Favorite dining-car meal companions

Who are the favorite people you have met over a meal in the dining car?

(I thought there was another thread like this, but I couldn't find it.)

Let me start with a comment (not mine) from the Amtrak Capitol Limited group on Facebook. This made me smile.

Tonight one of the sleeping-car passengers at my table was a young woman with dreadlocks who makes prosthetic elf ears for people who go to fantasy conventions and renaissance fairs. Who knew?

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John Madden the old NFL Oakland Raider Coach, Monday Night Football Announcer, and face of the Official NFL Football Video Game, "Madden 20_ _!" ( Now Retired in the Bay Area)

He was also known for liking one of his sponsors, Miller Lite Beer,and was the Life of the Party in the Lounge Car after Dinner! Great guy!!

Besides fellow AUers, on my first LD trip (as an adult) with my daughter our first meal in the diner was with the couple who happened to be across the hall from us. We enjoyed each others company. We ended up on the same connecting train/car and ended up arranging to have dinner again before my daughter & I detrained.

On the Sunset Ltd, The couple across from us was a "snowbird" from Washington who spent winters in Mexico. She had been his Spanish teacher one winter. :wub:

When he saw I was wearing a t-shirt from the event I used to organize in Oregon, he said "Oh, I've been to that" (I looked him up when I got home, and he was already on my mailing list).

As a further note: at Alpine, while we were eating lunch, the Border Patrol came through the train asking each passenger for "citizenship and country of origin." She had her "papers" ready for them, as she was still a Mexican citizen. They were polite, and thanked her before moving on.

Leaving LAX in 2008, I sat across from a retired (or was about to be) woman on the SWC who had been an undertaker, and had buried several stars over her career, including Marlon Brando. She was also happy to hear why I'd been to Los Angeles: it was for a "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" convention, and she exclaimed "Oh, I LOVE Torchwood!"

A Catholic monk who was an author, missionary and tour guide in Italy.

Many Amish couples traveling across the country for weddings, funerals and beach vacations.

A Russian scientist

A Chinese student studying American history

So many interesting meal companions on Amtrak..

On the Southwest Chief one dinner companion was an older woman named Trixie who lived in Scheviningen Holland. She was going to visit a nephew in SF; I was going home to SF. I had once lived in Den Haag which is near the beach town. We had several conversations during one of which I suggested she visit the Zen Center in SF where I lived as it is a very interesting building designed by Julia Morgan. She did this! She had lots of questions about Zen. We exchanged quite a few emails over the next few years and on another visit to said nephew Trixie actually managed to stay for a few days at the Zen monastery Tassajara which is near (sort of: still 2 more hours over largely dirt road) Carmel Valley. Believe me, it is not easy to get to for a person with no car and artifical knees! Unfortunately I was not there at the time but none of that slowed her down one bit.

I once had dinner with an older gent who lived in Sleepy Hollow NY who told us he had served in the German army in WWII and then in the American army in Korea. I found him to be extremely interesting. When he left the table the other 2 people said they hated him. :help:

I've met many fine people, but my most remarkable experience was on the Broadway from Chicago to New York. I grew up in Manhattan, and my family lived on the fourth floor where there was one other apartment besides ours off the elevator. The couple at my table, who were from Indiana and traveling to NY, knew precisely two people in New York City: the couple that lived in the other apartment.

Two young college bound gay buddys and a senior lady from Chicago South Side. I bought a bottle of wine to cut the ice and we laughed the entire meal. We played cards after dinner and the senior lady says, Lets do some gin! I says Ahhhh I can't drink no more and she replies, Naaa Honey, The card game! We all cracked up and went to sleep about midnight. That was the Cap Limited and my best train trip ever.

On our first long distance trip to Tucson,we met a cattle broker traveling from San Antonio to Tucson.We had a great conversation , upon our arrival he stopped by our roomette to let us know we had arrived. He was true Texas gentleman.

A young lady from Louisiana moving to San Diego. She had just had a birthday. Let's just say that Cajuns know how to party.

Took a trip on the Cardinal last year from NYP to CHI. During lunch, my wife and I were eating and two seat-mates (man and woman) in coach sat with us. You'd think they were an old married couple the way they argued with each other, but they claimed never to have met before. Both were from Chicago. They were quite entertaining, usually holding opposing opinions on any subject! One example: I asked about the Navy Pier. One of them thought it was a great place to go, the other thought it a complete waste of time and a tourist trap. Then they argued about who was right and why.

James Patten said:

Took a trip on the Cardinal last year from NYP to CHI. During lunch, my wife and I were eating and two seat-mates (man and woman) in coach sat with us. You'd think they were an old married couple the way they argued with each other, but they claimed never to have met before. Both were from Chicago. They were quite entertaining, usually holding opposing opinions on any subject! One example: I asked about the Navy Pier. One of them thought it was a great place to go, the other thought it a complete waste of time and a tourist trap. Then they argued about who was right and why.

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Match made in Heaven? or maybe someplace warmer? :giggle:

gwschenk said:

A young lady from Louisiana moving to San Diego. She had just had a birthday. Let's just say that Cajuns know how to party.

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Laissez les bon temps rouler!

CHamilton said:

gwschenk said:

A young lady from Louisiana moving to San Diego. She had just had a birthday. Let's just say that Cajuns know how to party.

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Laissez les bon temps rouler!

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For sure!!

Amish couple. I tried to talk with them but they're too quiet. Interesting moment was he eating steak with his hand, not steak knife!

A lady from Arizona- we talked for hours, esp. she rode passenger train to Sun Valley, Idaho. That track was converted to trail years ago.

A couple from Alaska who have been traveling all over the places.

So far...

It's a choice of two, both ladies with a wealth of life experience, both on the same train, didn't know each other.

#1 Born in Britain but with dual British / Barbadian passports. Worked for Pan Am until it went bust. An Uncle who was the first Prime Minister of Barbados, Aunt who was the only female Governor of Barbados. lives between New York and Barbados, but travels as much as possible, 80 years old and travelled in coach " to be with the people ". Now works part time promoting Barbados.

#2 Australian, who spent a number of years working at a school in Alice Springs, a place like no other. Born on a dairy farm on the edge of the outback, returned to her roots and lives now near where she was born. Spends a lot of time visiting daughter who manages on a large very very remote cattle station in Queensland, quite a few stories about living there.

CZ CHI to GJT. We went to dining car hoping to be seated with couple across from us in sleeper. Didn't work out and were seated with a couple wearing Stanford Jackets. He: computer geek from years ago, she developed Improv courses at Stanford. Coincidentally I mentioned our daughter did improv and cousin owned improv theater in Seattle. She took one look at hubby, saw family resemblance and said, "oh my God, you're xxxx xxx's cousin aren"t you? " She had worked with our cousin many times at theaters across U.S. over the years but had lost touch. They are now back in touch.

I have to concur with Mr. Hudson. I rode the CZ twice with Mr. Madden and shared a half a dozen meals with him - and many more Miller Lites with him in the lounge car (and dinner table) . Mother had a phrase "A charming and erudite companion" which never fit a human being better.

The dude on my first CONO trip, who halfway through dinner, pulled out a mickey of Vodka and drank half of it, before offering it around the table. He then put it back into his jacket, like this was an every day thing. It was amusing.

Brenda, a 25-ish single as I was, the southbound Floridian in the summer of 1979. Believe she got on at Louisville. I left the train at Montgomery.

One of ours was a nice dinner companion on the Cap, headed to ATL via WAS for a conference. She is deathly afraid of flying, worried for days about the trip out, then during meetings about the flight home, so she arranged with her boss to start taking Amtrak. Who does she work for? "Promise you won't laugh? The Federal Aviation Administration".

Sad to say, we broke our promise. In spectacular fashion too.

Among the most interesting were an 80+ year old couple that boarded the eastbound EB somewhere around Selby, Montana. They had driven some 70 miles from their home, and were planning to take the train to Boston and back, "just for the fun of it". Amazing people.

Then there was the professional gambler...