Well, to hold people over I can tell about my train travels (since the pics will cover pretty much everything in between).
The first trip was...late. An hour late getting on the train in Chicago was kind of a hint at how the whole thing would go. The first day was kind of boring.
The next morning I woke up in Nebraska. We were stopped in a field somewhere because there was a freight train that broke down in front of us. That was a 2-3 hour wait. Later that afternoon we arrived in Denver. This was going to be a 30 minute stop because we had to change engines. The new engine had a broken horn. We sat there another 2-3 hours for them to fix it (or find another engine...I have no idea).
After Denver we got into the mountains and it was awesome. I sat in the observation car for a good while. I would totally live up in those mountains if I could.
After the amazingness we went back to waiting. This one was outrageous. We were only about an hour away from the last stop when the train slows down and stops near the tiny town of Radium, CO. The conductor announces "Due to federal regulations, my shift has ended and I can no longer drive the train. A new conductor will come and take over for me." They had to drive the new conductor 3 hours to get to us. We sat in this little canyon for 3 hours. Couldn't get off the train, no cell phone coverage, nothing. They did eventually pass out some snacks and bottles of water...
Day 3 was just...long. We were so far behind schedule that we had to bend to the other train companies whim, which meant we were moving slower than normal. Through boring flat desert. I mostly read that day, or slept when I could (sleeping through the night was tough). So instead of getting there Friday at 5pm I ended up getting there at 5am Saturday, a full 12 hours behind schedule. Thanks to sy for still picking me up..heh.
The trip home was better. I sat right at the front of the car which allowed me to put my feet up on the wall, making the trip more comfortable. Unfortunately the door that lead to the other car was broken. At first it was just kind of slow..which meant people would pound on the damn thing very loudly, thinking that would make it work. Eventually the staff disabled the door, so it could just be slid open. Only they never put a sign on it, so people would still pound on the door trying to make it work. Except the young people. They push the button, it didnt work, so they force it open. Big deal. Old people? Fuck...HIT IT HARDER, IT ALMOST WORKED THAT TIME! Whenever there was a pound on the door, I'd look up and it was some old person doing it.
Anyway, door disabled. This meant that it would slide open and close itself as the train swayed back and forth. Since the door is used to block the sounds from between the cars...when it would sway and open you could hear all the squealing and grinding of the metal, then it would sway back and slam the door shut. Just in time for some old lady to come by and pound on the button.
For 3 days.
At Denver we ended up picking up something like 100 Boy Scouts. We were at full capacity so one had to sit near me. He was all right I guess. Except he elbowed me in the stomach when I was sleeping. They got on at 10PM and got off at 7 the next morning so it wasnt that big a deal. Pretty much slept the whole time they were on.
I guess we were still at capacity because there was this group of chicks that got on. No, it was not an idol party train...they were like 13 year olds and their moms. So anyway, they had assigned seats. The one right next to me, and the two just across the isle. They pretty much refused to sit in the one next to me. It was 2 chaperon moms and some teenager. The moms traded off that one seat and refused for the longest time to sit near me. The one was tired and decided to sit by me, and the other even said to her "Are you sure? I can stand..." Like...what the fuck? I can still hear you. Neither of them said a word to me. I was close to saying something witty and guilt tripping them...but it was my 3rd day on the train. Fuck you guys, I'm not moving and won't make things easy for you. You want to assume I'm some creepy bearded rapist or something, go for it. I dont care if you have to stand all day.
So we eventually arrive in Chicago, only 3 hours late this time. So its 6pm and we couldnt make it back to the Metra station in time for the 6:30 train. We ended up sitting in the station till 8:30pm for the next train out to Woodstock. Unfortunately on that train there were these 2 mexican dudes and a mexican chick with her kid. Kids running around, all of them on their cell phones, swearing and talking loudly and just generally being assholes (ok, mentioning they are mexican is probably a little racist, but around here young mexicans are pretty much all assholes.). The one dude starts listening to shitty rap music on his cell phones shitty speaker, and then he SINGS ALONG WITH IT.
Needless to say we changed cars. Cool part was the conductor was an awesome big black dude. When he saw us in the new car he was like "Werent you guys in the other car? It was those dudes, wasnt it?" So we explained that and the fact I had just got off a long train ride, was tired as hell, and not in the mood for that kind of bullshit...he said he'd go back and have a talk with them. I smiled. He knew it had to be bad for the 3 of us carrying my luggage to move 2 whole cars.
I got home about 11PM, took a shower, ate a bunch of easter leftovers and then proceeded to sleep till noon today in my nice cozy bed.
