connection problems

finally saw Mt. Hood on the way into Portland to get on the train. Yes!
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9.23.06 1:00pm

I’m on the Amtrak Cascades train bound for Seattle. This train is a class up from the other trains I’ve been on so far. The car is tiny in comparison, but it has four tvs in it, an outlet for each seat, headphone jack for watching the movie, and best of all, on the tvs it displays travel progress of the train, and points of interest you are traveling through. I’m watching American Dreamz now while glancing out the window trying not to miss anything. We’ve just passed through the town of Kelso, and the Rocky Point Tunnel. I wish all my rides were on a train like this. Only downside is the seats are tighter with less leg space. Small price to pay.

Behold, the power of free pizza

Mt. Rainier from the bus.
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3:00pm We’re just now leaving Tacoma, Washington. I really like what I’ve seen of Washington so far. The coast is beautiful. There were people sea kayaking along the coast, piers everywhere and little towns all along the way. We passed a large mountain, which I think was Mt. Rainier, it was impressive. We were a long way away, but it still looked massive. A new kink has been thrown into my plans. I just got a call from Amtrak, that my train that connects to Chicago in Seattle has had to stop in Spokane, Washington. It had trouble with a baggage car, and so now I’m going to take a bus to Spokane as soon as I get off in Seattle, then get on the train in Spokane as soon as I get there, unless I hear otherwise. So no sight seeing in Seattle I guess, that’s a bummer. I get to experience a bus ride though, so we’ll see how that goes. The movie was not too bad. It was a satire movie poking at the president, the show American Idol, and terrorists, the usual. It had funny parts though. We should be in Seattle in just under an hour, and then the fun begins.

the nice train I rode from Portland.
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4:15pm We’re in Seattle. I’m waiting on the bus. I have no internet. I am charging my phone though, so I got that going for me.

10:26pm We’re now in Spokane, Washington. It’s stupid crowd mentality. The Amtrak guy tells us as we come in to have a seat while they finish preparing the train, and as soon as he walks away, one person walks towards the train, and suddenly it’s an excuse for a crowd to head toward the train, and everybody starts running, only to be shooed back out to the waiting area, because they couldn’t wait. Now he’s brought out pizza for us. So off we go to satisfy our stomachs and minds. There’s a huge line already. Behold, the power of free pizza.

a bridge in Portland raising straight up to let a boat go through.
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According to schedule, we have to leave here by 1:15am to be on normal schedule, so if we leave as early as I think we will, we’ll be ahead of schedule by one to two hours. That’s a plus.

12:15am I’ve now boarded the train, but we haven’t left. So unless we sit here for another hour, I hope we don’t, we’re going to be ahead of schedule. I got on my car almost first, so I was able to get the seat with the outlet (yes! it’s the simple pleasures). They handed out pillows and they are bigger than the little normal ones I’ve always gotten. It’s going to be a good couple days. Not many people on this car, so at least for now, I’ll have both seats to myself to sleep in. We’ll be off soon I’m sure, the baggage just got loaded.

“Here is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me.” - Thoreau