I'll run down the train ride that Mallory, Clint, and myself set out on a few weeks ago. It literally took us Monday through Friday to get from OKC to Eugene on the Train. We departed OKC at 8:20 am and arrived in San Antonio at 9:00 pm. We had a layover in San Antonio until 4:00am that morning, so the three of us set out to explore the Riverwalk. We had a great time eating some authentic Mexican food (we don't have any in the northwest) and then spent a few hours sitting at a picnic table near the train talking about life, god, and politics. We climbed back on the train around two in the morning. While we were sleeping the train departed for Arizona, however, we did not make it that far. Around 7:00 am the conductor came over the loud speaker and said the tracks ahead were damaged from a storm the night before and that the train would be heading back to San Antonio. I was in a sleepy daze during this time and didn't bother asking questions. Sure enough the next time I woke up I was in the exact same spot as the night before.
We were told the train would be delayed 8-10 hours and if we wished we could board a bus that would go non-stop (except for food & fuel) to L.A. That's only a 24 hour bus ride! The three of us debated and decided not to waste an entire day waiting on the train so we climbed on the nice bus. However after the bus filled to the brim with overweight, cranky, weary travelers (some with small crying children) we made a better decision and put our stuff back on the train and set our for eight hours of exploring southern Texas.
Here is a great photo of Mallory posing front and center of the Alamo all alone. Maybe it's normal to stand in front of a national historical site and not have anyone else in the frame but I'm guessing this was a rare opportunity.
So it's now Tuesday afternoon and all all we've accomplished is actually getting further away from our final destination. We boarded the train again and it departed around seven or eight that evening. We got to see some great scenery heading west trough Texas. It's amazing how the climate goes from this lush tropical jungle looking thing, to the desert in a matter of hours. We went to sleep that night and when we woke up..... WE WERE STILL IN TEXAS! What misery! We finally came to New Mexico and only spent of few hours traveling through the southwestern most part of the state. We traveled right along the boarder of Mexico. It was amazing to be so close to a small imaginary line that separated devastating poverty from immense wealth. We made a stop in Tucson Arizona for about a half an hour. The train station in Tucson was top notch. There was a great little market we rummaged through and picked up some grub and other snacks. There was a great pavilion with bars and restaurants and people sitting outside in the sweet weather enjoying drinks and conversations. We were tempted to call it a day and set up a home base in Tucson. However we boarded the train for a another ten hours or so until we finally arrived in L.A. late Wednesday night. Amtrack set us up in the hotel for the night because of the delay in San Antonio. We didn't have much energy but we went out exploring L.A. anyway. We found our way back to the hotel after about an hour or two of walking around the scary dark city. We were all thinking about the real beds calling our name. After three nights sleeping in the upright position using a pillow the size of a paper back book I don't think even a city like Paris could have kept us out all night.
The next morning we grabbed a quick shower, a hot cup of coffee, and tasty bagel and climbed on board the train for the last 28 hours along the beautiful Pacific coast. It's a shame we were so utterly drained from travel that we couldn't really experience the coast the way we wanted. Nevertheless the view from the observation car was like being in a Wes Anderson film. The next morning we woke up we were in moving through southern Oregon. As we approached the mountains the scenery began represent something majestic out of fantasy novel. Sheer beauty I can't even began to explain or a picture could even do the slightest bit of justice.
We spent the next three days doing our best to show Clint the uniqueness that embodies Eugene, Oregon. We rented him a bike (this was necessary as Mallory and I are now car free), fed him as much organic food as he could handle, pounded it into his brain that he must lock his bike up in all situations or it WILL be taken, took him on a few hikes here in town, and took him to one of the art cinemas for a movie. He had the opportunity to meet the folks in our church and also to attend a Lamb Cottage service. We ended up spending more time on the train than in Eugene but we all agreed that one day we'll look back on the entire experience and smile.
-Trey
