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Day 15: The Last Train
Well, I’m about 40 minutes from glory, so to speak.
This trip has been absolutely incredible, and if I had one regret, it’s that I couldn’t write more about it along the way. What I wasn’t able to predict was the fact that I couldn’t sit, absorb, take pictures, read, and blog all at the same time. Regretfully, I had to make the decision to prioritize my “absorption time,” at the expense of blogging, and to a lesser extent, picture-taking (although between Jon, Greg, and myself, we all took close to 1,000 pictures, I think). I do, plan however, to do some catch-up blogging this week, though, because I have some real tales from the Coast Starlight to Los Angeles, the Pacific Surfliner, San Diego, the Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, and New Orleans.
I’m just north of Manassas, Virginia as I post this, and I’ll be detraining at Washington, DC to go to work for the day. This is my last Amtrak train for the trip, although my journey will officially conclude aboard a MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) train this afternoon when I head home to Baltimore.
I’ve completed this entire trip by rail. Long Distance Rail, High Speed Rail, Comuter Rail, and Light Rail. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, either. I’ve met a wider spectrum of people in the last two weeks that I’ve met in the last two years. I’ve seen the landscape transform from east coast cities to prairies to badlands to jagged mountains to volcanoes to vineyards to picturesque beaches to desert to heartland farms to the bayou to kudzu city to the blue ridge mountains, and back to the east coast cities.
In a way, I feel like an eternity has passed since I stepped into that First Class car on the Acela Express back on September 26th. I feel like I’ve lived ten weeks, and not two. At the same time, time has absolutely flown by and the trip’s conclusion has crept up on me quite unexpectedly.
It’s a bittersweet finale to a once in a lifetime trip, but I’m ready to get off of the train. I’m tired, as one might expect, and to be frank, Amtrak obviously didn’t program its dining car menus for a two week long voyage; I’ll be glad to get home and have some variety, that’s for sure.
Again, stay tuned. I have at least two more video entries almost edited and ready to go, and I have a very special thank you that will be posted today for two individuals at Amtrak who made this trip possible.
In the meantime, if you want to ride along musically, I’m listening to Arlo Guthrie’s “Last Train” as I type this. Great song, and it reflects my mood right now.
Rafi
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By Virginia
October 10, 2007 8:18 PM | Link to this
What a grand country - and what a wonderful way to experience it! I commend you for taking on the challenges. At the very least, you have given me a glimpse of what it is like to follow your dreams - and to remember to pack lunch just in case.