So, after waiting in Lynchburg until almost midnight, we boarded our train. Instead of doing a lengthy and verbose blog about the Amtrak train system, a few succinct bullet points will do:
- the trains get very cold at night (they leave the aircon on full)
- they stop once in a while to let freight trains pass, and are often somewhat late to their destinations. Don't take them if you are on tight deadlines.
- the seats are absolutely fantastic, far better than plane seats. They have more than enough legroom, are nice and wide, and are quite comfortable to sleep in.
- bring your own food and entertainment. This is a must, since the train prices are rather high; and there is no on-board entertainment.
- the windows are very broad, so you get an amazing view of the passing landscape and get a great feel/glimpse of the area.
As we journeyed on through the South, we had quite a few interesting views. We passed many quintessential suburban Southern towns (no, we didn't see a Confederate flag anywhere). It's interesting that quite a few of our stops along the way included historic towns that have lovely historic districts, yet run-down modern additions. This was definitely noticed at Lynchburg: on the one hand you have the pretty, upmarket historic district, with pretty Southern homes and cutesy antique shops; and on the other you have a very poor community that is sharply segregated from the picturesque downtown. This seemed to be a repeated pattern throughout the South, where one block sometimes meant all the difference.
Another was when we travelled through Alabama. As some of our fellow Americans may have heard, tornados ripped through areas of the state in April, completely demolishing some towns and taking a toll on the community, emotionally and financially. Well, we passed one of those towns. After passing through desecrated woodland, the rails eventually shifted and we were right on the edge of a small town: homes and shops completely destroyed, cars flipped over, trees all over the place. It's one thing to see it on television, it's something else to see it in person. It was unbelievable and shocking, to the point where every passenger just stared transfixed at the scene before us. We didn't take a photo. A scene Maryann probably won't forget for a while is the sight of a man walking up his front lawn with the morning newspaper in regular routine, up to his home that was half destroyed. It's shocking and infuriating that these towns are in the state that they are in nearly 2 months after the event; interesting comparison to the NOLA scandal.
On a completely different note, we also caught a glimpse of an amazing sunset when we were crossing the bay over to Louisiana! Photos to follow.
- the trains get very cold at night (they leave the aircon on full)
- they stop once in a while to let freight trains pass, and are often somewhat late to their destinations. Don't take them if you are on tight deadlines.
- the seats are absolutely fantastic, far better than plane seats. They have more than enough legroom, are nice and wide, and are quite comfortable to sleep in.
- bring your own food and entertainment. This is a must, since the train prices are rather high; and there is no on-board entertainment.
- the windows are very broad, so you get an amazing view of the passing landscape and get a great feel/glimpse of the area.
The Viewing carriage, available on all long-distance Amtrak routes.
As we journeyed on through the South, we had quite a few interesting views. We passed many quintessential suburban Southern towns (no, we didn't see a Confederate flag anywhere). It's interesting that quite a few of our stops along the way included historic towns that have lovely historic districts, yet run-down modern additions. This was definitely noticed at Lynchburg: on the one hand you have the pretty, upmarket historic district, with pretty Southern homes and cutesy antique shops; and on the other you have a very poor community that is sharply segregated from the picturesque downtown. This seemed to be a repeated pattern throughout the South, where one block sometimes meant all the difference.
Another was when we travelled through Alabama. As some of our fellow Americans may have heard, tornados ripped through areas of the state in April, completely demolishing some towns and taking a toll on the community, emotionally and financially. Well, we passed one of those towns. After passing through desecrated woodland, the rails eventually shifted and we were right on the edge of a small town: homes and shops completely destroyed, cars flipped over, trees all over the place. It's one thing to see it on television, it's something else to see it in person. It was unbelievable and shocking, to the point where every passenger just stared transfixed at the scene before us. We didn't take a photo. A scene Maryann probably won't forget for a while is the sight of a man walking up his front lawn with the morning newspaper in regular routine, up to his home that was half destroyed. It's shocking and infuriating that these towns are in the state that they are in nearly 2 months after the event; interesting comparison to the NOLA scandal.
On a completely different note, we also caught a glimpse of an amazing sunset when we were crossing the bay over to Louisiana! Photos to follow.
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