Monday, January 21st
The adventure begins… with a phone call at home from Amtrak (which you
know is always bad news). Yes, the best laid plans of mice & men… A very
nice lady on the phone told me that there had been a mudslide on the
west coast between Portland & San Jose that closed the track requiring a
bus ride. But worse, the return train wasn't even running on 2/5 when I
was scheduled to leave, but was deferred until 2/16. But while we were
talking, she got a new bulletin and asked to call me back in 5 minutes.
When she called back, she said the deferral was now only until 2/2. So I
"should" be able to get home. But to call a day ahead of departure.
So here's the itinerary as I understand it.
First-class from Minneapolis to Portland
Coach from Portland to Eugene
Bus from Eugene to Klamath Falls
First-class from Klamath Falls to San Jose
And I suspect there's a very good probability that train will be late
into San Jose.
And I'll call Amtrak on 2/3, to see whether the return trip is per the
original itinerary or has to be rerouted.
Right now I'm sitting in the first class lounge in Minneapolis depot
waiting the train to arrive which is suppose to be on schedule.
I'll keep y'all posted as the adventure unfolds.
Bye for now.
Roger
PS Haven't been able to get e-mail connection to work except while we're
sitting in rail yards (currently Minot). Also, cell service is marginal.
Both should be better in metropolitan areas. |
Tuesday, January 22nd
When I was unpacking last night, the car attendant stopped by. Said he
hadn't heard anything about the mudslide out west.
As usual, I didn't sleep very good first night away from home. Finally
got up about 5. No coffee or breakfast till 6:30. So I'm just relaxing
in my roomette organizing stuff for the next couple days.
Learned that my portable Grundig isn't much good on the train… stations
don't last long enough.
My TomTom seems to be working fine… tells me we make about 60 to 80 mph.
Occasionally it gets mixed up and tracks a nearby road rather than the
railroad. But when the road gets to far away from the railroad, it
realizes it's mistake and returns to tracking the railroad.
Had breakfast with a nice couple from Indiana traveling to a little town
outside of Minot for the funeral of the man's sister. Had a nice chat
about life like grandparents do occasionally.
Western North Dakota has significantly less snow than we do in
Minnesota… just a very light dusting with brown grass everywhere. And
the terrain is very hilly. Almost as bad as northeastern Nebraska
(Randolph). Lots of snow in the air - occasional whiteout. Western ND is
sure barren… very few farm places visible from train. Williston isn't
much.
Had an emergency stop due to car too close on track. Had to "walk the
train" afterwards and then check for flat spots. All was okay.
Salmon for dinner. Very good. Nice dinner partners.
40 mpg going up the mountains to the summit.
Our route today followed highway 2 across Montana to Whitefish where it
was time for me to get some rest.
More tomorrow.
Roger |
Wednesday, January 23rd
When I awoke this morning we were in eastern Washington south of
Spokane. Slept much better than the first night. I barely woke up during
the breakup of the first train into our stub train.
With the stub train, breakfast was in the dome car. Had a personal first
experience. My whole life, I have refrained from eating yogurt because
it smells like the skim mild cans that we used to slop the hogs with. So
finally, this morning I broke down and ate a whole container of yogurt.
It's certainly not my most favorite food. It is quite edible. And with
time my brain will forget about those skim milk cans.
We'll be nearly 90 minutes late by the time we get to Portland. Rumor:
had engine trouble in Spokane. (We were actually about 2 hours late.)
Good news: looks like the train home will be running in spite of the
mudslide.
Beautiful trip all morning out the Columbia River gorge. Got lots of
pictures.
Will be talking to first class lounge attendant immediately upon
arriving in PDX
Been so busy watching scenery that I haven't got any of my "trip
actions" even started.
Have arrived in Portland and plans to bus us around the mudslide appear
to be well organized. (I'll write another report tonight after I get
back on the train at Klamath Falls.) Right now I'm sitting in the first
class lounge, waiting to depart on train 11 - the Coast Starlight.
Talked to Dan & to Mike. Everything appears to be proceeding smoothly.
Mike says he's got lots of work lined up for me. Guess I won't get bored
that way. And Dan's been most helpful in researching the mudslide and
associated correction plans.
No wi-fi hotspot in Portland, so I'm using my cell phone to connect to
the internet. Seems to work fine, but EVDO (cell phone) is a little
slower than broadband.
More later tonight.
Dad |
Thursday, January 24th
When I awoke Thursday morning at just before 5, we were
just coming into Marysville, California.
Yesterday (Wednesday), I goofed. While sitting in the depot at Portland,
I sent you that e-mail report using my PC battery (I forgot to plug in
to 110 volts). So then when I was on the first leg of the train trip
from Portland to Eugene riding coach class and while riding the bus, I
didn't have battery left to run either my computer nor my GPS. Hence, I
couldn't take notes on those portions of the trip.
This morning I can report that Amtrak did a very good job of making that
bad situation with bus ride as enjoyable as possible. In fact, when the
bus finally arrived in Klamath Falls, Oregon, at around 10 PM, they
served us a delicious dinner in the dining car.
And this morning (Thursday) the train has been on schedule at every
stop; sometimes early.
We've just left Oakland Jack London depot - next stop San Jose.
Everything going great. Mike & Mary picked me up at the depot. We spent
the afternoon at their lovely home in Fremont playing with their 2
youngest grandsons, Holden & Tristen. Then in the evening, Mike warmed
up the spa and we set in it for an hour.
Roger |
Friday, January 25th
This morning I finally got all my "stuff" unpacked and organized. Now
I'm at Mike & Mary's office while they work through their list of
actions for the day.
Looking at my weather gadgets, one says Plymouth, MN: 11, the other says
Fremont, CA: 52. Sure glad I'm at Fremont.
Mike & I went over to Menlo Park to his favorite customer, Sun
Microsystems, to pick up some laptops that need to serviced. Also ate
lunch there.
This afternoon I did a Vista upgrade on a laptop computer for Mike &
Mary's grandson, Julian.
And later, I called Theresa's nursing school roommate, LaVonne Eckstrom,
who lives in Palo Alto. She's going to let me know when they want to
have lunch together.
This evening, we had a wonderful Mexican dinner at El Torito's. Lots of
conversation about our histories and where we lived and why.
But home to bed by 10.
More tomorrow.
Roger |
Saturday, January 26th
Up at 6. This morning my 2 weather stations show Plymouth, MN, at 20,
Fremont, CA, at 54. Fremont is sure nice today. High was 66. Although
cold (40) & rain are forecast for tomorrow.
Mike & I went into his office this morning as he had some customer
systems requiring service to be completed and systems returned on
Monday. I continued the setup of Julian's laptop with Vista.
Spent the afternoon at the Tech Museum in San Jose with Tristan &
Julian. Everyone had a great time.
This evening, dinner at Mexican restaurant in Pleasanton where Chris &
Lara live. Good food.
More tomorrow. Good night.
Dad |
Sunday, January 27th
Up at 6. Organized pictures from yesterday.
Had a light breakfast and then went into the office with Mike so he
could finish his system. (I did finish Julian's system setup while we
were there.) Then we went to Coco's for brunch. Excellent. Coco's is
between the 2 different locations where we lived in the early 60's. So
on our way back, we went by our home at 1186 Driftwood Court in Lakewood
Village in Sunnyvale. A second story has been added. And our Palm tree
in the front yard had been removed... Progress.
Mary made a delicious dinner in the evening and we watched TV. Saturday
night, Mike & Mary asked for some details about Theresa's last days. So
we spent that evening talking about those experiences. Those
conversation are good for me. They somehow help me to come to closure on
that whole subject.
Today's another week. Can't believe I've been gone a whole week already.
Tuesday, LaVonne (Theresa's roommate for 3 years at St. Mary's) & Don
are coming by for lunch together with their son, Paul. They are very
nice people.
More tomorrow.
Dad
|
Monday, January 28th
Up at 6. More rain. In fact, it's suppose to rain, off and on, for the
next 7 days.
Chris had been up at Tahoe over the weekend and had a terrible time
getting back because of all the snow and traffic. Michael may be going
up today depending on weather.
This morning my 2 desktop thermometers are almost the same. Plymouth
shows sunny at 38. Fremont shows rain at 43.
Midday thermometers: Plymouth 42, Fremont 52.
This morning Mike & I delivered a couple of systems over at Sun. Then
met Mary for lunch at Baker's Square in Milpitas (and it still smells as
bad as it always did). Surprisingly the sun has been shining most of the
time. Guess the weathermen here are no more accurate than they are in
MN.
Michael drove up to Tahoe this afternoon and had no trouble, although
there is lots of snow and slippery roads.
This evening we went to the "Great Mall" to find some Corelle dishes for
their cabin. I was going to buy some replacement plates, but couldn't
remember the name of my pattern. Had a nice supper complete with ice
cream.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Tuesday, January 29th
Up at 6. More rain.
Don & LaVonne (Theresa's roommate for 3 years at St. Mary's in
Rochester) & son Paul came by and picked me up. We went to the nearby
Hilton for lunch and had a very nice conversation.
This evening Chris & Lara & family came by for dinner. Then Mary's
brother Gene who lives out here joined us. Good conversation with all.
Of course, everyone is interested in the train ride which I always
report was most enjoyable. In essence, if you have the time, rail is a
very enjoyable way to travel.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Wednesday, January 30th
Up at 6. No rain forcast for today.
My 3 computerized thermometers are quite interesting this morning:
Fremont 43 (not too bad), Lake Tahoe 19 (cool), Plymouth MN -15 (brrrrr…..
That's cold).
Today we had a catered luncheon. (Mary brought in McDonald's).
This afternoon I got a call from Amtrak saying that they couldn't get me
to Portland. After talking to Dan, I'm going to try to fly to Portland
on Wednesday and then continue the trip as originally planned with Dan &
Dawn flying out to Portland for a couple days and then all 3 going back
to SMP on the Empire Builder.
Worked the return trip problem this afternoon. Best plan seems to be to
fly to Portland next Wednesday, meet Dan & Dawn (flying in) there, &
take the Empire Builder home per original itinerary. So that's probably
what I'll do. I'll send flight details tomorrow. And I save money
because the flight to Portland is significantly less expensive than the
train to Portland.
Nice weather here his afternoon, upper 50s, no rain. So I went jogging
for the first time in a week. That's about the longest I've ever gone
without exercising.
Mary & Mike fixed a lovely steak dinner this evening and we relaxed at
home.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Thursday, January 31st
Up at 6. More light rain forecast today. Don't think the temp in
Plymouth ever got to 0 yesterday. But this morning, I see that it's
already 1 above. Yea….
Our trip from here to Lake Tahoe this evening and weekend is not going
to happen. The weather up there is just too bad. We were going up so
that I could see their mountain cabin and to go skiing. Guess that'll
have to wait till next year.
This morning I made reservations for my flight to Portland next
Wednesday and canceled my Amtrak reservations for which I'll receive a
full refund. So Wednesday, February 6th, I'm flying on Alaska Airlines
flight 419 from Oakland to Portland departing at 1:50 PM arriving at
3:30 PM.
Later this morning, Mike & I delivered several laptops to Sun
Microsystems. When we got back, Holden & Tristan were at Mike's house
since Mike & Mary babysit every Thursday, all day. After lunch, we drove
the boys to the depot to watch 2 trains come through Fremont. Then we
took the boys to the hobby store. During this trip I got a "power" nap.
In the afternoon, the boys played with Grandma & Grandpa.
This afternoon the rain came. It rained consistently, hard at times, all
evening till after we got home.
This evening we drove them home to Chris & Lara's. Chris & Lara have a
lovely home on top of a hill in Pleasonton. Lara made enchiladas and
guacamole for dinner. Mmmmm….. delicious.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Friday, February 1st
Up at 6. Rain is stopped. In fact, it's clear. However, forecast is for
occasional showers over the weekend. And Plymouth, MN, is already 13
above this morning… a heat wave. Yeah, yeah.
This morning Mike & I drove over to Sun Microsystems to pickup another
machine. While Mike was inside, I filled his truck with gas for him.
Catered lunch again, this time from Burger King.
This afternoon I went jogging again.
Today we knocked off early, 3:30.
Late afternoon we went to the largest electronics store in the area,
Frye's. And I found retractable earphones that I'd been looking for for
months.
This evening we had our favorite food, Mexican, at El Toritos. Sure is
good.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Saturday, February 2nd
Up at 6:15. Slept in. Weekend. Temps are interesting this morning. Both
Blue Earth & Plymouth at 25 are warmer than Lake Tahoe, California, at
20. Course Fremont is 41.
Today we just bummed around the house playing computers. Weather was
windy, cool, & sprinkling.
This evening grandsons are coming over for an overnight while Chris &
Lara go "out."
Chris & Lara brought over the grandsons went out to a movie. We all
played and watched "Free Willy 2" and relaxed. Mary & Mike prepared a
delicious old fashioned supper of hamburgers, beans, & fruit. Very good.
Of course, we all went to bed fairly early.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Sunday, February 3rd
Up at 6. By the time I got finished with my shower & dressing, Mike and
the eldest grandson, Julian, were already downstairs playing a game on
Julian's new computer that Grandpa gave him this weekend.
Weather is not very nice. Cold. Very windy. Drenching rain. Suppose to
improve throughout the day. Temp is interesting . Plymouth, MN at 18 is
warmer than Blue Earth, MN at 14.
Today are 2 very important events. First, it's Chris' birthday. So
obviously, we'll have a party to celebrate.
Second, it's Super Bowl Sunday. So we'll watch football all afternoon
for the last game of the season.
This morning Holden and Tristan and I watched the video movie, "Finding
Nemo." Later Mike and I drove over to the party store to pick up
balloons for Chris' birthday party.
Mary fixed a delicious brunch. The boys didn't eat very well. Will be
hungry later. But their parents will be here by then.
Outside is sunny and 55. So we went out for a while cleaned out the pool
baskets and the cleaning machine while the boys got wet running in the
grass.
Pop & Marlys called and I talked with them for a while. Then I called
Denise to tell Nolan Happy First Birthday.
Had a good nap but woke in plenty of time for the Super Bowl.
Chris has his business servers at a nearby server farm - huge place -
probably 1000 cabinets housing 10,000 servers. One of his high school
friends owns & operates the business. Chris drove us over and got us in
while he restarted one of his servers.
During the Super Bowl half time show, we went out to Mike & Mary's spa
along with the kids. Sure was nice. Sun shining. Temp at 55. No wind.
So far Super Bowl sure has been poor entertainment - bad football and
boring commercials. Finally the end of the game was fairly exciting. And
the underdogs won.
Mary's food during the game was simply delicious. Had everything
including a birthday pie celebrating Chris' birthday.
More tomorrow.
Dad
PS Kath turn on your IM |
Monday, February 4th
Temp gauges this morning are interesting. Coldest is Lake Tahoe at 1.
Next is Plymouth, MN, at 27. And Fremont is only 37. Weather here is
suppose to be warm and sunny for the next 3 days.
This morning I finally got the trip journal set up on our family web
site. I'll keep adding to it until I get home. Early pictures from the
trip were already up there.
This morning I tested a new Dell A920 printer, installing it on my Vista
laptop. With a great deal of coaching from Mike, we were successful.
Had lunch at shopping center sit down restaurant. Afterwards, stopped at
Wal*Mart where Mary found some nice Corelle dishes for their Lake Tahoe
condo.
This afternoon I went jogging again. Temp was 55. Nice.
And I notice that this afternoon Minnesota is at 32. Warm spell, I
guess.
Later this afternoon, I added lots of interesting new pictures to our
family web site. Take a look: http://roger-theresa.n0kfb.org
This evening they took me to a nearby Chinese restaurant where we had a
delicious Chinese dinner.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Tuesday, February 5th
Up at 6. Minnesota temp is 27, Lake Tahoe is -5. Sure glad I don't live
there <wink> <wink>.
Mary got me a box and we're going to ship a box of my clothes home. That
will make my remaining luggage meet the airline's requirements.
Mike & I drove over to Sun Microsystems to pick up several systems. They
wouldn't let me in. So, I was able to get my first nap on this whole
vacation.
Catered lunch by Mary today - Mike has too much work to do to go out.
This afternoon Mary and I went to the Post Office to mail my clothes
home and Mary to pick up mail. Then she stopped by CostCo. Very similar
to our's in SLP except 25% larger. Then she picked up some maps at AAA.
And we were back to the office in time for coffee.
This evening Mary made a delicious dinner of Shepherd Pie and we had a
quiet dinner at home.
Afterwards we listened to several of their videos, BeeGees & Simon &
Garfunkel.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Wednesday, February 6th
Up at 6. Everything good must come to an end. So today I have to leave
Mike & Mary's and start that long trek home. Today I'll fly to Portland
and meet Dan & Dawn who are flying in. Then Friday afternoon, we'll all
leave on the Empire Builder arriving home on Sunday morning… at least,
that's the plan.
Mike & Mary hold a meeting each morning to review work & plans. This
last morning I sat in on their meeting. They sure are busy.
Received several text messages from Dan saying that they (Dan & Dawn)
were in route from MSP to DEN & later to PDX.
Mike & Mary took me to the airport and we parted with hugs & good byes.
I ate a light lunch at the airport and departed. My flight was on
schedule.
The flight to Portland was quite uneventful (that's the best kind). Dan
& Dawn were waiting for me when I arrived. We picked up our luggage and
took the light-rail downtown. And then had to walk about 3 blocks to our
hotel in drizzle. But it wasn't too bad. Hotel is fine and they gave us
a dinner recommendation about 4 blocks away.
Went to a Red Robin restaurant across the street in stead of walking the
4 blocks. More drizzle/rain. Had a nice leisurely dinner. Home (hotel)
early.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Thursday, February 7th
Up at 6. Had a relaxing continental breakfast here at our hotel with Dan
& Dawn. During breakfast, we looked over Portland maps & lists of places
to see. Dan finally proposed a plan for the day which worked out well.
After breakfast, first we took the light-rail over to the depot so that
I could cash in my unused ticket for the leg from San Jose to Portland.
Then we walked over 2 miles to the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry
(OMSI). The first part of the trek was in sunshine. But it soon clouded
over and by the time we went home it was raining.
We had a nice day at OMSI viewing lots of interesting exhibits. Got
there about 10 and stayed till about 3.
After taking a taxi back to our room, and a short nap, we walked to the
Lloyd Center and had a nice dinner at a very nice restaurant,
Stanford's.
Home early, and bed early, in preparation for our departure tomorrow.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Friday, February 8th
Up at 6. Pack that luggage again. Looking out the hotel room this
morning, it looks just miserable. Rain. Windy. And even looks cold,
although it's about 44. Wonder what Dan & Dawn want to do today. Looks
like a good day to just stay holed up in our room till we go to the
depot.
Had another nice continental breakfast with Dan & Dawn. Now we have a
plan for the day. We're going to checkout, walk a couple blocks to the
light-rail, transfer to a city bus that takes us within a block of the
depot. Then depending on weather, we may take a city bus or trolley or
taxi to a renowned bookstore, then back to the depot for our (hopefully)
on-time departure.
The day went pretty much as planned. Fortunately the rain let up a
little so that we didn't get too wet between buildings & transportation.
Well, we're finally underway on the train. As I write this note, we're
in Vancouver, Washington, just across the Columbia river from Portland.
Now we're further up river traveling at 60 to 70 mpg. Everything
proceeding smoothly. Although we're currently running about 45 minutes
late.
Our original reservations were for roomettes that were not across from
each other. But Dan talked to the conductor when they took the tickets
in the depot and after we got on board, they came around and moved me to
the room across from Dan & Dawn. The previous occupant was a retired
conductor.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Saturday, February 9th
Woke up at 2 when we came into Spokane (2 hours late). Up at 5:30 PST.
Never sleep very well on first night in new bed.
Had a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, OJ, biscuit, & grits.
Still running about 2 hours late. Had a 20 minute stop in Whitefish, MT.
Next stop Glacier National Park.
Could see the ski runs from the train, but the ceiling must be about
2000 feet so most of them are in the clouds.
Mary, to keep in practice this morning, In the Whitefish paper I found a
4 star (most difficult) Sudoku and successfully completed it. Should I
send you the crossword puzzle?
We just went over the continental divide (5,251 feet) in Montana. And
we're in a blizzard. Snowing like crazy. Guess it's the moisture that we
had in Portland yesterday. Perhaps it'll follow us across all the way
home.
Just had a 20 minute stop in Havre, Montana where the temperature was at
least -10. We went out for a short leg stretching walk but didn't stay
for the whole 20 minute stop.
Montana going east is just as flat as it was going west. Mmm…. Not very
interesting country. Train is running at top speed, 80 mpg, although
we're nearly 3 hours behind schedule.
Tonight we'll sleep while traveling across the state of North Dakota.
We'll go to bed on the western border and wake near Staples, MN.
More tomorrow.
Dad |
Sunday, February 10th
Up at 5:30. What an absolutely fabulous trip. Really cold this morning.
We think it must be colder than -20 because the train is maxing at 65
instead of 80. Woke up in Fargo. Smooth trip from there to St. Paul
It's warmed up. Temp is now -15. So now we can increase our speed up to
80 mpg.
Coming into Minneapolis. All's well. Arriving at depot. Everything's
great.
Last day. No more reports tomorrow. But more next trip.
Dad |
Final Report
I'm sending this message to all of our friends & relatives. If I miss
someone, feel free to pass it on. I know I'm missing e-mail addresses
for my cousin, Don Meyer and Kathleen & Sherry (use to be Laue). If
anyone has those addresses, please send them to me.
This winter I decided to take a leisurely trip to the west coast to
spend some time with my brother, Mike, & his family, and to get out of
the cold winter we were having in Minnesota. To maximize the the latter,
my son, Dan, suggested I take the train to the coast. My brother lives
in Fremont, California, which is in the San Francisco bay area.
I've just returned from that trip and can tell you that I had a
wonderful time. I was gone for 3 weeks: 2 at Mike's & 1 traveling. On my
way home, Dan & Dawn flew to Portland to meet me where we did some
sightseeing for a couple days (in the rain).
While in California, I spent most of my time with my brother and his
family. Fortunately, Theresa's roommate from nursing school, LaVonne,
lives nearby and I was able to share a luncheon with her and her family.
When Theresa and I used to go on vacations, we used to write a daily
journal report to the kids. I've continued that tradition and have
posted my journal reports along with lots of pictures on our family web
site - http://roger-theresa.n0kfb.org
This report is kinda late because we've been having problems with the
server on which our family website resides. But as of this morning, it's
up and working fine. So enjoy the journal & the pictures.
So, if you want to see sunny California and rainy Portland in the
winter, take a look at my pictures.
Roger |
