First LD trip.. TE and LSL

[Peggy]

Can we just delete this thread please?

 

[the_traveler]

Correct. Rooms 2-10 are upper level and rooms 11-14 are lower level. (I removed the room and car numbers from your post for your security.)

 

[guest]

What a great trip... I am envious. Sounds like you are well prepared. Enjoy!

 

[Peggy]

Correct. Rooms 2-10 are upper level and rooms 11-14 are lower level. (I removed the room and car numbers from your post for your security.)

Thank you. Guess I didn't realize that was an issue. It's cool that I'll get to experience both levels!

 

[bobnjulie]

I am a side sleeper so when we were in coach on the LSL, I used the blow-up pillow out of the comfort kit my husband bought and used that to cup around my side to support my lower back since I was slipping. That seemed to help. If you have Barbara as an attendant on the LSL, you will be very happy! Oh, an additional warning. People were complaining about how cold it was in coach and they kept it that way. If you get chilled, you may want to add an additional layer. I brought my light cashmere sweater and it was perfect with our yard of fabric we used as a blanket. I also did my bedtime routine when in coach to help me get ready for sleep - including putting on my pj's, etc.

Bridges - it was one of the coolest bridges I'd seen when you cross... had to look it up! - Sandusky Bay. It was the middle of the night but I slept the first half then put my husband by the window. I actually got up and wen into the vestibule to see it. The auto bridge looked just huge. It's dark but was pretty cool.

Enjoy!

 

[Peggy]

Bridges - it was one of the coolest bridges I'd seen when you cross... had to look it up! - Sandusky Bay. It was the middle of the night but I slept the first half then put my husband by the window. I actually got up and wen into the vestibule to see it. The auto bridge looked just huge. It's dark but was pretty cool.
Enjoy!

Yeah! At first I was soooooo excited about traveling along the lake shore, then realized I'd leave CHI at 9:30pm.

I thought "oh well, I'll catch the view on the way back!"...Nope Get on at 7:30 pm to come back... kind of a bummer!!

I will TRY to be awake for it!! Thanks!

 

[the_traveler]

Correct. Rooms 2-10 are upper level and rooms 11-14 are lower level. (I removed the room and car numbers from your post for your security.)

Thank you. Guess I didn't realize that was an issue. It's cool that I'll get to experience both levels!

It's not really an issue, but as the saying goes, "Better safe then sorry"! You never know "who is watching" - remember that anyone with a computer or smartphone can see AU! (You don't walk around the city with a sign on your back saying " I live at 12345678 Main Street", do you?)
And if you - or anyone - posts their email address, always put "name at domain dot com". Spammers use computers that know that an "@" followed by a "." mean it's an email address. You're almost certain to receive a lot of spam soon after!

 

[AG1]

I suggest not using your grandmother's old suitcase. Today most travelers use a trim roller travel bag with an extendable pull handle. These are very easy too handle in comparison to carrying a suitcase. They come in sizes such as 21 or 24 inch and cost $25 up at discount stores.

 

[the_traveler]

Although the LSL is called the "Lake Shore", except for Lake Michigan approaching CHI, there are very few views of the Great Lakes (even if it was light).

Headed east, it will be dark until Cleveland, but from there it's scenic. From Utica to Schenectady, you will be right along tho shore of the Mohawk River, aka Erie Canal, most of the way! Approaching ALB, you cross the Hudson River,

Headed west, it will probably be dark until Indiana, around Gary you will see Lake Michigan on your right. You will also see the Chicago skyline! But as the saying goes,"Looks can be deceiving". You'll still be over 1 hour away.

 

[Peggy]

Spent a day in a friend's boat on the Hudson, what a cool river! Happy to hear about the Erie Canal, that will be exciting!!

And is my luggage of choice really a problem? I have the wheeled kind of luggage, but just want to use her suitcase, it's still in pristine condition and I have such great memories attached to it. It's part of the charm of this adventure.

I don't care if it's not modern or easier, heck I lug heavy boxes of books all day, a suitcase certainly isn't going to hurt me. :lol:

 

[TVRM610]

Peggy... remember that when transferring in Chicago you still have use of the Metropolitan Lounge (and should get early boarding!) since you are coming off of a train as a sleeper passenger. Use of the lounge is available if you have a same day ticket in a sleeper. So take advantage of that... the early boarding will be worth it!

 

[TVRM610]

Although the LSL is called the "Lake Shore", except for Lake Michigan approaching CHI, there are very few views of the Great Lakes (even if it was light).
Headed east, it will be dark until Cleveland, but from there it's scenic. From Utica to Schenectady, you will be right along tho shore of the Mohawk River, aka Erie Canal, most of the way! Approaching ALB, you cross the Hudson River,

Headed west, it will probably be dark until Indiana, around Gary you will see Lake Michigan on your right. You will also see the Chicago skyline! But as the saying goes,"Looks can be deceiving". You'll still be over 1 hour away.

While the view is quick... I enjoyed seeing Lake Eerie while eating breakfast on the Eastbound Lake Shore.

 

[Aaron]

And if you - or anyone - posts their email address, always put "name at domain dot com". Spammers use computers that know that an "@" followed by a "." mean it's an email address. You're almost certain to receive a lot of spam soon after!

I wonder what will happen when the spammers invent computers that know that "at" followed by a word and then "dot" means it's an email address? Oh wait, that's been done forever.

Whether you post your email address in an obfuscated fashion, or unhidden, or even not at all will not make any meaningful difference in the amount of spam you receive. Forget about trying to keep your email address somehow protected. That battle was lost a long time ago. The only that will make a difference to you is filtering. Make sure your email program or ISP does it well, don't stress the occasional spam that sneaks through, and make sure there's an easy way to look to see if the filter caught anything you really wanted. Then, if you really want to keep taking extra time to mangle your email address because it makes you feel happy, then feel free. But don't be confused into thinking that it will make any difference at all.

 

[the_traveler]

Maybe what you say is true, but I still would rather not post my email publicly in it's "normal" format. If you're so sure about what you say, I invite you to post your own here!

Last week, on the "Today" show, the host was demonstrating a new watch that also can display your caller's number on the screen - and it displaed the host's cell phone number - on live TV! within 15 seconds, she started getting calls from viewers! I thing within 30 seconds, she had 50-100 calls! (She had to change her phone number.)

 

[Aaron]

Maybe what you say is true, but I still would rather not post my email publicly in it's "normal" format. If you're so sure about what you say, I invite you to post your own here!
Last week, on the "Today" show, the host was demonstrating a new watch that also can display your caller's number on the screen - and it displaed the host's cell phone number - on live TV! within 15 seconds, she started getting calls from viewers! I thing within 30 seconds, she had 50-100 calls! (She had to change her phone number.)

[email protected]. Have at it.

I already get literally thousands of spam messages per day, but filters catch them all. Perhaps some other crawler will see this and make it thousands plus 1. Once you get more than a small handful per day you need good filtering anyway, so at that point, what does it matter whether it's 20 messages per day or 20,000? In fact, I'd argue that more is better since a filter will probably be able to work more accurately given a larger corpus of spam to train from. So, again, do what makes you happy, but it will make no actual difference. It's also a little irresponsible to suggest to other people that mangling their email addresses is going to protect them when it really isn't. Not only is it not helpful, but it shifts the blame to the user instead of the spammer by suggesting that the reason that they're getting spam is that they're not working hard enough to protect themselves.

I don't really get how your point about Hoda Kotb is relevant. I'm not a celebrity and this board is definitely not the Today show.

 

[Peggy]

Maybe what you say is true, but I still would rather not post my email publicly in it's "normal" format. If you're so sure about what you say, I invite you to post your own here!
Last week, on the "Today" show, the host was demonstrating a new watch that also can display your caller's number on the screen - and it displaed the host's cell phone number - on live TV! within 15 seconds, she started getting calls from viewers! I thing within 30 seconds, she had 50-100 calls! (She had to change her phone number.)

[email protected]. Have at it.

I already get literally thousands of spam messages per day, but filters catch them all. Perhaps some other crawler will see this and make it thousands plus 1. Once you get more than a small handful per day you need good filtering anyway, so at that point, what does it matter whether it's 20 messages per day or 20,000? In fact, I'd argue that more is better since a filter will probably be able to work more accurately given a larger corpus of spam to train from. So, again, do what makes you happy, but it will make no actual difference. It's also a little irresponsible to suggest to other people that mangling their email addresses is going to protect them when it really isn't. Not only is it not helpful, but it shifts the blame to the user instead of the spammer by suggesting that the reason that they're getting spam is that they're not working hard enough to protect themselves.

I don't really get how your point about Hoda Kotb is relevant. I'm not a celebrity and this board is definitely not the Today show.

Wow. All this because I mentioned my room numbers. I did do that, but have no intention of posting my email, nor my home address on a sign on my back. I was just curious about the locations of rooms. I think I'm gonna need a bigger flask........

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Peggy, if you had just posted the room #s, that would have been fine. By giving the car #'s and travel dates, you put yourself at risk which is why the_traveler hid the info.

 

[the_traveler]

To Aaron - Since you get "thousands of spam messages each day", you may not notice another 50-100 per day. But to "the regular user" who may receive 2 or 3 per day, I bet they would notice another 50-100 per day! It is "recommended" that people wear seat belts in cars, but how many times have you heard of an accident where " the driver/passenger was ejected from the vehicle". My guess is they did not have their seat belt on!

Do what you want (Americans have free choice), but I'll continue to use "at" and " dot" and wear my seat belt in a car!

 

[Peggy]

Peggy, if you had just posted the room #s, that would have been fine. By giving the car #'s and travel dates, you put yourself at risk which is why the_traveler hid the info.

Peggy, if you had just posted the room #s, that would have been fine. By giving the car #'s and travel dates, you put yourself at risk which is why the_traveler hid the info.

I understand that. Really I do. I'm sorry I did it. I will not do it again. I understand.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

No need to apologize. AUers, and guests, like to make simple topics go on and on and ....... :giggle:

 

[the_traveler]

Peggy, if you had just posted the room #s, that would have been fine. By giving the car #'s and travel dates, you put yourself at risk which is why the_traveler hid the info.

Betty is correct. The information you posted Peggy is out in public for all the world (literally - remember it's called the WORLD wide web) to see. At AU, there is another forum where members can post that info if they wish, but it is optional to use and can only be viewed by other AU membérs. Still, we say to use caution. (I think there may bbe a time or post threshold to view that sub forum.)

 

[Peggy]

Peggy, if you had just posted the room #s, that would have been fine. By giving the car #'s and travel dates, you put yourself at risk which is why the_traveler hid the info.

Betty is correct. The information you posted Peggy is out in public for all the world (literally - remember it's called the WORLD wide web) to see. At AU, there is another forum where members can post that info if they wish, but it is optional to use and can only be viewed by other AU membérs. Still, we say to use caution. (I think there may bbe a time or post threshold to view that sub forum.)

How many ways can I say I GET IT? I really only need to be told something ONCE. I am annoyed enough to be trying to figure out how to just cancel my account here. So far all I can do is delete stuff. I have done a lot of risky things in my life and I don't live in a paranoid state of mind in spite of all the dangers lurking around every corner. I've managed to live to the age of 50 and I have driven and ridden my motorcycle all over this country ALONE on many, many occasions. I know how the internet works. I know their are boogeymen out there. I KNOW, Okay? Can we stop speaking to me as if I am a five year old who has never set foot out her own front door? Please and thank you. Enough already.

 

[June the Coach Rider]

Peggy, if you had just posted the room #s, that would have been fine. By giving the car #'s and travel dates, you put yourself at risk which is why the_traveler hid the info.

Betty is correct. The information you posted Peggy is out in public for all the world (literally - remember it's called the WORLD wide web) to see. At AU, there is another forum where members can post that info if they wish, but it is optional to use and can only be viewed by other AU membérs. Still, we say to use caution. (I think there may bbe a time or post threshold to view that sub forum.)

How many ways can I say I GET IT? I really only need to be told something ONCE. I am annoyed enough to be trying to figure out how to just cancel my account here. So far all I can do is delete stuff. I have done a lot of risky things in my life and I don't live in a paranoid state of mind in spite of all the dangers lurking around every corner. I've managed to live to the age of 50 and I have driven and ridden my motorcycle all over this country ALONE on many, many occasions. I know how the internet works. I know their are boogeymen out there. I KNOW, Okay? Can we stop speaking to me as if I am a five year old who has never set foot out her own front door? Please and thank you. Enough already.

Peggy, unfortunately sometimes when others are trying to help, it can seem like they are talking down to you. The members here really are trying to help and not trying to upset you. They would feel awful if something happened and they had not said anything.

As for seeing the lake, unfortunately if the train is running on time, you will have trouble seeing much of it in daylight. I was lucky on my last trip as we were delayed up to 4 hours between Buffalo and Cleveland, so we were able to see the lake in full daylight. There is much more of it that you can see, both up close and in the distance if you really look for it, always on the north side (right side westbound)of the train.

 

[Guest]

I understand that, too. Really, I do. The phrase "removed for your security" was all that was needed. I perfectly understood those four words. The litany of condescension that followed was completely unnecessary. I can lurk around as a guest just fine without garnering the personal embarrassment put upon my name.

 

[the_traveler]

If I upset you Peggy, I wish to personally apologize to you. I was not talking down to you. I was really providing that same information to ALL members, but did not want to make thousands and thousands of posts to this thread to you, each other AU members and to every guest to AU!