I really love to travel by train. With my nose pasted to the window, I watch the scenery roll by everchanging. My imagination runs rampant. One of these days I'd like to take a trip where one has a sleeper car! I've experience this type of travel once in Thailand & the experience was fantastic. Problem was I was so jazzed then about doing this trip that I just could not sleep! But doing another trip over a course of a few days in a sleeper car is definitely on my bucket list!
The MO River Runner train of Amtrak runs alongside the MO river before sneaking back into the woods, across fields & eventually into Kansas City, MO. While travelling my mind takes me on multiple adventures. One moment I'm on a river trip, envisioning being in a canoe or kayak, quietly being swept down stream, camping on the river bank, cooking over a fire, pretending to be Huck Finn. Then when we enter the woods & I think of what travelling by foot & following the rails would be like. I picture being a 'bum' of yesteryear that supposively followed these rails, looking for the secret symbols that would let them know where they could work for food, find shelter or warn of a bad dog.
The tracks sneak westward behind backyards, through fields & into the city. I am surprised at how undeveloped the land the tracks snake through is, immediately prior to entering Lee's Summit. One seems to just pop into this very different world quite abruptly. One moment you're out in the woods, then suddenly one is thrust into the frenzied activity of the city. The train whizzed by cars driving on the streets, the endless row of buildings & people going about their business, oblivious to the rush of the train cutting rapidly thru the slower moving traffic.
Since living in my very small town (2,600 pop) is quite different than living in Independence or Lee Summit (2014 populations of 116,830 & 91,364 souls respectively) I am very aware of the contrast between these environs. The city's frenzied pace is very jarring to me, although I can see the pros & cons of each lifestyle. As for me, I am very grateful to not live in such a congested area & to be able to pop in, then out-blissfully out-after completing whatever task brought me into the masses.
While travelling down the tracks I see the trash mankind has left behind buildings, alongside the tracks, in ditches of small creeks & rivers or the piles of junk in some peoples' yards as we rush by their houses & the contrast between a totally natural setting & man's contribution of trash says alot about the level of respect many have for our natural world. My ex was a railroader & I was wishing he was next to me to make informative comments about the train, his experiences on this track & provide interesting tidbits & details. He spent many years on this run, so would have been a great source of info.
Had an uneventful trip west & the train was on time. Enjoyed a great visit with my cousin & her husband! Lotsa talk, laughs, good food & bird watching. They live in a subdivision, which I am not used to, but at least they have a patch of woods behind their house. I would have a hard time looking out at an seemingly endless group of homes, each looking into their neighbors back yard. All I could think of while looking at this subdivision was the theme for the TV series "Weeds", titled Little Boxes.
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
The writer of this 1962 song was a Malvina Reynolds. She & her husband were on their way from where they lived in Berkeley, through San Francisco and down the peninsula to La Honda where she was to sing at a meeting. As she drove through Daly City, she said “Bud, take the wheel. I feel a song coming on.”
After spending a night with them, was time to get on the train to return home. Unfortunately I missed the train. And then missed the train again.
My cousin's husband was driving me to the Independence train station, when he realized he'd had a 'brain fart' & we were on the wrong road. Have you ever done this? You are going a route you've been on multiple times before, but for some reason your brain is not engaged & suddenly you realize you've really screwed up. You wonder what in the world you were thinking? So there wasn't any way we were going to make it on time to the Independence station.
I suggested we go to the Lee's Summit train station, in hopes I could jump on there & head east. Well that didn't happen either. If you may have thought that he might have had any incentive to go, say the speed limit or a hair faster knowing it would be close in getting me there on time, well think again.
One thing about my cousin's husband is he drives S-L-O-W....all... the... time. Like 10-20 mph less than whatever is the posted speed limit. Even if the speed limit is 25. I am always amused at him when I ride anywhere with them. He is completely righteous when it comes to driving & laughing about his reactions are better than pulling my hair out at how slow he goes. To him, everyone else is either driving too fast or not doing what he thinks they should. And he comments about the other drivers quite regularly, while he is driving.
He claims he drives this slow to not jar my cousin's spine, saying it could throw her back out. But she wasn't in the vehicle this trip & he still drove slow as molasses in January! Meanwhile we're the slow poke vehicle that everyone blows there horn at or passes. Needless to say we didn't make it to the Lee's Summit station on time either. Missed this train by ONE minute! ARG!
So we returned back to their home & fortunately had another good evening together. I really try to not sweat the small stuff, especially as I've aged & am now in my tender years. What I didn't realize until I began the process of making arrangements to get on the first train east the next morn is that Amtrak's policy is if you miss a train, you are shit outta luck! No refund, no credit & had I gotten on at Lee's Summit instead of Independence, they would have charged me for a new ticket, even though the run I paid for was the longer stretch. Soooo had to buy another ticket for my morning travel. Lesson learned there!
Second lesson learned was despite Amtrak being almost always late, when you NEED them to be late, of course they are right on time. Looked up their "on time performance" stats online & this specific run has a 78.1% on time performance percentage for the last 12 months. The primary delays are due, (so they say) to train interference (47.8%), tracks & signals (20.7%) & passengers (17.3%). Personally I believe the majority of delays are caused by the freight trains having priority, which is an obvious problem. Don't know how many times the trains I've been on have stopped & the announcer has stated our delay was due to freights having priority.
Fortunately my cousin insisted on buying my return ticket for me. Amtrak is running a 25% special so the fare was around $30. Cheaper than driving! Was very kind of her. Ironically on the way back, the train was over 30 mins late getting to my destination station-OF COURSE! Isn't that always the way it goes!? But I made it back home, safe & sound, happy for the quick, yet satisfying adventure!
Train travel is great! I can't wait until I can go somewhere else via the tracks. But for this trip, I'm at the end of the line!
