Conducting travel...

The Amtrak experience wasn't quite what I expected.

It was not the Shining Time Station I had envisioned - it was the complete opposite. Yes, the conductor wore a hat like George and Ringo (a.k.a Mr. Conductor), but Dee Dee was nowhere to be seen. There was, however, a lady that helped you to your seat - but she was more like Mama from Mama's Family.

The best part of the trip - it was overnight. Everybody was asleep when I got on and that means nobody talks to you and it's quiet. Minus a few straggler snorers. I could deal with that because I had two first class caliber seats to myself. I literally treated them like a love seat and just sprawled out.

Best. Arrangement. Ever.

A downside to the ride was the fact that you are on a moving train. It isn't sound proof and it's hard to get sleep as you sway back and forth. It was manageable to say the least. The stations I will call a wash. The departing station left very little to be desired - the arrival station was not bad at all.

I didn't know what to expect, where security was concerned - but when there was no security I was slightly shocked. I could have been packing heat and nobody would have even noticed. Not that I was. I'm just saying.

Overall there were no obvious threats of crazy riders. If they were on the train they were sleeping. I did notice that several folks were heading to L.A. and I could only wonder what kind of trip that would be. Five hours on the train were enough, I can't imagine going any further.

The train works well for my general purpose of travel, a quick weekend trip. It was painless, economical and overall tolerable.

Train 1. Plane 0.