Listing Through Life

I returned to the Lounge Car as we crossed the Missouri River. I grabbed the first available seat at one of the tables and took a few shots.

After we crossed the river, I moved up to a lounge chair where I stayed for most of the rest of the trip. Here’s a shot looking back down the car. The gentleman in the white shirt is the same person visible in the above shot.

I’m not sure why anybody would prefer sitting in coach to sitting in the lounge car, but it was about this empty all day. Maybe some people don’t like scenery. I do. For me, this trip was a blast. It was journey and destination all wrapped into one.

Central Missouri is mostly farmland with small towns scattered about.

Here’s the exciting town of Bosworth, Missouri. As we traveled further east, the snow cover increased.

I went downstairs to use the bathroom, and when I returned, this guy in the gray sweater was headed for my chair. I glared at him, and he moved down a couple seats.

We soon entered some very pretty hill country in northeast Missouri and arrived at La Plata, our first stop.

Gray Sweater left. A college student sat down in the next chair and began studying a textbook on teaching math.

The Lead Service Attendant came through and took reservations for lunch in the dining car. Since I’d never had a formal meal on a train, I decided to sign up.

To be continued …

On Monday morning, My daughter drove me into downtown Kansas City and dropped me off at Union Station. I had a ticket for the Amtrak Southwest Chief to Chicago. The Southwest Chief runs between Los Angeles and Chicago, through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. I have a strong feeling that the portion of the trip I didn’t take is much more interesting than the portion I took, although much of it would be at night.

I had about half an hour until boarding time, so I roamed the station and found the Harvey House Diner.

I’ve heard of Harvey Houses and knew of their history, so I decided to give it a try. I sat down at the counter and ordered a blueberry muffin and orange juice for breakfast.

My waitress (who was neither young nor wore a black and white uniform) called me Deary and left the room as soon as she’d given me my food. When I finished eating, I had to go search her out in the supply room so I could pay before I missed my train.

Union Station has been restored and contains shops and museums and a train station. The lobby is huge and ornate.

I still had about 15 minutes before boarding. There were perhaps 50 people in line and in the small waiting room.

At 7:30, we were called to board. We walked down a long covered sidewalk, then down a set of steps to the train.

I was very much looking forward to roaming the train and taking a lot of photos, so I was disappointed when the Coach Attendant assigned me a seat as I boarded. I was even more disappointed when I discovered I’d been given an aisle seat. My seat-mate was elsewhere when I found my seat, but his (or her — I never did see the person) stuff was spread all around.

I leaned over his belongings and took a photo of Kansas City as the sun came up.

The train began to move, and I continued taking awkward photos.

This would be a good time to mention that, from this point on, the vast majority of photos taken on this trip were shot through a double-paned window from a shaky vehicle going 90 mph or so. Not only did I have to deal with reflections from inside the car and from the windows on the other side, but I had only seconds to frame and take my photos. Objects in the distance generally are in focus, but objects closer to the train are not. (All of the smaller photos can be enlarged, in case you find it within yourself to care.)

A Conductor came through the car handing out pillows. I stopped him and asked if there were any available seats near windows. He talked with the Coach Attendant and then moved me about four rows back on the other side of the car where I had a double seat to myself. The only drawback was that I was now on the south side of the train, looking into the sun. I took these photos as we made our way through Kansas City and environs.

The sun kept dipping in and out of the clouds. The train was kicking up a storm of snow from the rails, and the tracks kept dropping and climbing in and out of gullies. I realized that photography would be tricky, but I decided right then to get what I could and not agonize over the shots I didn’t get.

Here’s the best shot I managed all day of the engine from inside the train as we went around a bend.

I heard the Cafe Attendant announce a last call for breakfast before she took her break. I headed up and purchased a $2.00 can of Diet Pepsi. And that’s when I discovered the Lounge Car. I went back to get my bag and never returned to my seat or even my car for the rest of the journey.

To be continued …