One year ago today: May 13, 2013,
the Superman scam explained.
Five years ago today: May 13, 2009, wooden frying pan?
8:44AM Boarding the Amtrak northbound to Winter Haven, FL. Unlike them New York authors, I will tell you what it cost. This trip cost me $98.70 total, of which $19.50 was food, drink and a local newspaper 25 cents. These photos are not in any order.
9:44AM Still in the city, or more like the light industrial zones that straddle the rails all the way to West Palm Beach. There is no scenic car but there is a lounge car that Amtrak very pointedly keeps closed and locked until north of West Palm Beach—both ways.
10:05AM The scenery opens up, you can enjoy all the Florida invasive species along the artificially straightened canals. Keep in mind, there is very little hour-to-hour variation. The Amtrak staff are quick to point out “none of our trains has gone missing” and there is chat about the first case of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in the area. The authorities were quick to point out there is no danger whatsoever of any kind and there is no cause to panic or be alarmed at all. Not now. Not ever.
10:29AM Completely out of the city and passing scrub land, some of it farmed. The cell phones still work, all over the train and then some. A lot of folk like to pass the time on the train talking important things with shirt-tail relatives. I took my turn and called the bakery for the first ever remote horoscope reading.
10:44AM More open areas and farms as the track turns north-eastward at West Palm Beach. The rail bed is much higher than usual so this must be a type of flood plain. There is much beef and dairy pasture in stretches, but mainly the pseudo-swamp that surrounds the Everglades. I worked the crossword puzzle.
11:05AM The first orange groves I’ve seen in Florida, since I got here 15 years ago. There are also many levees and abandoned sidings. And considerable patches of kudzu, that Japanese vine that will choke the south worse than the carpetbaggers. There are also many spur lines which, although maintained, are not much used as evidenced by the rusty rails.
11:20AM Lots of orange groves as we approach Sebring. The rail-side businesses also change to an agricultural theme. Feed lots, stock yards, machinery lots. The west side of the tracks is the more scenic and prosperous. The railroad embankment is now some thirty feet high in places, which forms an effective flood barrier. Those people down there know something about floods.
12:18PM We arrive in Winter Haven to the odorific welcome of a fruit processing plant. Whew! Think of mild but day-old baby barf. So this is Winter Haven. I’ve said before the wisest thing Amtrak could do is somehow relocate their passenger stations into the better parts of town. The “freeway cult” I mentioned last November is also present on the railroad. The staff is not local and has no clue even where “downtown” is. It's not like they live in these parts on their way up the corporate ladder.
12:35PM Getting no help from the staff, I picked a random direction which was north and my second choice. It turns out I was a bit lucky, but after around a half mile, I was tuckered. That’s when I spotted what I came out here for. A non-chain, non-franchised, mom & pop restaurant. Welcome to Nell’s and it is worth every penny. And the staff knows where downtown is, what can I say?
12:45PM I settle down to a feast of pork chop and mashed with gravy. Nearby you’ll see what $4.25 buys on the Amtrak (a coffee and bag of salt) and what $8.00 gets you at Nell’s. Mind you, remember Amtrak is running a train, not a concession. Nell’s brings you free refills which made me almost propose to the gal. I mean, she’ll never know how close she came on that count.
1:25PM The staff tells me a little about Winter Haven, it is another mile [to the] downtown [area] and I would not have made it in this heat. They know the railway area isn’t the best part of the settlement. I decided to zig-zag a bit through the residential blocks on the way back. That’s where I saw the little yellow house I want to retire in. I’ll likely wind up buying something fancier, but right there is all I would need to keep happy for the rest of my little life. Well, that and the waitress, I mean. And my motorcycle of course. And the bass. But you know what I’m talking about.
1:48PM What a nice walk. Obviously a more carefree town than Hollywood. Folks on the porch in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon out here means company, in Miami it means welfare. I’ve done Winter Haven, but I’d like to visit here again, maybe stay a few days. I picked up the local paper, the one for 25 cents. Lots of 3/2 houses for under $100k, some of them pretty nice-looking.
2:24PM The southbound is a little late, see if you can find my picture of the station. Right out of the 1920s, wooden benches, pillars in the architecture, smelling of fresh paint in neutral colors. The Winter Haven landing is five cars long, but the train is thirty cars, so please Mr. Engineer, next time stop in the station. It appears the trains are coach class, then the baggage cars, then the luxury cars. So when the deluxe folks are at the station, we commoners have to huff it up to the front of the train way up the trail.
2:39PM This is not the tourist train like the New Orleans run. Earplugs are a definite travel must. Between the cell phones and screaming kids, you will quickly find they let you sit in the lounge car with just a coffee. Which is $2 a cup but better than Starbucks. By now I was used to the scenery and did some slide rule practice. That’s right, I have trouble with “same size” numbers. 61x57 or 64x59. Not no more.
3:10PM Slide-rule practice? Yes. I was cognizant of how many people on the train are capable of sitting there hour after hour just being bored. That is something to behold. The slide rule is not the point, rather that the train rides give you long uninterrupted opportunity to really get things done that you may have been putting off. I know that I cannot ignore that, making train travel rather unique for me.
3:39PM Now passing the Okeechobee area, the train has the air conditioning on full tilt, so do bring a light jacket. A pleasant surprise was hitting an afternoon rainstorm. Since I pull over on the motorcycle, this time barreling along at 70 mph through the swamp is a novelty. We were along a roadway and passing the traffic as the storm rattled against the shell of the rail cars. Yes, you can hear and feel it.
3:50PM Approaching civilization again, the train whistle will keep you from dozing off too soundly, so remember those ear plugs. Forget the romantic photos of the train pulling through sleepy little towns. There is more likely to be a line of hopper cars blocking the view at every siding. The railroad seems to avoid small towns until the east coast anyway. Then it blasts through them at rush hour.
4:55PM Heading sought from West Palm Beach, there is nothing new to see. It’s just over an hour trip back from there, so get comfortable. I read the train magazine. Bring your own food but be aware you cannot consume it in the dining areas of the train or heat it up. Think sandwiches. Train food is pricey. I missed a classic “English movie” shot where the train beside you moves and you think it is your train. Like most digital cameras, the Canon seems to know when you want to take a fast photo and jams up on you.
6:15PM Home. Happy.
