Saturday, July 30, 2011
We had a packing day @ home. Left @ 2:30 pm, as planned to drive to Galesburg, IL. Sophie Halpin, my daughter & I are going on a trip to see the Rickman's in CO Springs, CO. We took the California Zepher to Denver. It was supposed to leave Galesburg @ 4:18 & pulled out of the station ess than 15 minutes late. We read the general info before we left on line that stated there could be a 3-5 hour delay on the train due to construction in Colorado & a re-route in Omaha due to the flooding in the last spring. As I understand it, there is only one bridge, so Amtrak has to share with freight. No passengers can get on in Omaha & are diverted to Lincoln.
Our porter (now called attendant), Chris was very friendly, calm, & helpful. He did his job wonderfully & we truly appreciated him. Before we boarded, he made a 6:00 p.m. dinner reservation, which was perfect for us. We sat with a young man (age 9, I think) named Zachary & his Grandma. They were traveling to CA & then back to his home in Texas for a vacation together. The only electronics he was allow to bring was a very nice camera & he was taking lots of pics.
We continued to be delayed more & more as our trip progressed. We began eating dinner just as we were crossing the Mississippi River. I had baked Cod & Sophie had Mac 'n Cheese (no surprise there). We shared a wonderful eclair & Sophie's Haagen Das Raspberry sorbet. Yummy dinner & we had a great server.
We bedded down in our Roomette in the sleeper car, Sophie on the top bunk. I set my alarm for 5:45 a.m. to make a 6:00 breakfast start, since we were scheduled to pull into Denver @ 7:15. Well, what a fool I was, as breakfast was scheduled for 6:00 a.m. Mountain Time & we were not into Mountain time by then, so we were an hour early for breakfast, lol. Others were, too.
Sophie slept in (lucky for both of us). I met a lady returning home to South Dakota (or maybe it was North) after visiting relatives in Colorado. We had a nice visit and also with the couple we sat with. They were 1st time train travelers, heading to see her sister in California, traveling with some in-laws & meeting others out there. They have 4 dogs including 2 new border collie pups. We got to see the cute pics. I ordered the mushroom omelet & the gentleman ordered the corn beef hash & we shared! So glad, as they were both delicious, but we both preferred the hash. It was great! I had orange juice, sausage, & a croissant. Sophie had her continental breakfast delivered to our room.
We both took naps after breakfast. We got up about 11:00 a.m. & arrived in Denver around noon. The Denver Union station is closed for restoration until 2014. Jim picked us up. He drove us in his Ford truck the 70 miles to CO Springs.
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