It's Travel Time Again
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2004
1
33
68
Trip End
Ongoing
Los Angelas,
California,
United States
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Another nice ride by train. I tell ya, this is the way to see a country. Driving is nice, you can stop by strange places and see beautiful things for more than a second, but you can't sleep while you're driving ;)
I've come to the conclusion that I just won't sleep very well on the trains, but they do try. The seats have these little leg ups and lean back pretty far. But just doesn't suit someone who needs to sleep on their side.
The siteseer car is where to be - huge windows... it's really great. It's also the place to meet people, which I was not very interested in doing this time around. This guy, who had just finished talking with the German student, try to start a conversation with me but I'll be damned if I couldn't figure out what the hell he was saying! I caught "I like your wild style" and I just didn't know what to say to him. He was like talking linquistics and philosophy immediately and it was really weird. We ended up having this frustating "conversation" where we were talking about the fact that we couldn't communicate. I told him we came from different planets. That pretty much ended it. Really weird. His discussion with the German was pretty normal...
So there was a train derailment and the train was 4 1.2 hours late. I had to sit around the LA train station from 1:30 am until 6:30 am. The seats were these big huge "comfy" things that made sleeping impossible. There were quite a few people about - all trying to get some shut eye in these Monty Python torture chairs. The security guard came around and asked to see people's ticket at one point. I think he was a little lenient on the homeless people - I was pondering why I'd do if he started kicking someone out infront of me. So I took a taxi to the bus station (I didn't feel very safe walking 20 blocks alone in the dark in downtown LA) and found loads of people there, sleeping on the ground and so forth. I had called the 1 800 number and then confirmed with the ticket counter that I could get a bus to Tuscon at 7pm. Well as I was bording the guy says "you need to take the 9am" and I was like "WHAT!?" Turns out this bus goes to Pheonix only and I'd have to change. "But do I get to Tuscon quicker?" And he says yes. So I get on.
A few hours later we are driving along and one of the people in the back starts having a seizure. Brought me right back to the TVAC meeting and how none of us knew what to do. I was frustrated by this and said we needed to have a first aid person come and give us the low down on all these things. I never made that meeting unfortunately. Gawd... Luckily we were just coming to a rest stop so we get off and eventually the fire department and medics come. They haul him away. I was surprised at how unsurprised people were. I was really worried and shocked. No one else seemed to be.
Now I tell people that America is a friendly place - more so than Canada. When I ride public transportation this really shows... people of all different kinds of backgrounds talk to each other. Have really calm and connected conversations. Being stuck on a moving vehicle with each other for hours makes this friendliness double. People really seem to be interested in your story here in this country...
So we get to Phoenix a little late but I still should be able to catch the 4pm bus. But the bus doesn't come. I have to take the next one... and guess what - it's the same bus that left LA at 9am! So silly...
So I get to Tuscon about 8 hours late... But it's nice and hot and Lane is all smiles and he takes me to a place where I eat a really good chocolate tofu pie...
My stupid digital camera is a piece of shit so there are no photos. Instead I will post new PDX stills...
