Where is everyone?

[Shortpants]

Re: Where is everyone?

You have been busy and I'm waiting to hear how the trip went.

The trip went great, thank you for asking! We took the Silver Meteor out of NYC Penn without a hitch. Hubby thought the train down was a bit stuffy and warm, and the food he had wasn't the greatest, but overall SO much better than flying! The bedroom was snug for all four of us, but nice to be able to lay down on a "real" bed at night. The train back North was considerably cooler, so it was a happier trip for everyone. LOL! The food was much better also, so hubby was happy. The attendants and staff everywhere on Amtrak were so nice and helpful, I was impressed. Only one near snafu on the trip back where we got put on the wrong train list for a Red Cap and almost missed our connecting train to Albany, but we just made it after a mad dash to the gate with all our luggage and two kiddos in tow, so all was well. Phew! I can say that I would recommend Amtrak travel for an overnight trip, it was such an improvement over flying, even the coach seats were beyond comfortable and had PLENTY of room. I don't know if I'd do it for a multi-day journey unless I planned to get off and go sightseeing along the way to get a break from the confines of the train. You can walk around, but you are still stuck on the train, ya know? The girls and I got off at most of the longer stops to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. All in all, I would do it again, it was an adventure and the scenery along the way was pretty dang awesome.

[Malamute]

Re: Where is everyone?

I've travelled by train, I enjoyed it very much, even if it was a long trip. Wasnt camping, but I enjoyed it more than plane travel. The ladies that sell home made tamales and burritos at the Albuquerque Amtrak station had some really good food, vastly better than what was available on the train. I asked one of the conductors about them, he recommended the food, and was correct.

[Malamute]

Re: Where is everyone?

I really like Julie Fowlis. I think she has an absolutely beautiful voice. I do wish she had more songs in english.

Yes, she does have a beautiful voice. I rather enjoy the Gaelic singing. I've listened to the radio program Thistle and Shamrock for many years, then recently found some of my favorite tunes from there on youtube.

This one has captions in English, from Irish Gaelic. For some reason I enjoy listening and watching the girls speaking in Irish. May be partly interest in family Celtic history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_d8WkUGv0

[James.]

Re: Where is everyone?

Yes, she does have a beautiful voice. I rather enjoy the Gaelic singing. I've listened to the radio program Thistle and Shamrock for many years, then recently found some of my favorite tunes from there on youtube.

This one has captions in English, from Irish Gaelic. For some reason I enjoy listening and watching the girls speaking in Irish. May be partly interest in family Celtic history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_d8WkUGv0

14 seconds in to this video and had to lol at the awesomeness of the guys name. Gusty McCurdy. I have a strange love for Ireland that I cannot explain. As far as I know I don't have any family history, I have lived in Arizona all my life so there isn't a large (or really any) irish influence here.

I had a customer go on an extended trip to Ireland and as she was showing me some of the pictures of her trip (something I normally would have suffered through) I was just fascinated with just about everything she showed me. Its on my bucket list to visit there.

I have never heard of Thistle and Shamrock but I am listening to it right now and it is pretty good. I will have to see if there is a podcast I can download. Pandora is also a good source for some good galic music but it gets kind of repetitive and of course there is no DJ.

[Malamute]

Re: Where is everyone?

I stumbled onto Thistle maybe 25 years ago while on the road. It turned out my local-ish NPR station ran it, so I became a pretty regular listener. My grandmother researched the family history and discovered Scot, Irish and Welsh family history, among others. I've had an interest in the places, people and music since learning of that. It seems there's been quite a resurgence of Celtic culture in the recent past. Many are using the traditional names, and the language has begun to come back, expressed by the many singers singing in Irish or Scottish Gaelic dialects.

I see somewhat of the same happening among some of the Navajos I know, they want their kids to be able to speak both Navajo and English, and know some of the culture and traditions, even though living a basically modern lifestyle. Singing church hymns in Navajo is cool to hear, if a bit hard to sing along, even with the words in the hymnals.

[toedtoes]

Re: Where is everyone?

With Amtrak, the one thing to remember is that they do not have dedicated tracks (like ViaRail in Canada and most European passenger trains). This means they must give priority to cargo trains. On the eastern shore, it seems to run pretty easy, but if you do cross country, you can have your trip extended by several days because of the delays while waiting for a cargo train to pass through first.

If you enjoy the celtic music scene, check into Nova Scotian music, especially from the Cape Breton area. It's been said that the Nova Scotian celtic scene is much more authentic celtic than the Irish celtic scene.

[Malamute]

Re: Where is everyone?

I've been pretty lucky. I travelled from the Midwest to Az a number of times, the longest delay waiting for a freight was maybe an hour or two. They were generally able to make up most of the time when free to go ahead. I think an hour behind schedule was the most I recall on arrivals/departures. They seemed to have the schedule pretty well sorted out when I was travelling by train.

"Authentic" is good, on Thistle, she does a variety of programs, many of historical interest, of development over time, some on regional types, some of modern Celtic music. I think I can appreciate all the styles, and certainly don't have any problem with some of the modern styles. The music isn't static, each has its own appeal. Loreena McKennitt is described as Celtic, but may also be described as "new age" by some. I'm not a new age fan in general, but like some of her music quite a bit. I've collected a fair bit of Celtic music youtube bookmarks in my favorites, its quite a variety of artists and styles. I can get sidetracked for hours listening, and following the suggestions youtube offers.

One aspect I found interesting was the Celtic related origins of bluegrass and mountain music in the States, and to country music, by way of descent.

[toedtoes]

Re: Where is everyone?

I know several people who traveled from the midwest/east coast to California and had a 5-8 day delay. Luckily, most of them did not have anything concrete arranged immediately following their scheduled return. I also have a few friends who commute on Amtrak for work. There are usually about 5 to 15 times a year that they are delayed by more than one hour (their commutes are only about 45 minutes). I suspect the more common delays here are due to the trains following a heavy cargo route (San Francisco/Oakland to Chicago).

Yeah, it's amazing how much Celtic culture is integrated into the Appalachians. Much of our traditional folk music is based on Celtic ballads. I find the movement of culture to be very interesting. The Acadians who were kicked out of French Canada and headed down to Louisiana was another big culture move.

[Malamute]

Re: Where is everyone?

Wow, I really had been lucky! Its been quite a while since I travelled by train also. I used it once in the mid 70's as a kid, then for a few years off and on in the 80's, and once in the late 90's to go buy a vehicle.

Was funny to run into one of my high school teachers on the train once in the 80's.

Its been interesting to learn how widespread Celtic people and influence have been over time. They seem to be pretty adventurous people. Maybe I resemble that remark,....

[Mike]

Re: Where is everyone?

I travelled by train round trip Wisconsin to/from Montana a few years ago. It was 16 hours late getting there and 20 hours late getting back. It wasn't really cheaper than flying, so all things considered, "Never Again!"

[BluegrassLady]

Re: Where is everyone?

Something going on almost every weekend! Headed to our state fair for the draft horse shows and camping in my easy up tent for that. Not really for the camping as much as for a cheap place to lay my head. Going alone but bringing electric cord and fan. Gets hot this time of year unless it is storming which could happen just as well.

[gmann]

Re: Where is everyone?

I have never travelled by train. Maybe one day.

[Shortpants]

Re: Where is everyone?

I will admit that in my research, I discovered that the East Coast trains seem to run more on time than the East/West and West Coast trains. I have read of massive delays on some of the long distance trains headed out West. They are at the mercy of the freight trains that have top priority on the tracks, which can cause delays every time they have to wait for a freight train to pass. So I definitely wouldn't recommend LD train travel for a trip where you have to be someplace at a specific time, unless you leave LOTS of cushion time. Otherwise it is really an adventure if you can just kick back and enjoy the ride. Someone told me that you can't think of the train as a means to get to your destination, you need to think of it as PART of your whole vacation, it certainly ain't flying! LOL! Like I said before, I don't know if I'd ever do a cross-country train trip, but an overnight or day trip is just enough and a fantastic way to see the country. Let someone else do the driving!

[Malamute]

Re: Where is everyone?

I really did enjoy travelling by train. Its far less intrusive than air travel in the security aspect. I'd wander around a fair bit, and if I spotted someone I'd rather sit with than who I was shown a seat next to by the conductor, I'd change. I'd look for a single lady travelling alone, not only for the conversation, but when night comes, it wasn't so weird to take turns leaning on each other to get sort of spread out and comfortable at night. I'd do a scout after things got settled and quiet and round up a pile of pillows for us both. Made it much more comfortable!

I'm not positive, but I think it was possible on Amtrak to get off anywhere along the line for a day or a few, then get back on with the same ticket until you reached your destination. That would be a fun way to see some sights.

When I travelled to get the vehicle I bought, I took a day pack with essentials, and shipped a couple boxes of clothes and camp gear ahead. I didn't have to worry about my luggage getting of somewhere without me, and I was pretty self contained.

[Mike]

Re: Where is everyone?

I really did enjoy travelling by train. Its far less intrusive than air travel in the security aspect.
.

Yes, train travel is far better than air travel. I am forced to travel frequently by air and it is horrible. Air travel is the worst part of my job.

There is no other industry that despises their customers and treats customers as poorly as the USA airline industry