T-minus 46 hours and counting down to my first REALLY big train ride, so I decided to blog this trip.

THE MANDATORY INTRODUCTION-Like, WHY am I writing about this?

Those who know me know how ANAL I am, always researching things, always looking up stuff, always peeking around the corner for one more tiny bit (or byte) of information. So why am I having an 'anality' fit? This train trip I'm taking to my daughter Jackie's new home in Albuquerque (we'll refer to it from now on as 'ALB', okay?) is an overnighter and it's a long time to be on a train. The last time I remember taking the train was I think when the kids were really really young, early 90's, and it was the Pacific Surfliner. Just Fullerton to Oceanside and back, that was it.

Whenever I find out information, I love to e-share it with those who look for this type of info or at least somewhere to start. Knowledge isn't only just power, it's INDISPENSIBLE if you want to stay up with the flow and the know.

What am I going to write about?

I will write what I find out specific to this trip, what I experience on this trip (and back, on Monday October 29th) plus some generic information, ESPECIALLY the little 'ah-HA's' that hit 'cha when you realize something that you didn't know before and totally changes the way you perceive something. Every 'ah-HA' is a good one, IMO.

How am I going to find all this wonderfulness and awesome 'ah-HA's'?

WELL, DUH...

1. Firstly, (is it considered redundant to put the number '1' in front of the word 'firstly'? Grammarians and Gramparians, please rule) there's the INTERNET-I can find out what everybody is saying about a specific trip on a specific train on a specific day. Great for information and finding out what I'm in for, because I HATE to go into any new situation UNPREPARED. NO SURPRISES, thank you. That missive should be one of three that could be considered for my tombstone:

NO SURPRISES
BITE ME
and the ever popular (in my own mind, anyway)
"I could be your mom, so WATCH IT!"

Secondly, talking to some people who've done the trip. Very few 'secondlys', btw...ok, practically nonexistent. In fact, I haven't found ANYBODY. Yet. I would imagine there'd be some on the train.

You're probably asking yourself (even if you're not, please, make me happy and do ask yourself) WHAT train trip am I taking? Where am I going? Why am I going there? What will I do? Who will I see? When will I be leaving and coming back? How much did it cost?

The ANSWERS are...

The Southwest Chief

 http://www.amtrak.com/southwest-chief-train

From Fullerton to Albuquerque and back (or rather, from FUL to ALB)

Daughter Jackie's other baby shower where she lives

The first day in ALB I'll sleep-the 2nd day I'll help her paint the baby's room-the third day is the shower and I'll be doing my usual thing and taking 500 million pictures so I don't have to sit with maybe nobody to talk to

I'll see Steve's family and they'll see ME. I'll offer Xanax to them cheaply after they are exposed to moi.

I'm leaving Thursday night October 25th 6:50 pm from FUL on Train 4, getting into ALB on Friday morning, then leaving ALB Monday afternoon around 4:42 pm on Train 3 and arriving at FUL around 6:34 am.

Hmmm, how much did it cost. Well, regular fare usually runs $67 each way, I get a AAA discount of 10% so the total for both ways was around $121. B U T...

I'm going to try to see if I can get a 'roomette' the minute I step onto the train, because if I can get one, I can get it for what they call 'low bucket' price, that is, the lowest price that roomette will ever go for. If I bought it now online, it'd be around $2-300. If they have one, it'll cost me $162 (one way, of course). The KICKER is that the roomettes and sleepers are considered 1st Class, so the meals are included and so is juice, coffee and water. The windows are a little better to see out of, you can actually sleep in a roomette, it's just more private and nicer. I'm not counting on getting one, but it would be cool.

So, ON TO THE BLOG!

One word.
Preparation.

You know I'm really BIG on preparation, and part of my preparation (and one of the reasons I considered taking the train vs. driving) was that Barry went on the train in August out there to go to a concert with Jax and Steve. I was researching stuff for him, blah blah blah yabba dabba do, so when I thought it'd be a cool thing to do, I REALLY started researching it. Not necessarily methologically, just looking up whatever info I latch on to.

I had questions, and that's what I base my searches on-questions.

Where can I sit?

What can I take?

What should I wear?

Where is everything onboard the train? (I found out the answer to THIS little gem about 3 weeks after I got into it-everything on the Southwest Chief is UPSTAIRS. Ok, almost everything. This train is what they call a 'Superliner' in that there are 2 levels to each car (except the baggage car and the leading and trailing engines). There are some things that are on the bottom, like some sleepers/roomettes, some cafe car booths, 10-12 coach seats in each of the coach cars, the coach restrooms, but the IMPORTANT stuff is upstairs, and you go from car to car when you're upstairs. The Lounge Car (used to be called the Dome Car or something like that ) is upstairs with all those windows, the Dining Car dining area is upstairs, 3/4 of the coach seats are upstairs, the Cafe Car is mostly upstairs.

So if you have shitty knees like me, or have problems getting around, you had BETTER gotten a lower level coach seat, or else you are going to be HATING the stairs! There are only a few lower coach car seats (again, like 10-12 per coach car, whereas each coach car upstairs has about 56+), and when Barry went to ALB, I had gotten him a lower seat only so that it'd be easier for him to step off the train and smoke. ANYWAY, he's behind this couple (I ain't-a gonna say 'older couple' because, well, I just AIN'T) and when the wife got on, she went RIGHT for one of those lower coach seats. The conductor or whomever was doing their ticket thing told her that her ticket didn't show a lower coach seat so she had to take a seat upstairs, and she squawked VERY LOUDLY, 'How am I supposed to get up those stairs? Why can't I have one of these seats down  here? Who's supposed to sit here? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" I asked Barry if he was going to give up his seat to her, and he said he wasn't.

So it was THEN that I realized that I had a DEFINITE chip on my shoulder and I was going to buy my tickets with the LOWER COACH SEAT. I'm actually glad I did because my knees have really been bugging me and stairs are getting to be a bit much, up AND down. I might bring a cane, JUST so I don't get moved by anyone. The chip on the shoulder part comes in to play because if you've ever seen me drive or been with me, you'll know that I don't give an INCH to ANYBODY, they will NOT get in front of ME if I have anything to say about it! So on the train, let's face it, I got the lower seats going and coming because I AM A BITCH.

See? See? There's an 'Ah-HA' for you regarding seats and stuff! Plus the additional bonus of knowing about my personality.

It's hard to put everything into this blog without any rhyme or reason, so I'm going to start with a glossary and acronyms, just to ease into explaining things. After that I'm going to just randomly start stringing information as I think of it and worry about putting into any sort of order later. If I ever do.

The Big 'O', Brass Buttons, The Brains, Captain, Skipper, all are monikers for the CONDUCTOR.
The Conductor is also the BOUNCER.

The Big 'E' is the Engineer.

INTERESTING TIDBITS AND INFORMATION THAT CAN COME AS AN 'AH-HA':

• When you dine in the Dining Car, unless you're a group of 4, they'll put you with other people. This is not necessarily bad.
• This is not generally known, but each 'turn' (people at a table) is alloted about 75-90 minutes.   That's a lot of time. So if they try to rush you off, sit your ground. You've paid for your meal and are entitled to eat it in peace.
• Did you KNOW that sometimes the Conductor will be talking to the Engineer on the radio, and the Engineer can hear the Conductor, but the Conductor wouldn't be able to hear the Engineer because of the engine noise? So the Conductor and the Engineer have this thing going whereby the Conductor will tell the Engineer to toot twice for 'OK, I heard you, we're good' and toot once for, 'Um, I didn't hear you, I'm not going to do it, nyah, nyah, nyah'. Just kidding on the 'nyah, nyah, nyah part of it.
• If you see a lot of people in coach with hoodies on, wrapped in some blankets with their own pillows, it's because the train doesn't start warming up with the heaters until the temp gets to about 62 degrees. The train DOES tend to be cool at night, even in summer.
• Seats on Superliner coaches are about 2" longer on the stairway side of the car.
• Try not to sit close to the front of the car. For taking pictures, it's easier to be farther back.
• The Lounge car is for enjoying the scenery and having a snack from the cafe area. It's first come, first served and is considered polite not to hog the seat for the entire time you're on the train!
• A good place to put some extra luggage in the coach car is when you come up the stairs, right behind the first row of seats next to the stairs there's an area there that is nice for bags, if you don't want to leave them in the coach luggage area.
• For sleeping in coach (and the seats do recline nicely, with a leg rest-type thing), bring a small blanket, maybe your own pillow, earplugs, an eyemask, and have water close by. Taking a Benadryl wouldn't hurt either, because if you're like me, you'll be kind of 'up' to be on the train for a while. The ear plugs are for not only others snoring but kids running up and down the aisles making noise, even at Quiet Time. The eyemask is extra darkness for you. (NOTE: there weren't any kids running up and down the aisles on the lower level of the coach, because there're WEREN'T ANY KIDS. Plus, on the way to ABQ, everybody went zzzzzzz at 8 PM. I am NOT KIDDING. It was like a Rest Home on the Rails, or the Convalescent Home Coach Car.)
• Taking and having water is because the train tends to have a dry atmosphere of its' own-that's what people talk about when they get 'train throat'-it's dry and raspy. Bring some throat lozenges.
• Electronic stuff is good like a Kindle, a tablet, smartphone, MP3, iPod, whatEVER. Just be aware that SOME coaches have an outlet at almost every seat, and SOME coaches only have one-two outlets for the entire COACH. So you might want to bring a surge power strip to plug all your little cutesy electronic thingys in. (NOTE: the lower level of the coach car I was in had outlets at every seat)
• Speaking of cell phones, Quiet Time is after 9 pm (or 10-I forget) so there's no talking loudly on a cell. It's rude ANYWAY to talk loudly on a cell ANYWAY, no matter WHAT time of day it is on a train!
• What to wear? Whatever you'd wear around the house, like a jogging outfit or something like that, with easy off-easy on shoes. The shoes can come off when you're in the seat, but when you go from car-to-car, you HAVE to wear shoes. Flip flops are not considered shoes.
• Don't get all het up about using a tablet or laptop with Internet unless you have your own modem card-the WiFi is kinda spotty on parts of the trip that are in hills or mountains. The WiFi is kinda spotty period, actually and besides, you came to ENJOY the trip, not to play  WoW or FF5! (NOTE-between Williams, Flagstaff, Winslow, Gallup and ABQ, the satellite service for texting or internet stuff even on my Smartphone/Blackberry was spotty.)
• It is FORBIDDEN to bring and drink alcohol that you bring onboard yourself (unless you're in a sleeper and you only drink it in there). Having said that and been a good little girl, here are some ways I've heard other people circumvent the system (and remember, you DIDN'T hear this from me!) (NOTE: I DID bring a beer on with me on the return trip from ABQ to FUL-got away with it clean because I brought some cups too. I just wish I'd-a brought a couple MORE brews)

-One person I know who took the train, took her 'camelback' with her and simply LOADED it up with Jack 'n Coke. She was blitzed for the entire trip AND the next day. She doesn't even remember where she sat when she went to New Mexico-I know, I asked her yesterday.

-Another person took a workout bottle type thing that was opaque and darkly colored, and put Bailey's in it. All they had to do was get some coffee or ask for some ice. (NOTE-no, I ended up not doing it. Too complicated)

-Still ANOTHER person brought a small thermos on board with some hot whatever in it, could've been cider, could've been chai tea, could've been BAILEYS AND COFFEE, not sure. (NOTE: see above)

Circumventing the system is fun because a)well, you're beating the SYSTEM, for God's sake! That's usually reason enough! and b) the drinks on the train are $7 for a 'well' drink, even though they have a few 'call' brands, like Absolut, Jack Daniel's, Bacardi, etc. A domestic beer is $5.25, a premium domestic/import is $6.25, and a regional craft beer is $7 (like I care about a regional beer), all in the Dining Car. The alcohol is a little cheaper in the Cafe/Lounge Car.

• You CAN bring your own food and drink onboard, like coke/pepsi, gatorade, water, tea, a thermos with some green tea, a small cooler, sandwiches, chips, fruit, just think picnic. Just don't bring limburger or anything really smelly like lox and bagels and cream cheese, or salami or something that really has an odor. There are others around you too, you know, who like to breathe. Occasionally. No, unfortunately, you can't take your wonderful gourmet food to the Lounge/Dome car to eat, nor to the Dining Car. Eating and drinking is only with Amtrak food. (It's a Federal law and also has something also to do with the FDA)
• BTW, there's no ala carte in the Dining Car. All food served are complete meals, so no cheapo is going to get away with a little bitty salad and sit and 'camp' for 3 hours.

ANALITY, ANALITY, ANALITY, HOW I LOVE TO LOVE ANALITY.

Now here I am pushing the ultimate envelope of anality: I did a map of the route, what the route stop acronym was, the time we were supposed to stop there, and the duration between the stops. I wanted to figure how how much time there would be to the next stop so that I could either a)catch some zzzz's, b) look out the window, c) go crazy, d) figure out when sunrise was so I could have a sunrise b'fast on board the train (that's GOTTA be cool, you know?!). "Oh yes, the ride was fine, and at the end I had breakfast while watching the sun rise over New Mexico." It's tailor-made for making people drool with envy. (NOTE-I actually DID IT!! Had 'breakfast in the dining car on the Southwest Chief at sunrise". ) It was kinda hard finding schedules, cafe car treats, etc, but I managed to find the Amtrak Employee Service Procedure Manual for every single employee that works on a train, what they're supposed to do, how they're supposed to treat people and seat people in the dining car and the seating times, policies for the mobility-impaired, you know, special stuff. It's fascinating; for instance, I was reading a commentary on a website that the Coach attendant was kind of yelling at people to pick up their trash and their stuff, and she got so mad that she closed the Lounge Car 90 minutes before the end of the route in Chicago. The MANUAL says that the Lounge Car may NOT be closed any earlier than 30 minutes before the end of the line. I love this shit. Go ahead, beyatch, GIVE IT A SHOT. I'll QUOTE the damn manual at you! (Plus, being a queen BITCH myself, maybe I'll let a couple of the train employees just catch a glance at the thing in the binder I'm reading, namely The Manual, and let them think I'm some sort of person who's going to catch them doing the wrong thing. Ok, yeah, so I will probably catch them doing the wrong thing, I mean, nobody's perfect, but I'LL be there TO SEE IT!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHHA! (NOTE-actually, when the lounge car bar and the cafe closes is different from route to route and train to train...it depends on the timetable and the schedule. They DON'T, however, close the Lounge Car. Plus no train personnel even came CLOSE to my seat all night long.)

Ahem.

Getting into a food theme again, if you look on the above website, you can find the cafe car menu and prices. Frankly, they're better than the prices at the airport!!! Think about it. We're not talking about a regular restaurant or cafe here, we're talking about a cafe ON THE TRAIN!!! WHILE MOVING!!! and seeing all sorts of SCENERY!!! It's pretty cool and you really should try to get a meal in the dining car if possible, just to round out the train experience. I'M going to. (remember the 'breakfast at sunrise thing? Trust me, I'm going to take LOTS of pics of that little event!) (NOTE-and I DID.)

 

To be continued...