America - Day 14
Just one hour and forty minutes left on my train until we reach Emeryville - the end of the line close to San Francisco. Three days and two nights and I've had a view of America. I love this train - do it if you get the chance. And if you're ok in a coach seat rather than a bedroom - its only 150 quid for the trip - plus dining if you want it, but you are allowed to bring your own sandwiches if you're skint. We've crossed seven states, the Rocky Mountains, the Nevada desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. I don't really want to leave. My neighbour, Frank, was saying the same at lunch. He is 74, travelling to spend Thanksgiving and the next three months with his daughter and son - and their families in San Francisco. He, like me, has not done this journey before. Frank is one of about two dozen people on this train who I've got to know, all sorts of people. Young couples wanting to take time travelling, families on their way on holiday for Thanksgiving, elderley folk who don't want to fly. And Sean, who is 23, he's never left his home town, never seen the sea, been dumped by his girlfriend and dumped by his employer and he's taking off to Oregon - 3500 miles from his home town, to meet a friend and build timber houses for homeless people - love it. Frank lost his wife last month and two months before that he lost his eldest son, and a month before that he lost a daughter in law and a nephew. He just wanted to get away. Frank gets scared when we get to the the steep mountain bits of the line, when it feels as though the train is in the air, so he goes to the toilet. He's never seen his grandchildren in SF, they are 6 and 8. He's just an ordinary guy, worked as a cleaner at US Airways for 40 plus years following a stint in the Navy. He's told me stories about lost property on aeroplanes that have made me raise an eyebrow, but hey. His life has gone through a massive upheaval this year and he's found the guts to travel. We knock on for each other before meals, I like Frank : )
Just one hour and forty minutes left on my train until we reach Emeryville - the end of the line close to San Francisco. Three days and two nights and I've had a view of America. I love this train - do it if you get the chance. And if you're ok in a coach seat rather than a bedroom - its only 150 quid for the trip - plus dining if you want it, but you are allowed to bring your own sandwiches if you're skint. We've crossed seven states, the Rocky Mountains, the Nevada desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. I don't really want to leave. My neighbour, Frank, was saying the same at lunch. He is 74, travelling to spend Thanksgiving and the next three months with his daughter and son - and their families in San Francisco. He, like me, has not done this journey before. Frank is one of about two dozen people on this train who I've got to know, all sorts of people. Young couples wanting to take time travelling, families on their way on holiday for Thanksgiving, elderley folk who don't want to fly. And Sean, who is 23, he's never left his home town, never seen the sea, been dumped by his girlfriend and dumped by his employer and he's taking off to Oregon - 3500 miles from his home town, to meet a friend and build timber houses for homeless people - love it. Frank lost his wife last month and two months before that he lost his eldest son, and a month before that he lost a daughter in law and a nephew. He just wanted to get away. Frank gets scared when we get to the the steep mountain bits of the line, when it feels as though the train is in the air, so he goes to the toilet. He's never seen his grandchildren in SF, they are 6 and 8. He's just an ordinary guy, worked as a cleaner at US Airways for 40 plus years following a stint in the Navy. He's told me stories about lost property on aeroplanes that have made me raise an eyebrow, but hey. His life has gone through a massive upheaval this year and he's found the guts to travel. We knock on for each other before meals, I like Frank : )