The Lost Day

Dick and a buddy took Amtrak to Tucson for the gem and mineral (and fossil and bead and antiques) show.

Wooly mammoth skeleton for sale in Tucson

Why Amtrak? Because they could! From our area, Tucson is a 9 hour drive; by train it's 10.5 hours. The guys had a sleeping car to themselves so they were very comfortable - and the fare included all meals. Good meals, from a menu, with real silverware; we're not talking airplane non-food here. The trip out went without a hitch; no delays, no problems.

The return trip? Oh my. They were due into LA's Union Station at 10:10 a.m. Wednesday morning. I pulled into the parking lot at 10:20, figuring they would be just about walking out with their luggage; we could turn around and head back home to get ready for Thursday's early morning flight to Denver. Not. I sat in the parking lot for EIGHT HOURS, waiting through delay after delay after delay. Track trouble somewhere around Palm Springs delayed all rail traffic, passenger and freight. Freight is key here.

Apparently Amtrak doesn't own any of the railway track, they just rent right-of-way passage for their cars. The boys loaded up in Tucson at 12:30 a.m., settled down in their comfy bunks, and awoke to a good breakfast only to be told that there would be a slight delay.

They were stuck just outside Palm Springs for hours. I got a text message from Dick at one point that said, "we're moving!". Two minutes later . . . "but we're going backwards." Which about summed up the entire day. After Palm Springs, they stayed in Pomona for a few hours, always waiting on freight trains - which had the right of way because their company did own the tracks - to pass by.

So how did I spend my time in Downtown Los Angeles? I sat in the parking lot at Union Station for the first few hours, working on Addy's Baby Surprise Jacket and listening to Weave Cast (my current favorite podcast).

I hooked up with Cynthia, Dick's buddy's wife, for lunch at Philippe's, a Downtown institution. The sign outside the door commemorates the restaurant's 90th anniversary in 1998. The place was packed and the food - beef dip and potato salad - was wonderful. We walked the two blocks from the train station to Philippe's, then back to Olvera Street, directly across from Union Station. I was planning on walking straight through so I could get back to knitting, but there was this pretty little store with South American textiles . . . . .we spent a lot of time looking at woven fabrics and alpaca ponchos. Didn't end up buying anything but it was tempting.

Knit in the car, decided we needed more sustenance, headed back to Philippe's for a late afternoon snack of baked apples and diet coke. Stopped to admire the downtown postal annex (and to watch all the people staring at the crazy tourist taking photos with her cell phone. That would be me.) More knitting, then walked around the train station grounds admiring the water fountains, historical plaques (did you know over 1,100 people worked at Union Station in it's heyday? And that 26 million bags of mail went through there annually?) and redone interior, which is beautiful. The vaulted ceilings, tile and marble work, everything is stunning.
The guys finally arrived just after 6 p.m. By the time we got their luggage, packed up and got on the freeway it was, of course, rush hour. We got home 11 hours after I started on what should have been a 3-4 hour trip. What fun.

Up at 3 a.m. today to do laundry - which I'd planned to do yesterday - and pack - ditto - before heading out to Burbank. Only the thought of spending time with Addy got me up and moving.