Steven Gould: Tomorrow I take choo-choo.
Rachel Harper: Where to?
Steven Gould: overnight train to LA.
Steven Gould: I got a sleeper compartment and =everything=.
Steven Gould: I just gotta remember to wear the right shoes.
Steven Gould: Every train movie I’ve ever seen, they end up on the roof of the train and the wrong shoes could be very bad.
Rachel Harper: Very true, AND bring a pistol.
Steven Gould: Nah. They say you’re not allowed to, so I’m bringing a bullwhip.
Rachel Harper: If it’s a bullwhip, then you’ll need a cowboy hat to match. Also a kerchif.
Steven Gould: And a leather bag. And I can’t shave. Not for four days.
Rachel Harper: Exactly.
Steven Gould: Hopefully deodorant is allowed.
Rachel Harper: Abolutely not.
Steven Gould: You’re old school.
Steven Gould: Can I post this conversation at Eat Our Brains?
Rachel Harper: Ha! Yeah, sure.
Steven Gould: Okay. Laura’s calling me to supper now. ttfn
Rachel Harper: Bye!

I will be riding Southwest Chief tomorrow into Los Angeles. The train I will be riding on has already left Chicago and will (hopefully) roll into Albuquerque around 4:10 pm (though when I just checked, it was running about 17 minutes late and they expect it to depart my fair city about 37 mintues late.) As I post this, it is probably in Kansas City.

I was going to do the whole trip in coach as it costs about $500 more (round trip) to get one of the sleeper roomettes, but Amtrak called me up on Friday and offered the roomettes for $200 (round trip.) This is a pretty good deal as it comes with meals, privacy, beds.  I’ll get on the train, have a lovely meal, write for a while in the privacy of my roomette, climb into bed later, wake up, shower, have breakfast, and, about 8:15 am Pacific Time, step off at Union Station in L.A.

The last time I went on a train for overnight, it was a trip from Bangkok to Malaysia in 1966, approximately 48 hours through the jungle, no A/C. No sleeper car. No dining car meals. The vendors would hold their wares up to the windows at the stops and you bought fruit and fried rice and whatever.  I’m pretty sure that bathrooms featured a direct drop onto the tracks.

It was an interesting trip but I hope for a higher degree of comfort this time.

My Friday post, from L.A. may have video and pictures.

If I don’t fall off the train.