October 10, 2015
Saturday morning at 5:30, Jason and I forced ourselves from our bed. It was time to leave our beloved Salem. Our train was scheduled to depart Boston at 8:30 in the morning. We quickly showered, dressed, and finished our packing. Jason, being the amazing man he is (even at 5:30 in the morning), made me a cup of tea. We also snacked on the fiber bars we purchased the day before. The breakfast room would open shortly after we left Salem, leaving us without our corn cakes and quiche.
In no time we were ready, bags in hand. We made our way to the staircase. We looked at each other as we reached the landing--this was no easy task. We clumsily made our way down the stairs with all five bags. The stairs creaked and moaned with each step. We were worried the noise would wake other guests up, but we did the best we could. We left our keys at the front desk, walked down the large steps of the Salem Inn, and waited for our taxi on the sidewalk. It was a dark morning and somewhat chilly. We waited and waited, perking up each time a taxi drove by. Our taxi was scheduled to pick us up at 6:30. When 6:30 came and went we started to worry--what if they forgot? What if we don't have a taxi and we miss our train? We're locked out of the hotel and are stuck on the side of the street. Finally we see a Sunshine Taxi turn onto the street. We grabbed our suitcases just as the taxi flew past us. Great. Either he's lost or he's not our taxi. We waited another ten minutes when finally the same Sunshine Taxi pulls up to the Salem Inn. Must have gotten lost.
He says hello and pops the trunk for us. He asks if we need help as he looked at us from the driver's seat. We declined his offer since he appeared rather comfortable. Jason opened up the trunk and discovered a large spare tire. We struggled to get our luggage in, trying to move the tire out of the way. Finally we were ready. We hopped in and confirmed our destination--South Station Boston.
Shortly after getting settled in the Taxi, the driver asks us how we were paying. I said Credit Card, as we were out of cash. He said he did not have a credit card machine and that we would need to stop at an ATM. Jason and I were more than irritated. We called the cab company yesterday and verified they're ability to take credit cards. We made our frustrations known politely but agreed to stop at an ATM--as we had no other choice by this point. The driver pulled over at a gas station just as the sky began to turn a lighter blue. Jason hopped out and quickly got the cash. I nervously waited, my hand on the taxi door in case this guy was a creeper. Later on, as we reviewed this "fun" adventure with some friends, Jason very sweetly said "It was scary. That guy could have driven off with my entire life." I said "awww" and gave him a hug. He then said, "I mean, I had some really cool stuff in that suitcase." Haha! Jerk.
The next half an hour to forty-five minutes was... interesting. We went from being irritated to being extremely nervous. Our taxi driver was clearly insane. He asked us what our thoughts were on the whole "witch thing" in Salem. We said it was interesting, as we weren't sure what he meant exactly. He could have meant the historical witch hunts or the modern day wiccans. He then asked us if we had ever been to Boston. We said we had and did not go into too much detail, as it was still very early and we did not really want to talk. He, however, did wish to talk. A lot. Soon he was telling us that the whole city of Boston was "brain-dead." He said they were putting chemicals in the water to give us cancer and control us--I would like to note the driver clearly hadn't showered in quite some time. He discussed Fluoride, then moved on to Vaccines, and quickly transitioned into Chem-trails. We were getting quite an education. Apparently the leaders of the world are reptilian entities disguised as humans. It was at this point that I realized he probably did have a credit card machine in the cab, he just chose not to use it--for fear of mind control by the government. Oddly enough, he had a smart phone which he used at one point during the trip... explain that one batman?
The only other interesting thing our driver discussed was gun control. He was firmly against gun control. I would like to note, now more than ever, that I believe in the ability to screen people who have guns. He should not have one. I am also concerned about the 4 year old daughter he says he has--wonder how long it's been since she showered or had water. Anyway---not really the kind of cab ride we expected into Boston. But we made it.
Our driver pulled over in a side lane and popped the trunk. Although it was a nightmarish cab ride, we tipped him well--I'm not pissing off someone like that. He likes guns remember. We quickly got our luggage and took off. We walked into the fairly large train station and found two seats near the right side of the building. We were lucky--there were almost no seats available anywhere in the station. Below are pictures:
We sat and waited for roughly an hour. Jason got in line at a nearby coffee hut called Au Bon Pain. He got me a water and him an iced tea. We sat and laughed and tried not to fall asleep as we waited. Although I don't have a picture, there was the cutest little boy with the tiniest suitcase I had ever seen. It was like he was playing grown up. Adorable!
Finally we saw our train's platform number display on the board. We jumped up (assuming this would be a similar situation to the New York Penn Station) and got in line for the train. I was worried someone would say something about the large broom sticking out of my suitcase--no one ever cared. All our worrying was for nothing as well, we were the second person on the train and had the pick of any seat we wanted. We chose two comfy seats in the Business Class car. I would always pick Business Class if we could afford it--it was very very nice. Much better than the Business class train on the way to Boston last time. I would also like to note that they were overbooked on coach seats, leaving many people standing. Glad we weren't there. Below is a picture of us on the train:
I slept some and Jason relaxed. We monitored our heart rate throughout the entire train ride with our fitbits. We also watched as the beautiful fall scenery flew past. Below are some pictures:
We were hoping for a quiet morning on the train, but around Connecticut a woman boarded who sadly chose to sit behind us. The entire train ride the woman's poor seating companion, Jason, and I were forced to hear stories of the woman's travels in Asia. Jason informed me later that the woman seated next to her was actually from Asia. I had missed that part when I fell asleep. She sat there and was forced to learn what Asian culture is like from a woman who is from Connecticut. Diana from Cheers much?! Stories are great here and there, but this woman talked the entire train ride and did not allow for a moment's interruption or pause. Weird, weird people day.
Jason and I kept an ear out for our stop--our dreaded, most likely very chaotic stop at Penn Station, New York. We gathered up our luggage as they made the announcement that we would be arriving shortly. I picked up the broom from underneath my seat and tried to safely store it in my suitcase once more. It continued to project out of the bag, but it was holding up very well nonetheless. Jason and I hurried off the train as we prepared ourselves. It was like having Penn Station PTSD. I was having flashbacks of how chaotic it was when we arrived from Atlanta. My heart rate instantly rose as we walked out onto the platform. We made our way to the large board in the center of Penn Station, desperately trying to avoid being hit by busy passerby.
Our train was posted as being on-time, which was roughly an hour and a half away. We decided to grab a bite to eat in the train station, as it was way past lunch time. We walked around and found a pizza joint. We figured New York pizza is never a bad idea, and we were right! I waited with our luggage by the wall while Jason got us two cheese slices. Below are pictures (you can see Jason to the right ordering):
After eating I left to find a restroom. I found one off to the side which was beside a waiting area. When I returned I told Jason about it and we dragged our luggage to a couple of nearby seats to wait. He also told me that while I was gone he was asked for money twice. Train stations definitely can be sketchy places. Here is a picture of him waiting:
Below is a picture of a boat that was beside Jason that moved around in a circle. It was George Washington and his men crossing the Delaware. At first I thought it said "We're nothing to fear when Washington's near!" Haha! Turns out it was "We've nothing to fear..." Very different!
About half an hour before we were scheduled to depart, we returned to the big board to check on the train. In ten minutes we were boarding. A guy that reminded me a little of Louis C K (just one who took care of himself and wasn't as grumpy) helped us with our luggage. He was our attendant and appeared to be from New York. He grabbed my bag and showed us to our sleeper car. He asked if this was our first time on a sleep car and we very proudly said "No." He gave us the brief spiel of how dinner will work and what to do if we need him for anything. We thanked him and got comfy in our seats. Below are pictures:
Below are pictures of Washington D. C. by sunset:
A woman came in and took our name and reservation for the dinner car. We decided to eat at 6:30. It was at this point I remembered we could have gone to a luxury lounge at Penn Station to wait for the train--completely slipped my mind with all the chaos. Oh well. By 6:30 Jason and I were very hungry. We walked to the dinner car and found a booth to ourselves. Below is a picture of Jason at the table:
Not long after sitting down a man joined us. He was a quiet man with large glasses and he carried reading material with him. Our waiter came and took our drink and food orders. We ordered BBQ chicken with veggies and rolls. The rolls and our diet sodas arrived quickly. Eventually I noticed our dinner companion was wearing a Disney jacket. I, always in need of more social skills, decided to try and learn more about the unknown man on the train with us. I asked if he worked for Disney. He laughed and said no--he and his family just really like Disney. Suddenly Jason and I took the role of the non-awkward dinner companions--a very unusual role for us. We learned this guy was a child neuroscientist. He was in D.C. for a conference and was headed back home to Houston. He hates flying, which is why he went by train. Apparently he was very experienced with trains. We followed his lead with tips and what to do. We discussed traveling, our jobs, and good places to eat. It was actually a really interesting conversation.
Jason and the scientist enjoyed tiramisu and I enjoyed a soda before calling it a night. The scientist left first, tipping very well. We did the same and then headed back to our beds. Once we arrived at our room, we realized our attendant did not turn the beds down like the previous one did. Luckily, Jason remembered how it was done. We had a bit of trouble moving the luggage from underneath the seats (again, we packed too much). . . but we made it work. Exhausted from a night of travel, we still enjoyed watching the world fly past us as we slept.
Random thing I forgot... there is a tunnel somewhere on our journey. When we passed it, the entire cabin becomes pitch black. We were unable to see anything. On the way up to Boston, we made funny faces during the tunnel. This time I got a video of it. Enjoy!
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