Last week I embarked on my first Amtrak adventure of the year: Spokane-Seattle, Seattle-Portland, Portland-Minot, and Minot-Spokane. The purpose of this trip was solely to ride the train. I had done a Spokane-Seattle-Portland-Spokane loop trio several years before, but wanted to expand it. After deciding I wanted to ride east of Spokane, I looked for places I could go to where I could get a good night's sleep overnight and return home. Looking at the EB's schedule I figured Minot fit the bill perfectly. So Minot it was.
My journey began as usual in the early morning hours last Tuesday, May 9th, in Spokane. I was first headed to Seattle. My uncle from Illinois joined me again, and as he had purchased a sleeper from Chicago, I bought an open sleeper ticket to be attached to his reservation. The westbound EB arrived in Spokane early. The SCA, when it was time to board, clearly had no clue what to do since I had an open sleeper ticket, and left me in the hands of the conductor, one of the rudest, obnoxious oafs I have ever encountered on Amtrak. :angry: More than once when people weren't moving fast enough to suit him, he bellowed at them to quit standing around and quit picking their noses and MOVE!!! Jackass!!!!! :angry: When it was time for me to board, it turns out my name wasn't on the manifest because the agent whom I had talked to on the phone hadn't attached my reservation to my uncle's. After trying to show him I did indeed have a ticket-and receipt-he repeated his nose-picking mantra and out of the goodness of his heart "let" me ride the train and would figure everything out later. Big of him!!!!
So with that out of the way, I boarded, and after the SCA informed me I wasn't eligible to eat in the diner, I most assuredly told him I was, and that was that. A few mimutes after we had gotten underway, Jackass came by the room, said all had been straightened out, and apologized. That raised him from being a jackaas to a jerk. :lol:
I settled down to sleep a few hours, and with exquisite timing woke up at Wenatchee, just in time for breakfast and for the good scenery to start. I had my usual for breakfast, the omelet with potatoes and pork sausage, along with a square croissant,if there is such a thing. We had breakfast with an older couple from England, in their first time in the States, and on their way to Alaska on a cruise. They were thoroughly enjoying their Amtrak experience and their travel across the US. They had flown into New York and ridden to Chicago on the LSL and then boarded the EB there. We were early into Seattle, and were able to check in early at our hotel, the Moore. We spent our afternoon in Seattle doing the usual touristy things: checking out Pike Place Market, the waterfront, taking a harbor cruise, the monorail, and the Space Needle. That was enough for one day, so we retired to the hotel, ready for our early morning run to Portland on the Cascades the next day. I will be making separate posts concerning each leg of the trip in order to break up the endless droning I seem to do on these reports..
My journey began as usual in the early morning hours last Tuesday, May 9th, in Spokane. I was first headed to Seattle. My uncle from Illinois joined me again, and as he had purchased a sleeper from Chicago, I bought an open sleeper ticket to be attached to his reservation. The westbound EB arrived in Spokane early. The SCA, when it was time to board, clearly had no clue what to do since I had an open sleeper ticket, and left me in the hands of the conductor, one of the rudest, obnoxious oafs I have ever encountered on Amtrak. :angry: More than once when people weren't moving fast enough to suit him, he bellowed at them to quit standing around and quit picking their noses and MOVE!!! Jackass!!!!! :angry: When it was time for me to board, it turns out my name wasn't on the manifest because the agent whom I had talked to on the phone hadn't attached my reservation to my uncle's. After trying to show him I did indeed have a ticket-and receipt-he repeated his nose-picking mantra and out of the goodness of his heart "let" me ride the train and would figure everything out later. Big of him!!!!
So with that out of the way, I boarded, and after the SCA informed me I wasn't eligible to eat in the diner, I most assuredly told him I was, and that was that. A few mimutes after we had gotten underway, Jackass came by the room, said all had been straightened out, and apologized. That raised him from being a jackaas to a jerk. :lol:
I settled down to sleep a few hours, and with exquisite timing woke up at Wenatchee, just in time for breakfast and for the good scenery to start. I had my usual for breakfast, the omelet with potatoes and pork sausage, along with a square croissant,if there is such a thing. We had breakfast with an older couple from England, in their first time in the States, and on their way to Alaska on a cruise. They were thoroughly enjoying their Amtrak experience and their travel across the US. They had flown into New York and ridden to Chicago on the LSL and then boarded the EB there. We were early into Seattle, and were able to check in early at our hotel, the Moore. We spent our afternoon in Seattle doing the usual touristy things: checking out Pike Place Market, the waterfront, taking a harbor cruise, the monorail, and the Space Needle. That was enough for one day, so we retired to the hotel, ready for our early morning run to Portland on the Cascades the next day. I will be making separate posts concerning each leg of the trip in order to break up the endless droning I seem to do on these reports..