There can be no doubt that I do enjoy singing now. I could be better than I’d dreamed possible. I’ve added some “chick” songs to my repertoire, a move that shows an uncommon amount of guts in this town. My show is totally audience driven and if they want to hear “These Boots”, that is what I will deliver. So far the response has been enthusiastic.Beyond that, the heat makes mention again. I had to leave the building early and I biked over to Panera to grab a coffee in the A/C. I ran in to Pete the Rock, who says there has been some progress on his disability claim. Pete is a classic example of how important that trickle of government money becomes later in life. It is not just me saying so. For many seniors today, there will be no such thing as retirement.
I finally braved the sun and rode over to the shop. The landlady was in again, crying the blues. Afterward, I reminded Fred any time he wants to move I can easily round up a twenty men and get us out of there in a half day. For the first time the landlady said she had another tenant interested. That is a total bluff, there are vacant properties all over the area with 1/3 of the rent.
Accentuating the positive, I took a closer look at the trip on “The City of New Orleans”. For all its popularity, there is a real lack of first hand accounts from travelers. What’s available is overshadowed by Amtrak advertising which is blatantly MicroSoft-grade. (Where instead of fixing problems, they re-write the book and call them “features”.) I was finally able to get hold of a menu from the dining car. One has to know whether to pack a lunch these days. It seems reasonable at $6 to $9 for early meals and up to $19 for dinner.
Coach travel is the most economical, at $110 for the round trip. (New Orleans-Chicago). In the lower level, the seats do not recline, a feature not mentioned. There is an interesting option called the “roomette”. Designed for two persons, it costs an extra $94. But it is private, meaning you sleep when you are tired. There is an upper bunk and a lower sofa bench. Now I need to find out if I can leave the bed open all day and use the sofa for the daylight portions of the journey. Either way, this mini-holiday is very affordable and, except for maybe an even larger room, the roomette would be like traveling first class. I like first class, it weeds out the “loosers”.
It matters a lot about which stops I’ll make, if any. Amtrak hails Nawlins, Memphis and Chicago as music capitals. Since I’m unlikely to ever return to those places again, it might be worthwhile to spend a day or two in each town. What? Okay, I’ll explain. If I travel on the train at night, I get to see the cities during the day, but I’ll miss the full train experience. Keep focused on the primary objective here. I could have both by making only one-way non-stop and visiting on the other leg.
The trip is a tad over 19 hours each way, meaning there is likely to be plenty of darkness, hence my questions about a roomette. Train trips are not glamorous so any bit of luxury will be welcome. I travel with one handbag and everything above coach requires a reservation, meaning I’d be assured of the roomette. Generally, this is shaping up to be a once-in-a-lifetime excursion. I estimate, including the cost of getting to and from Nawlins, the entire package could come in at just under $600. Hell, Wallace, it cost us $93 to go to Key West.
What would separate this trip from any journey before is my bicycle, should I decide to take it along. It rides as baggage for an extra $5. It will save me that much every mile I pedal. I know precisely how to do whirlwind tours of a city, hitting all the highs at six times the speed of a pedestrian. I know better than to trust the bus schedules in strange locations and taxis are out of the question. This whole idea is magnetic to me, as I am the King of Traveling Light. Now, if only my lawyer would call with the news.
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