Hi Everyone,
Recently I had the opportunity to take a unique trip. Although I do not think of myself as a great writer, I will try to relay my experience as best I can and hope you will enjoy reading my rather long post.
The purpose of this last minute trip was to ride in two of the several cars that the Friends of the 261 have. Due to a last minute cancellation of a group originally booked on their cars going from MSP-CHI on 05/19/ and returning on 05/22, the Friends of the 261 were selling seats on those trains (since they were going to CHI with those cars anyway..) as a one way for $129 or round trip for $249.
This came at the perfect time for me, having just seen a couple of PVs at LAUS during National Train Day and reigniting my bug for train travel.
I had a voucher from Amtrak that I was able to use, so I booked myself on the CS leaving VNC on 05/16, connecting to the EB in PDX on 05/17 (the same train that will have the said PVs attached to at MSP on the 19th - so I didn't care much that the train was going to be late based on previous week's performance). I was, however to fly back home from ORD the same day upon arrival into CHI (I know, I know, but I did not have enough points to use for a return trip by train)
My journey began on the morning of 05/16 after parking my car at VNC's huge parking lot. The CS arrived on time, and my sleeping car attendant, Gabriel, promptly assisted me with my luggage to my room. This was my 3rd time riding the CS, and coincidentally, every time I had the same dining car crew as well as the same Parlor Car attendant (William), and I had a nice feeling when all of them recognized me, and had a great time talking with them throughout the trip
I bought a scanner the day before and was still playing and learning it, but I was able to find the right frequencies and hear the conversations back and forth as well as the hotbox indicators, things that are interesting just to us and crews.
I was able to upgrade to a bedroom on this train for only $61 - and I almost got the upgrade for free when the conductor could not get the credit card machine to work. (it was fixed down the line).
Unfortunately, today just the 1132 car was refurbished, the rest were the older type, and the only bedrooms available were in those other two. Man, how I hate those sinks. Soon it was time for lunch and I made my way to the Parlor Car and had the sandwich and a couple of ginger ales.
Halfway thru my lunch we had to go into emergency on the Gaviola bridge where and older guy was strolling on the bridge with his fishing pole, not paying attention to the horns. From the radio chatter I heard that he moved to the side at the last moment and did not speak English and later heard that apparently did not have all his marbles and a warning was put out to other passing trains to watch out for him.
We were delayed for about 20 min while Amtrak Police attempted to talk to him and while the crew checked the brakes and all…
At SLO (I think) conductor Phil joined the crew (I believe I read about him here) and made some very entertaining announcements and was fun having him around. The horseshoe pass was very picturesque and it was the first time I was visiting it in the daylight.
About half of the Parlor car swivel chairs were taken almost the entire trip by non-revs and I heard some people complain about that.
At the wine tasting I sat next to a young man that was going to OKJ to start a cross-country trip with his motorcycle going everywhere including Canada and Alaska, as well as next to a gentleman that seemed very knowledgeable about trains - it turns out he was the Director of Operations for Talgo. We had some very nice and interesting conversations.
Souvenir wine glasses were offered for purchase (first time that option was offered in all my CS trips so far) and I so I got one for myself.
I had dinner in the diner since I knew one of the specials would be the Asian spare ribs which I've had before and were extremely tasty and writing this makes me crave for some more. I also got a beer mostly so I can leave a tip, but also to wash the food down nicely (I learned later in the trip that if you ask, they can just charge the tip directly w/o having to purchase anything…)
The train was running smoothly and on time or better for most stations. I went to take a shower (very strong water pressure, good water temperature) and went to bed.
Woke up the next morning somewhere after Klamath Falls and headed over for breakfast. Actually I could not get much sleep most of the night - probably too excited about the upcoming trip. Had lots of coffee and the French toast which was ok-ish, I am not really a French toast fan and was hoping they'd have the pancakes instead. After breakfast, I went back to my room and actually dozed off for a little bit. Woke up and did some walking back and forth along the train. Decided to have lunch in the diner again, and it was a good choice as I sat next to the nice Talgo rep again as well as a couple who also seemed very interested in trains and we had a nice long lunch, discussing everything from mechanical aspects of the Talgo trains Amtrak runs to light rail, vintage cars and everything in between. Before I knew it, we were already arriving into PDX - the conductor even accentuating the "and, yes, we are actually early" part; about 20 min early. Said my goodbyes to my lunch partners as well as the crew and headed off to the lounge to drop off my bags. An older gentleman with a cane detraining from my CS had stumbled and fell really bad (he was bleeding pretty badly) on track 1 and the CS crew was attending to him and brought blankets and pillows, until paramedics arrived. Took a walk along the front of the station, which is undergoing some construction/remodeling.
After the CS departed for SEA it was time to board the EB. The conductor escorted us from the lounge to the train and I made my short walk to car 2830 where attendant O.C. Smith warmly greeted and assisted me with my luggage to my room. Bedrooms were sold out days in advance, so no chance of upgrade this time; I had room H, so it wasn't that bad. Although a refurbished car with a new sink, the faucet was still the crappy, old one.
Shortly after departing PDX, O.C. came by with champagne and to ask for my choice for tonight's dinner – Shrimp Louie, Chicken salad or a beef with broccoli and mushrooms option. I chose the beef and it was very tasty and filling, could not even finish it all. After dinner I went to the "rail fan" window to snap a couple of pictures and video. The window was very clean, which was much appreciated. This car appeared to have come from a CS consist as it still had the 1130 number on it by that door.
After the Pasco stop I went to take a shower and try to get some sleep. Although I was pretty tired, I was not able to get much sleep again, mostly because of the track noise and my room being located directly above the truck. I was awake throughout most of the night but managed to doze off a bit after the sun came up. Went to the dining car shortly before the East Glacier Park stop. Since it was a bit late, I was one of the last breakfast customers. Had the quiche for the first time, it was pretty tasty (I wanted the pancakes but they had just the French toast as well). It's a long walk from the dining car to my room as most of you know; both the track as well as my back were getting worse. (I had a couple of back surgeries recently…)
O.C. was checking up on me often and made sure everything is OK. He has been with Amtrak for 30+ years and is very dedicated to his job, and I think it shows (However, If I had a choice I would still take Gul as my attendant, hands down, no questions!). I noticed that every female passenger in my car was given a small bouquet of flowers, which I thought it was a very nice gesture on his part. After the Spokane hookup to the other train, the PA stopped working in my room and was barely able to hear announcements from the hallway.
I was looking forward to getting some fresh air at Shelby since we were arriving early, however, that was cut short by us having to pass the station and then back into it due to a freight train. Lunch soon began and was done by waitlist only (not sure why they do not do it by reservation like on the CS). We were just pulling into Havre when I heard a last call for my name coming in from the diner. Got off the train to be greeted by the "are you a US Citizen" question from a Border Patrol agent. Walked on the platform a bit and went up to the dining car where yet more BP agents were asking questions to most people having lunch. Was seated next to a nice couple whom were surprised about the purpose of my trip. The wine tasting soon followed and was seated next to a couple from Australia visiting US – the gentleman actually having worked for the Australian Rail and was now retired. Also next to us was a gentleman that turned out to be the Medical Examiner in a small town (I forgot where, sorry) and his phone rang a couple of times with work-related issues. All 4 of us won a bottle of wine and there were plenty more left, that were given to people that didn't win any at the end. Track was so bad, we had to hold our glasses and bottles to make sure they do not fly off the table and people were having great difficulty moving about the cars. An announcement was even made something along the lines "it's going to be a rough ride for a bit, please hold on to something". I had to double check to make sure I wasn't in an airplane instead
At dinnertime, I was seated next to a mother, very young son and grandmother trio on their way to visit family. The station where they boarded had a broken printer and could not print their tickets, so apparently they were seated in coach temporarily until the next stop where tickets were to be printed. Not sure why, I mean they were on the manifest afterall, but the conductor seemed the strict, by the book type. He even made sure to inform the dining car staff that only two of them are supposed to get free meals, the other would have to be paid for since they were in a roomette… The dining staff made sure to charge the more expensive stuff to the sleeping car bill, while charging the kid's meal to the 'have to pay' bill. I had the bison meat loaf (my first time trying bison meat) which was very tasty and spicy and with a nice sauce, which I enjoyed very much along with the bottle of Malbec won earlier and which I shared with the two ladies, of course. At the end of the meal, the LSA came by and informed them that their bill is taken care of and not too worry about it, but to not tell the conductor about that. I thought that was a nice and logical thing to do – if two adults and one 3 year old can fit fine in a roomette, all their meals should be included.
Went to bed and tried to sleep but again could not, the track was even worse than before, it felt like the train will jump off the track any minute now… We were on time until that night, and by the time we reached Fargo we were already running 2+ hours late. Speaking of Fargo, we had to wait in a siding and back into the station after the westbound EB left that station. Track was yet even worse and extremely noisy on this portion.
Woke up on the big day somewhere after St. Cloud where we were over 4 hours late. Made my way slowly to breakfast where they finally had the pancakes and of course that's what I ordered. Finished breakfast and went back to my room to pack my bags.
Arrival in MSP was, as predicted, late, however that did not bother me too much as I was looking left and right on other tracks trying to spot the two PVs. Spotted them on the track adjacent to ours and made my way to the platform to watch the coupling. Lots of fellow train riders were there already taking pictures at the two beautiful PVs – the MKT (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) as well as the Super Dome). I couldn't wait to get on, I even forgot to take pictures on the outside of the cars. The crew welcomed me aboard and introduced itself – Steve, the President of 261, Justin, the conductor (really a Swiss-army knife type person) as he is also serving in the kitchen, the bar, and of course, works his a** off restoring and maintaining these beautiful masterpieces. Also there to greet me were Joey, the Chef, as well as John, whom also volunteers for 261. They informed me that there will be only two other passengers riding with me. One of them (I regret that I forgot his name) spent most of the ride up in the Super Dome watching the view and listening in to his scanner, making notes of all the hotbox detector readouts, etc. The other passenger, Stephan sat with me and the crew most of the ride and we were both left speechless and breathless as we were admiring the cars and taking it all in while sitting in the open section of the historic car built in 1912, which has travelled with many Presidents, including Truman, Carter, Clinton, and more recently was used for the Obama/Biden inauguration of the last election.
The crew had prepared a delicious breakfast with scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausages and garlic toast. Even though I regretted having breakfast already a bit earlier, I was not one to refuse my first breakfast in a PV!
We had a great time talking and interacting with the crew and discussing various subjects ranging from, naturally, the cars and their stories, to even Dracula, or rather the actual person on which the character was based – Vlad Tepes, from my home country of Romania. Time flies by, and I was enjoying the view and my pipe sitting in one of the leather swivel chairs when we were informed that Steve had prepared lunch for us – Caesar salad along with turkey B.L.T. sandwiches, which was delicious. We also had an open bar at our disposal. As we were having lunch we arrived at the Columbus station where people were sitting outside and admiring our cars
After lunch it was time for taking some pictures and admiring the views from the platform. It was nice to have rail workers wave at us as we passed them by as well as people in cars stopped at crossings. Soon we were arriving in MKE, where Stephan was leaving us to go visit family. Upon leaving MKE we were making good time at great speeds although eventually we got delayed due to freight and Metra traffic. We pulled into Union station at 7:13pm, about 3:30 hours behind schedule, giving me serious doubts that I will make it to the airport in time for my 8:40pm departure for LAX.
I bid my goodbyes to the crew and thanked them for their hospitality and this incredible experience, and by the time I reached the street level it was already 7:26pm. I flagged down a taxi as that was the only option left, and got a driver who was originally from Casablanca, so I told him to drive me to O'hare like they drive in Morocco. And so he did, indeed, and I arrived at the curb at 7:45pm! Was thru security and at a Starbucks within a couple of minutes. TSA never ceases to amaze me, they managed to find and confiscate my toothpaste, which was slightly larger than 3 oz., however, they somehow missed a big bottle of Listerine and an even bigger bottle of body wash. Go figure…
Went thru some crazy, massive, huuuge thunderstorms along the way, making me regret that I was not returning by train (even though my license plate reads " :wub: TO FLY") and barely escaping having to expose my breakfast and lunch to the whole plane…(I might love to fly, but I am probably the worst type of motion sickness person you will ever meet, I can guarantee you that. Oh, "it can't be THAT bad" you say? Try this: sometimes I get motion sickness when I drive myself. Beat that!)
Arrival into LAX was about 20 min. early, I headed off to a shuttle which took me to VNC to pick up my car, arriving home shortly after midnight, super dead tired.
What a ride!
Oh, almost forgot - the pictures I took on this trip are here: https://picasaweb.go...feat=directlink (I did not take too many, since I was too... hypnotized, as you might imagine)
Recently I had the opportunity to take a unique trip. Although I do not think of myself as a great writer, I will try to relay my experience as best I can and hope you will enjoy reading my rather long post.
The purpose of this last minute trip was to ride in two of the several cars that the Friends of the 261 have. Due to a last minute cancellation of a group originally booked on their cars going from MSP-CHI on 05/19/ and returning on 05/22, the Friends of the 261 were selling seats on those trains (since they were going to CHI with those cars anyway..) as a one way for $129 or round trip for $249.
This came at the perfect time for me, having just seen a couple of PVs at LAUS during National Train Day and reigniting my bug for train travel.
I had a voucher from Amtrak that I was able to use, so I booked myself on the CS leaving VNC on 05/16, connecting to the EB in PDX on 05/17 (the same train that will have the said PVs attached to at MSP on the 19th - so I didn't care much that the train was going to be late based on previous week's performance). I was, however to fly back home from ORD the same day upon arrival into CHI (I know, I know, but I did not have enough points to use for a return trip by train)
My journey began on the morning of 05/16 after parking my car at VNC's huge parking lot. The CS arrived on time, and my sleeping car attendant, Gabriel, promptly assisted me with my luggage to my room. This was my 3rd time riding the CS, and coincidentally, every time I had the same dining car crew as well as the same Parlor Car attendant (William), and I had a nice feeling when all of them recognized me, and had a great time talking with them throughout the trip
I bought a scanner the day before and was still playing and learning it, but I was able to find the right frequencies and hear the conversations back and forth as well as the hotbox indicators, things that are interesting just to us and crews.
I was able to upgrade to a bedroom on this train for only $61 - and I almost got the upgrade for free when the conductor could not get the credit card machine to work. (it was fixed down the line).
Unfortunately, today just the 1132 car was refurbished, the rest were the older type, and the only bedrooms available were in those other two. Man, how I hate those sinks. Soon it was time for lunch and I made my way to the Parlor Car and had the sandwich and a couple of ginger ales.
Halfway thru my lunch we had to go into emergency on the Gaviola bridge where and older guy was strolling on the bridge with his fishing pole, not paying attention to the horns. From the radio chatter I heard that he moved to the side at the last moment and did not speak English and later heard that apparently did not have all his marbles and a warning was put out to other passing trains to watch out for him.
We were delayed for about 20 min while Amtrak Police attempted to talk to him and while the crew checked the brakes and all…
At SLO (I think) conductor Phil joined the crew (I believe I read about him here) and made some very entertaining announcements and was fun having him around. The horseshoe pass was very picturesque and it was the first time I was visiting it in the daylight.
About half of the Parlor car swivel chairs were taken almost the entire trip by non-revs and I heard some people complain about that.
At the wine tasting I sat next to a young man that was going to OKJ to start a cross-country trip with his motorcycle going everywhere including Canada and Alaska, as well as next to a gentleman that seemed very knowledgeable about trains - it turns out he was the Director of Operations for Talgo. We had some very nice and interesting conversations.
Souvenir wine glasses were offered for purchase (first time that option was offered in all my CS trips so far) and I so I got one for myself.
I had dinner in the diner since I knew one of the specials would be the Asian spare ribs which I've had before and were extremely tasty and writing this makes me crave for some more. I also got a beer mostly so I can leave a tip, but also to wash the food down nicely (I learned later in the trip that if you ask, they can just charge the tip directly w/o having to purchase anything…)
The train was running smoothly and on time or better for most stations. I went to take a shower (very strong water pressure, good water temperature) and went to bed.
Woke up the next morning somewhere after Klamath Falls and headed over for breakfast. Actually I could not get much sleep most of the night - probably too excited about the upcoming trip. Had lots of coffee and the French toast which was ok-ish, I am not really a French toast fan and was hoping they'd have the pancakes instead. After breakfast, I went back to my room and actually dozed off for a little bit. Woke up and did some walking back and forth along the train. Decided to have lunch in the diner again, and it was a good choice as I sat next to the nice Talgo rep again as well as a couple who also seemed very interested in trains and we had a nice long lunch, discussing everything from mechanical aspects of the Talgo trains Amtrak runs to light rail, vintage cars and everything in between. Before I knew it, we were already arriving into PDX - the conductor even accentuating the "and, yes, we are actually early" part; about 20 min early. Said my goodbyes to my lunch partners as well as the crew and headed off to the lounge to drop off my bags. An older gentleman with a cane detraining from my CS had stumbled and fell really bad (he was bleeding pretty badly) on track 1 and the CS crew was attending to him and brought blankets and pillows, until paramedics arrived. Took a walk along the front of the station, which is undergoing some construction/remodeling.
After the CS departed for SEA it was time to board the EB. The conductor escorted us from the lounge to the train and I made my short walk to car 2830 where attendant O.C. Smith warmly greeted and assisted me with my luggage to my room. Bedrooms were sold out days in advance, so no chance of upgrade this time; I had room H, so it wasn't that bad. Although a refurbished car with a new sink, the faucet was still the crappy, old one.
Shortly after departing PDX, O.C. came by with champagne and to ask for my choice for tonight's dinner – Shrimp Louie, Chicken salad or a beef with broccoli and mushrooms option. I chose the beef and it was very tasty and filling, could not even finish it all. After dinner I went to the "rail fan" window to snap a couple of pictures and video. The window was very clean, which was much appreciated. This car appeared to have come from a CS consist as it still had the 1130 number on it by that door.
After the Pasco stop I went to take a shower and try to get some sleep. Although I was pretty tired, I was not able to get much sleep again, mostly because of the track noise and my room being located directly above the truck. I was awake throughout most of the night but managed to doze off a bit after the sun came up. Went to the dining car shortly before the East Glacier Park stop. Since it was a bit late, I was one of the last breakfast customers. Had the quiche for the first time, it was pretty tasty (I wanted the pancakes but they had just the French toast as well). It's a long walk from the dining car to my room as most of you know; both the track as well as my back were getting worse. (I had a couple of back surgeries recently…)
O.C. was checking up on me often and made sure everything is OK. He has been with Amtrak for 30+ years and is very dedicated to his job, and I think it shows (However, If I had a choice I would still take Gul as my attendant, hands down, no questions!). I noticed that every female passenger in my car was given a small bouquet of flowers, which I thought it was a very nice gesture on his part. After the Spokane hookup to the other train, the PA stopped working in my room and was barely able to hear announcements from the hallway.
I was looking forward to getting some fresh air at Shelby since we were arriving early, however, that was cut short by us having to pass the station and then back into it due to a freight train. Lunch soon began and was done by waitlist only (not sure why they do not do it by reservation like on the CS). We were just pulling into Havre when I heard a last call for my name coming in from the diner. Got off the train to be greeted by the "are you a US Citizen" question from a Border Patrol agent. Walked on the platform a bit and went up to the dining car where yet more BP agents were asking questions to most people having lunch. Was seated next to a nice couple whom were surprised about the purpose of my trip. The wine tasting soon followed and was seated next to a couple from Australia visiting US – the gentleman actually having worked for the Australian Rail and was now retired. Also next to us was a gentleman that turned out to be the Medical Examiner in a small town (I forgot where, sorry) and his phone rang a couple of times with work-related issues. All 4 of us won a bottle of wine and there were plenty more left, that were given to people that didn't win any at the end. Track was so bad, we had to hold our glasses and bottles to make sure they do not fly off the table and people were having great difficulty moving about the cars. An announcement was even made something along the lines "it's going to be a rough ride for a bit, please hold on to something". I had to double check to make sure I wasn't in an airplane instead
At dinnertime, I was seated next to a mother, very young son and grandmother trio on their way to visit family. The station where they boarded had a broken printer and could not print their tickets, so apparently they were seated in coach temporarily until the next stop where tickets were to be printed. Not sure why, I mean they were on the manifest afterall, but the conductor seemed the strict, by the book type. He even made sure to inform the dining car staff that only two of them are supposed to get free meals, the other would have to be paid for since they were in a roomette… The dining staff made sure to charge the more expensive stuff to the sleeping car bill, while charging the kid's meal to the 'have to pay' bill. I had the bison meat loaf (my first time trying bison meat) which was very tasty and spicy and with a nice sauce, which I enjoyed very much along with the bottle of Malbec won earlier and which I shared with the two ladies, of course. At the end of the meal, the LSA came by and informed them that their bill is taken care of and not too worry about it, but to not tell the conductor about that. I thought that was a nice and logical thing to do – if two adults and one 3 year old can fit fine in a roomette, all their meals should be included.
Went to bed and tried to sleep but again could not, the track was even worse than before, it felt like the train will jump off the track any minute now… We were on time until that night, and by the time we reached Fargo we were already running 2+ hours late. Speaking of Fargo, we had to wait in a siding and back into the station after the westbound EB left that station. Track was yet even worse and extremely noisy on this portion.
Woke up on the big day somewhere after St. Cloud where we were over 4 hours late. Made my way slowly to breakfast where they finally had the pancakes and of course that's what I ordered. Finished breakfast and went back to my room to pack my bags.
Arrival in MSP was, as predicted, late, however that did not bother me too much as I was looking left and right on other tracks trying to spot the two PVs. Spotted them on the track adjacent to ours and made my way to the platform to watch the coupling. Lots of fellow train riders were there already taking pictures at the two beautiful PVs – the MKT (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) as well as the Super Dome). I couldn't wait to get on, I even forgot to take pictures on the outside of the cars. The crew welcomed me aboard and introduced itself – Steve, the President of 261, Justin, the conductor (really a Swiss-army knife type person) as he is also serving in the kitchen, the bar, and of course, works his a** off restoring and maintaining these beautiful masterpieces. Also there to greet me were Joey, the Chef, as well as John, whom also volunteers for 261. They informed me that there will be only two other passengers riding with me. One of them (I regret that I forgot his name) spent most of the ride up in the Super Dome watching the view and listening in to his scanner, making notes of all the hotbox detector readouts, etc. The other passenger, Stephan sat with me and the crew most of the ride and we were both left speechless and breathless as we were admiring the cars and taking it all in while sitting in the open section of the historic car built in 1912, which has travelled with many Presidents, including Truman, Carter, Clinton, and more recently was used for the Obama/Biden inauguration of the last election.
The crew had prepared a delicious breakfast with scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausages and garlic toast. Even though I regretted having breakfast already a bit earlier, I was not one to refuse my first breakfast in a PV!
We had a great time talking and interacting with the crew and discussing various subjects ranging from, naturally, the cars and their stories, to even Dracula, or rather the actual person on which the character was based – Vlad Tepes, from my home country of Romania. Time flies by, and I was enjoying the view and my pipe sitting in one of the leather swivel chairs when we were informed that Steve had prepared lunch for us – Caesar salad along with turkey B.L.T. sandwiches, which was delicious. We also had an open bar at our disposal. As we were having lunch we arrived at the Columbus station where people were sitting outside and admiring our cars
After lunch it was time for taking some pictures and admiring the views from the platform. It was nice to have rail workers wave at us as we passed them by as well as people in cars stopped at crossings. Soon we were arriving in MKE, where Stephan was leaving us to go visit family. Upon leaving MKE we were making good time at great speeds although eventually we got delayed due to freight and Metra traffic. We pulled into Union station at 7:13pm, about 3:30 hours behind schedule, giving me serious doubts that I will make it to the airport in time for my 8:40pm departure for LAX.
I bid my goodbyes to the crew and thanked them for their hospitality and this incredible experience, and by the time I reached the street level it was already 7:26pm. I flagged down a taxi as that was the only option left, and got a driver who was originally from Casablanca, so I told him to drive me to O'hare like they drive in Morocco. And so he did, indeed, and I arrived at the curb at 7:45pm! Was thru security and at a Starbucks within a couple of minutes. TSA never ceases to amaze me, they managed to find and confiscate my toothpaste, which was slightly larger than 3 oz., however, they somehow missed a big bottle of Listerine and an even bigger bottle of body wash. Go figure…
Went thru some crazy, massive, huuuge thunderstorms along the way, making me regret that I was not returning by train (even though my license plate reads " :wub: TO FLY") and barely escaping having to expose my breakfast and lunch to the whole plane…(I might love to fly, but I am probably the worst type of motion sickness person you will ever meet, I can guarantee you that. Oh, "it can't be THAT bad" you say? Try this: sometimes I get motion sickness when I drive myself. Beat that!)
Arrival into LAX was about 20 min. early, I headed off to a shuttle which took me to VNC to pick up my car, arriving home shortly after midnight, super dead tired.
What a ride!
Oh, almost forgot - the pictures I took on this trip are here: https://picasaweb.go...feat=directlink (I did not take too many, since I was too... hypnotized, as you might imagine)
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