And then came Pam. She boarded in Durham and immediately went to the lounge car (They call it the "Cafe Car" even though everything is in in vending machines) for coffee. She stayed in the cafe car until about Greensboro. From Greensboro to High Point she made up for lost chatting time with me. I learned that the worked for Norfolk Southern (turns out she brought the crew beer & took their bottles), that she could be a better president than the current, that she wants to live AT Walt Disney World, the end times are near, and that both our souls were right. And even though she had her own try table, mine (which was already open and being used by ME) seemed to be more convenient where she unloaded a dozen butterscotch candies, an oreo cookie and sat her phone to charge. When she sees that I have an ear bud in my ear, she asks what I'm listening to (Amtrak Road on the scanner). She's excited and wants to listen in. I ain't giving her an earbud to share, so I put it on speaker. Of course, there's nothing to listen to. Finally just about 5 minutes before reaching High Point, she decides it's time to go to the bathroom. She gets all her stuff (and I help) from the overhead, and puts it in her aisle seat. Of course, when she's done in the bathroom, the train is already in the station and people are getting off. Looking back and not seeing her, I grab her rolling bag and other couple of items and took them to the vestibule where she met me saying she was on her way to get it (she looked like she was about to get off the train).
Anyway, the ride from HP to KAN was very relaxing and we ended up leaving 30 minutes late but arriving in KAN about an hour late. Unusual for the Piedmont, but understandable under the circumstances.
