make a purchase and was directed to the Osco mart which is convientlly located across the street at the west terminal. I picked up a botlle of vodka and two bottles of Korbel's brut. I also got a new razor and a new tooth brush. (I left my toothbrush at Amy's house and accidently dropped my razor into the toilet on the train last night. oops!)
6:00 PM Mount Pleasant IA
So far this has been a sleepy train. I checked out the lounge and spoke with the bartender. He said that they usually close down the bar at 11:00 but that he was getting off before that and someone else would take over the bar . Maybe, he said, that person could be persuaded into staying on a bit longer. hmmm
One thing that is missing that I was hoping for is the sound of Europeans or Aussies. My fellow travellers seem, for the most part, to be returning home from the holidays.
There are a ton of noisy children with their travel worn parents.
I opened the vodka and began mixing with some cherry lemonade that I got at Osco's. Not bad. Two drinks in and the night is still fresh.
7:27 Somewhere near Ottowa NE
Stopped for a smoke in Ottowa, met some other boozers while smoking outside the train. I agreed to play some spades with Mike, Ramona, and their newfound buddy, K.C. Talk about fucked up. I feel bad for poor Mike because his girl can't hold her liquor and started making a scene. I bowed out for a while to relax in my seat.
10:30 ???
when I came back to the bar car, both Mike and Ramona were gone, replaced by other folks that were looking for a good time on Amtrak.
Josiah was drinking a can of Bud and pissed of about what he paid for it. Mac is underage, fancies wearing suits and is looking sharp. No one else has brought their own shit, so I pour vodka into a juice bottle to pass around with the lads. We sat around bullshitting for a while then went up to the viewing car to meet Shanna, Pheobe and an older fellow whose name i can't remember. We watched the ball drop in Times Square on a tiny portable tv and drank some champagne provided by our new friends. By this time I am feeling pretty good. We have settled in for some drunk chat and I am enjoying meeting some new folks. Mike came back after putting Ramona to bed. We plowed through the vodka and played some more cards.
11:35 PM Lincoln, NE
The train has stopped for exactly 30 minutes, so Josiah and I split to find a bar to get a drink. No one else was willing the risk of being stranded in Nebraska. The two of us ran into a place called The End Zone, a sports bar full costumed revellers. We drank some beers and counted down to midnight, then ran back to the train. Weee!
I don't know how long I lasted or stumbling back to my seat. I woke in Denver with a hangover, happy to be home.
auralpleasure:
i'll be honest. your journal is just too long for me to read.