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I was sitting at a restaurant in downtown Washington on Monday and decided to go to New Orleans to look at the oil spill. I had written a column about how three senior members of the Democratic blovisphere - James Carville, Chris Matthews, and Donna Brazile had complained that the Obama Administration had dropped the ball on this potential ecological disaster. Click Here.
My standard route of travel between DC and New Orleans is Delta Airlines from Washington Reagan, through Atlanta, then into MSY. However, I have been thinking about taking an overnight AMTRAK trip and writing a column about it and I remember taking the Crescent from Nola to DC many years ago so …
I had my iPad with me, so I tried to book the trip online. No joy. Whether I tried to book leaving on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday the screen told me that the only seats available were reserved coach with the notation "Other Options Sold Out."
Drat.
The trip from DC to New Orleans is over 27 hours. I was not going to spend it sitting up listening to mothers softly singing lullabies, the smells of curry cooking over charcoal fires, the clucking of live chickens in wicker baskets, and the sound of dice clicking near the bathroom door.
The first time I ever took an overnight train was from Washington to Atlanta, which is actually the first leg of The Crescent. I booked a sleeping compartment, thinking it would be one of those Nick & Nora Charles rooms. Alas, it was not. It was a teeny compartment which looked like the cell a monk might have to sleep in, if he had really, really irritated the Pope.
I asked the conductor what I had done wrong and he said I must have booked a roomette when I been thinking of a "bedroom."
"Ah," I said. "A bedroom. That's a compartment that looks like the one Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint shared in 'North by Northwest.'"
Lesson learned.
I decided to call AMTRAK and see if a real reservation person gave better options than the online version. He did. He said there was one bedroom (yea!) available but it was an "accessible" bedroom. I said that was fine. He give me the price ($645 one-way, meals included) which made me gulp just a little.
The one-way fare for me to return via Delta on Sunday is $299.40 and takes 3:49. No meals included, though.
Ok. I'm in for 1,152 miles of train travel down the Eastern seaboard, turning, at South Carolina, SSW through Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi pulling into downtown New Orleans at 7:38 pm Friday night. Twenty Six hours and eight minutes; an average speed of just over 44 miles per hour.
The Crescent - the train from Washington, DC to New Orleans - has been on some railroad's schedule more-or-less without a stop since 1891 although after Katrina the service from Atlanta to New Orleans was halted for two months until the tracks could be restored.
Even though I am traveling within the United States, through modern cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Atlanta, I can't help thinking I need to pack supplies in case we get break down outside of Toccoa, GA or Anniston, AL and are stranded for hours or days and have to start making difficult decisions about our fellow passengers like those rugby players did. So, before I head to Union Station, I … Wait.
I live in Alexandria, Virginia. The first stop after the train departs Union Station is Alexandria, Virginia. I called and adjusted my reservation to hop on here, rather than parking my car at Reagan National, taking the subway (Blue Line to Metro Center, change to Red Line to Union Station) I'll just make my way the 1.7 miles from Mullings Central to the Amtrak station and, when I return on Sunday, take a cab home. That will save about $80 in airport parking, less the cab fares of about $25 - hey! This trip is almost free already.
Going back to my fear of starvation on Train 19, I ran up to the CVS and bought a few potentially life-saving items:
This is in addition to the two bottles of wine I previously packed which should hold me in good stead all the way to New Orleans.
Not that I was excited about the trip, but I took a cab to the station about an hour early - actually, I wanted to actually have my ticket in my hand before the train left Union Station so there was no confusion about someone taking my spacious bedroom.
The train pulled into Alexandria on time and I made my way to my car:
Cool! For the price of a sleeper, I think you get a yellow step stool.
I got settled in, met my car porter, Ryan, tipped same, and trundled off to dinner.
More tomorrow.
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