The Friday before Christmas, we took the Greyhound bus from Savannah to Tallahassee. Yes, we love the train, but since Hurricane Katrina, the Sunset Ltd no longer runs from Jacksonville to New Orleans, so we broke the journey up into two days. Changing at Jacksonville was easiest if we just started out from Savannah on the bus. I was impressed with the cleanliness of both the Savannah and Jacksonville stations, and I love the amenities like plug-ins and wi-fi on the buses. Miss the legroom and the ability to walk around, get something to drink in the cafe, and (most of all) wash my hands. Finding the coastal-plain scenery of forests and waterways interesting.
On Saturday, we took the bus from Tallahassee to New Orleans. It was still not crowded till we go to Pensacola, then full the rest of the way in (mostly with service members heading home for the holidays). The bus to Mobile had wi-fi but no plug strip. The bus from Mobile to NOL, had a plug-in but no wi-fi (probably because they've pressed everything into service for the holidays). So nice to come into the NOL transit center and see the Amtrak counter!
Monday 11am
After a rainy Sunday walking around the old city, we left our hotel and walked to the station to catch the Sunset Ltd. We left right on time at 9am. Attendant is John. We're riding though bayous alternating with sugar cane fields. Looking at the fields, I'm guessing they spray all kinds of chemicals so they can just keep growing the same thing without rotating crops. I've also seen refineries and factories on the horizon that remind me this is the area called “cancer alley.”
7pm
We were 40 minutes early into Beaumont, must have been some padding in the schedule there. On the back side of the big storm that rolled eastward yesterday, it's sunny, breezy, and kind of cool, but we still enjoyed the walk-around while waiting for departure time. Some pax, even some OBS from the diner, walked over to a nearby Dollar General, but I'd feel nervous getting that far from the train.
On Saturday, we took the bus from Tallahassee to New Orleans. It was still not crowded till we go to Pensacola, then full the rest of the way in (mostly with service members heading home for the holidays). The bus to Mobile had wi-fi but no plug strip. The bus from Mobile to NOL, had a plug-in but no wi-fi (probably because they've pressed everything into service for the holidays). So nice to come into the NOL transit center and see the Amtrak counter!
Monday 11am
After a rainy Sunday walking around the old city, we left our hotel and walked to the station to catch the Sunset Ltd. We left right on time at 9am. Attendant is John. We're riding though bayous alternating with sugar cane fields. Looking at the fields, I'm guessing they spray all kinds of chemicals so they can just keep growing the same thing without rotating crops. I've also seen refineries and factories on the horizon that remind me this is the area called “cancer alley.”
7pm
We were 40 minutes early into Beaumont, must have been some padding in the schedule there. On the back side of the big storm that rolled eastward yesterday, it's sunny, breezy, and kind of cool, but we still enjoyed the walk-around while waiting for departure time. Some pax, even some OBS from the diner, walked over to a nearby Dollar General, but I'd feel nervous getting that far from the train.