When we woke up today the train was not moving. The GPS on our phone told us that we were just outside of San Antonio, where we were scheduled for a fairly long stop, but we knew that this was not where we were supposed to halted. We dressed and took some coffee to the observation car. It was still not moving, and listening to the conversation of the other passengers it was clear that we had not moved for hours. Nobody had any idea what was wrong, and apparently the Amtrak crew was not particularly forthcoming about the problem.
We learned later that a train ahead of us had hit somebody walking on the tracks, and that the trains had to stop while the police concluded their investigations. While we waited I had breakfast. Amtrak food is not particularly good, but there is a lot of it and it is included in the sleeper fare. One of the best parts of eating on the train is that you are seated with other passengers, and you get to know a little bit about some other people. My breakfast companion was named Don. I never did get his last name. He was a member of the US Merchant Marine, and he was traveling around the country by train while he waited to start his next assignment. He was an interesting guy, and we both had a chance to talk to him more later.
I amused myself while I waited by playing with the camera. Most of the pictures were a mess, but I did rather like this one of a bird taking flight.
After a bit, the train started moving again. We came about twenty minutes later into the San Antonio station. This one is no doubt as historic as some of the others, but it has been painted in this weird pinkish shade and I have to admit that I did not much like it.
Apparently some evangelical group called “CityChurch” — the efforts that go into “branding” these congregations always rather appalls me — and they were apparently going to do something to celebrate Palm Sunday.
After this, we went through a lot of Texas. Much of it looked pretty sad.
We both had lunch with Don and learned a little more about his background. After lunch, we talked some more in the observation car.
In the late afternoon, we pulled into Houston. This is the worst excuse for a train station so far. It’s just a platform underneath a freeway interchange. So depressing!
Apparently, this train is the only thing that stops here so the signage is pretty limited.
We did not spend all that time there. Nobody wandered far from the train, and everybody was happy to get back on when we heard the “All aboard!"
The saddest part of losing all the time early in the morning was that by the time we came to Louisiana and would be traveling through the Bayou it was pitch black. So we did not to view all the swamp we had been looking forward to. And it was well past midnight by the time we pulled into New Orleans. We are staying the first night at the Ace Hotel. Tomorrow we will switch to a bed and breakfast in the Marigny and start our NOLA adventures.
