Monday we made a quick run from Chicago, to New York Penn Station.
The morning found us in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and at around 6:30PM, New York City.
We plan to sleep right by Penn Station, and take the LIRR onto the Island today.
Pick up a rental car, and visit my family.
Hopefully the weather will not be too bad.
Photo is of the Genesee River, in downtown Rochester, NY. Genesee Beer, is over on the right side of the river.
My Water Post For Today.
I have a friend who lives in Chicago.
The other day he brought his Mother to the North Ave Beach and while there, the sun set.
I have never been to that section of Lake Michigan, but I thought the sun setting on the downtown skyline was just beautiful.
I hope you enjoy.
My favorite station. I have spent more time in their Metropolitan Lounge, than any other.
With luck, we get into Union Station around 2:30PM.
Our next train does not leave until around 9:30PM, so we should have enough time for dinner in Chicago.
We have gotten real good at getting food in the Loop.
Even on a Sunday.
On the agenda at around 4AM is Flagstaff, Az. Chances are, we will not venture outside at that hour, but we might wake up.
Gallup, NM is around breakfast time, so we might be in the dining car eating. If not, we might take a quick walk around the train.
Albuquerque, NM is around 11:30AM, and we usually do go out and explore, since the train gets serviced, and refueled. Sometimes, they even wash the windows.
Raton, NM is around 4:26PM, and we go outside, for a break from the train. Next up is the Raton, Pass, on the Santa Fe trail.
Colorado is reached in the midst of the Raton pass. We then stop at Trinidad, La Junta, and Lamar, Colorado. By the time we get to Lamar, it is 8PM.
Sorry, Kansas...
More tomorrow.
This is it!
We are heading out today, for our journey across the United States.
It begins on the Southwest Chief, as is normal for us.
Since we need to hustle, it is the fastest and most direct train across the southwest.
Route 66 is in our future, and we love seeing it from the train's window.
Wish us luck.
I mentioned this book in my post about The Last American Road Trip.
This book was the first one I read by Sarah Kendzior, and it was extremely hard to read, in the midst of the first month of the new presidency.
Sarah keeps hoping that by bringing these people to the forefront, we might not end up with the Fascism that is currently being thrust upon The United States.
I will admit that I look at events that happen each day, with a weather eye.
Like the stock market going up by 3 thousand points on Wednesday 4/9/25.
My first thought was that many people were tipped off to the upcoming news, and thus bought stocks at the low.
I learned that, from Sarah.
An extremely hard book to read, but I do recommend it.
I said to my Husband on Sunday, that we needed to get our current group of groceries over to the Church.
They gather them up, and bring it to the Food Pantry.
Most of this was brand new, though the ramen noodle soup was raided by us, for our trip through Colorado last Fall. :-)
All in all, I wanted it out of our house, before we broke down and ate it ourselves.
I did go through our canned goods in the pantry, and we are currently eating the expired ones ourselves.
Moving forward, I am not sure if I will be able to continue this collecting of food for the poor, due to tariffs. I hope so.
Anyone want some chili or Chicken Noodle Soup?
One of the things that Bluesky has brought to my attention, is Author Sarah Kendzior.
Her book was on sale a month or so ago, for $2.99. It was called They Knew.
It was the most depressing book I have ever read, and as a matter of fact, I reread Michael McDonald's book in the middle of it, (and that one was totally depressing).
I finally plowed through it, and this book, The Last American Road Trip, was coming up for publication. She said it was a happy book, compared to her other three books, so I went for it. It is $14.99, by the way.
It was still plenty depressing, but her family's travels over the past decade, reminded me of many of my journeys.
As a matter of fact, the cover photo looks like the California desert to me.
She mixes roadtrips with events that we might remember. Whitewater, Hot Springs Arkansas, the many caves they explored in Kentucky, New Mexico, and Missouri. Jesse James, Route 66, Indiana Dunes, the Mississippi River, UP Michigan... and so much more.
I highly recommend this book, and maybe someday I might try one of her others (if I can get up the courage to read one).
It helps understand the situation we are in, today.
Thanks Sarah for sharing your family, and your joy.
My Water Post For Today.
Another view of the bridge over the Mississippi, in Burlington, Iowa.
It really is so spectacular, and going over it during the Golden Hour, was just icing on the cake.
There is no comparison to the one just downstream, at Fort Madison.
That one is a work horse, but not a beauty.
I am glad we got the chance to see it, and the mighty Mississippi, in that area of the river.
It's April, and I went outside to see if my poor lilac was blooming this year.
Unfortunately for me, it is another dud year for lilacs.
With a bit of luck, I might see some either in Michigan, or Long Island in a week or so.
That would be great, IMHO.
I miss lilac blossoms blooming.
Photo: These are my fake ones in my bathroom. It is the best I get now days.
I hate going anywhere in the Spring.
I drove across the Country in 1979 in the Spring, and we kept a weather eye on the clouds, as we drove through the south.
It seems to be getting worse, in that regard, so throwing caution to the wind, we have scheduled this trip.
It is a bit too far, to see if there is tornado action, the days we will be traveling, but I trust Amtrak to keep us safe.
This past week there have been tornados in both the midwest, great lakes area, and, as usual, the south.
Traveling in the United States...it's always an adventure.
Photo: Lake Champlain, in Upstate NY.
While tariffs were being discussed on TV, we began the process of setting up our vacation by rail.
Nothing like spending gobs of money while your money is being stolen from your retirement account. Sigh...
Amtrak has a new way to use your Guest Reward points, you can use whatever you have, and just pay the remainder in cash.
Being I am not sure how much longer Amtrak (as we know it) will be around, I decided to use our points now.
We have earned them, and deserve them.
We initially will be doing a fast run across the Country to get to Penn Station.
We have not seen our NY family since 2018, so it is long overdue.
On the way home, we pass by our Son, and he was definitely on board with us spending the Easter Holiday with him, so it will be the first time since he left, that we will share an Easter meal with him.
I would also like to make Matzo Brei, to signify Passover, too. We shall see if we manage it on Saturday.
Our total length of the vacation, is 12 days. With no Makenna to worry about, we should be fine in that regard.
Now to book hotels and figure out the rental car situation in NY.
Where to wash our clothes, is also a concern, but we will figure it out.
The weekend comes, and along comes a photo of Taro.
He does the best he can, keeping his Parental Units happy.
I am getting excited, with planning a trip to hopefully see her.
My Son has offered us the beds in his house. My Husband has no idea what he is in for. :-)
I am not sure yet if we will take him up on his offer, but that was nice of him.
He is a good Son, all in all.
I don't know if I will succeed, but I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to the East Coast.
Before I went too far, I consulted with my Son, and asked if we could spend 4 days with him at Easter/Passover.
He gave us an OK, so now the hard part, trying to make the pieces fit for an East Coast and Mid America vacation.
I will let you, my blog family, know if I succeed.
The photo is from the Southwest Chief trip my Son took a few weeks ago.
This is from the Foxtrot comic on Sunday 3/30/25. Created by Bill Amend. I have no rights to it, at all.
The subject matter is near and dear to my heart. I have a Liberal Arts degree from my 2 year college.
As a recipient of that Liberal Arts degree, I had to take many courses that I did not consider as subjects of interest, but to get the degree, I took them anyway.
One of those courses, was Calculus I.
I remember mentioning this fact to my brother, back in the day, and he was shocked that I took it, and passed it. What can I say?
A similar reaction happens in the comic, when Jason has to reevaluate his mother's intelligence.
Ask me about Philosophy and Sociology, too. :-)
