"South by Northwest"...

Ridin’ on the City of New Orleans…

and more…

  

Friday, December 9 – Day One

I left my house south of Mt. Vernon, Kentucky on Friday evening, December 9.  I stopped for a quick dinner at DQ in Morehead, and then drove on to downtown Ashland, Kentucky.  I arrived there around 9pm, a little over an hour before the scheduled arrival of Amtrak’s train 51, the Cardinal.  I waited in my car after snapping a couple of pictures of the quaint old former C&O Railroad freight depot building, which was decorated for Christmas.  The depot now serves as Ashland’s local public transit center, but its waiting room is unfortunately not open to Amtrak passengers, though.  Amtrak trains stop at an elevated platform across the parking lot from the old building. 

Ashland, Kentucky C&O Freight Depot where Amtrak stops.

The train arrived right on time at 10:08pm.  I was the only passenger boarding the sleeper car in Ashland, although several people were getting on and off coach there.  The conductor, a stereotypically stern old fellow, clearly intended to keep the train on time and as such put the move on for myself and the other passengers to get on board in a hurry.  I was shown to my roomette, number 4, on the train’s only sleeper car by a man probably around my own age named Jay, who would turn out to be a very efficient, if somewhat stiff and formal, sleeping car attendant.  Perhaps his personality (or lack thereof) might be attributed in some part to the fact that the Cardinal’s crews are based out of New York?  Or maybe I’m just too spoiled to folks with that really outgoing Southern type of personality.

By the time he had given me a quick and rather robotic rundown of the various features of my little roomette, the train was already rolling swiftly along through the night.  I changed into my PJ’s and settled into my little bed, then turned off the lights and really enjoyed watching Northeastern Kentucky, illuminated by the full moon, go gliding past at 79 MPH as we rolled up the former Chesapeake and Ohio mainline towards Cincinnati.  The Cardinal is a single-level train, with a Viewliner sleeper car.  The Viewliner roomettes each have two seats, which let down to make the lower bunk, as well as an upper bunk.  Since I was traveling alone, the upper bunk remained raised.  The Viewliner roomettes also each have their own sink and toilet.  This was handy since I was traveling alone, but would have been awkward with someone else along!

My Viewliner Roomette bed on the Cardinal.

By the time I got settled in good, we had already made our stop at the bus-stop type little building that serves as the South Portsmouth-South Shore, Kentucky depot.  Later, we stopped a few minutes early in Maysville, Kentucky, hometown of Rosemary Clooney (not to mention brother Nick and nephew George!) at the charming old Colonial-style C&O depot.  Many towns and country houses had a multitude of Christmas decorations up as we traveled on through the night, just adding to the truly magical experience of my first overnight train trip.

I was still up for the gorgeous night cityscape views from the elevated tracks through Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River bridge, and on into Cincinnati Union Terminal.  We arrived there a few minutes early, too, around 1am.  I then closed the curtains and was lulled to sleep as we swayed along on the former B&O Railroad line towards Indianapolis.

Saturday, December 10 – Day Two

I awoke briefly while we were in the station at Indianapolis, then went back to sleep until around 6am.  I dressed, and found the newspaper from Indianapolis that Jay had slipped beneath my door.  I went to the diner for the first breakfast sitting at 6:30am.  As it was getting fully daylight outside, and as the train made its station stop at Lafayette, Indiana, home of Purdue University, I was having breakfast across the table from a charming older couple.  (For those who don’t know, on passenger trains you are seated community style, and that proved to be a great deal of fun throughout the trip!  The people you meet really are one of the highlights of train travel.)  By this point we were traveling on the former Monon Railroad.  The trip from Chicago - New Orleans would be on the former Illinois Central.  All of the lines between Ashland and almost into Chicago are now part of CSX, while the Illinois Central is now part of Canadian National.

For this first of seven meals (all of which are included when you travel in a sleeper) that I would have on the Cardinal and the City of New Orleans throughout my roundtrip, I was seated with a couple in their seventies from Madison, Indiana.  He was a retired electrician and she a homemaker.  I had the omelet and sausage, which was very good, in spite of the fact that the Cardinal only has a dinette/lounge, rather than a full dining car.  As a result, meals on this train are pre-packaged and reheated in a convection oven, but this one was nonetheless very good.

We passed a large "wind farm" in Northwestern Indiana.  This area had seen a light dusting of snow the night before as well.

We arrived into Chicago a few minutes early, around 10am.  I was able to drop off my bags for storage with an attendant in the Metropolitan Lounge, a nice lounge exclusively for the use of sleeper car passengers.  I marveled at the historic Chicago Union Station, and took several pictures, including of the famous staircase featured in the movie “The Untouchables.” 

The Untouchables staircase inside Chicago Union Station.

 Exterior of Chicago Union Station.

I then walked the short distance down Jackson Boulevard to the Willis Tower, much better known as the Sears Tower.  On the way there, I crossed one of the iconic drawbridges over the Chicago River.  Once in the tower, I was soon whisked up 103 stories in a very fast, ear-popping elevator to the “Chicago Sky Deck.”  The views from up there are all they’re cracked up to be, simply amazing.  Especially when you walk out onto “The Ledge” – one of four glass boxes that stick out 1,300 feet in the air high above the streets below!

 Chicago River, as seen from Jackson Blvd. drawbridge.

Willis (Formerly Sears) Tower: 

After my visit to the tower, I used the “L” train pass I’d purchased back at Union Station to take my first of several rides on the Chicago Transit Authority’s famous “L.”  For most of its routes, the “L” is an elevated railway above the streets – hence the name.  However, some routes are subways, and a few even have sections that run on ground level.  I rode the “L” around to the State Street area and walked around in the crazy Christmas shopping crowds, getting some good pictures of landmarks like the Chicago Theater and Macy’s (formerly the legendary Marshall Fields flagship store.)

 One of Chicago's famous "L" trains.

 "On State Street, that great street," as ol' blue eyes once sang.  The iconic Chicago Theater and Macy's (formerly the Marshall Field's flagship store).

From there, I boarded the “L” again for a much longer ride through the northern parts of the city and some suburbs.  I went all the way out to the end of the line at Wilmette, Illinois and then back to the Loop.  This was a fun and interesting way to see different parts of the city.  We went right by Wrigley Field, too, at one point.  After that, I checked into my hotel, the Silversmith on Wabash in the Jeweler’s District.  It is a charming arts and crafts style hotel in a beautifully restored old building, perfect for a retro geek like me!  I had a simple dinner and then just stayed in and relaxed that Saturday evening.

Sunday, December 11 – Day Three

The next morning I was up early and checked out, then headed back to Union Station.  I picked up my tickets there for my roundtrip daytrip on Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service.  The Hiawatha trains make several round trips every day between Chicago and Milwaukee, which is an 85-mile, hour and a half long trip each way.  Since I had never been in Wisconsin before, I did not want to pass up this chance to visit briefly.  The ride on the Hiawatha passes through more of a rural area than I was expecting – there’s still quite a bit of countryside left in the area between the outskirts of Chicago and those of Milwaukee.  

 Southern Wisconsin countryside as seen from Amtrak's Hiawatha Service train.

Once in Milwaukee, I spent just over an hour exploring the downtown area, which was pretty deserted on a Sunday midday.  The main thing I wanted to see there was the old former Warner Grand Theatre.  This old movie palace, sadly closed down for the last several years, was where Two Guys From Milwaukee had its big premiere back in 1946.  Milwaukee was, of course, the adopted hometown of the film’s two stars, Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan.  Jack is by far my favorite movie star of all time, and it was neat to see the old part of the town that had still meant so much to him, even after he had moved to Hollywood and become a star.   

I had planned to also walk over and visit the statue of Fonzie from Happy Days, but the street leading toward it was closed down, apparently for a bridge replacement, so I just headed on back to the train station instead.  Milwaukee’s intermodal station is a nicely renovated structure, which is also served by Greyhound buses and Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which runs all the way to Seattle and Portland.

 The former Warner Grand Theater in downtown Milwaukee.

 Recently renovated Milwaukee Intermodal Station and the adjacent suspension bridge over the river.

Back in Chicago on Sunday afternoon, I took the "L" back over to Macy's and went all through the huge eight-story store, which was originally the flagship for Marshall Field's Department Stores.  

The huge Martha-Stewart-decorated "Great Tree" 

inside of Macy's.

After that, I had a great late lunch of spaghetti and salad at Giordano's, a legendary Italian eatery on Jackson Blvd. just a few blocks from Union Station.

Then, on Sunday evening, I checked back into the Metropolitan Lounge inside Union Station.  Just before 8pm we were led out to the sleeper on the back of the waiting train 59, the southbound City of New Orleans.  I had roomette number 3, upstairs on the two-level Superliner train.  Superliner roomettes do not have the in-room sink and toilet.  However, there is one sink and toilet room upstairs, and three more downstairs on these cars.  In addition, there is a changing room with shower downstairs as well.  

 Chicago Union Station's Great Hall decorated for Christmas.

Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge at Chicago Union Station.

My sleeping car attendant on the City on the way down was the best one of the whole trip.  He was a young man named Manny who clearly enjoyed his work, and it showed.  Lots of nice little touches, like Hershey’s kisses on our pillows when we returned from dinner to get ready for bed.  I had one goofy moment that showed he had a sense of humor, too.  He was giving his little welcome speech on the P.A. system and told us to push the call button if we wanted him to make our beds up while we were gone to dinner.  Well, silly me pushed it – which caused a screech to go throughout the P.A. system – and caused me to realize at once that Manny had meant to push the button AFTER he got done with his little speech.  LOL.  Oh well!  He just laughed it off when I apologized for that rather Lucy-ish moment later!

The upper level sleeping car hallway on 

the City of New Orleans.

I got settled into my little room and soon I was finally “ridin’ on the City of New Orleans” for the very first time, as the night skyline of Chicago rolled by outside.  We were called to the diner for an abbreviated menu version of a late dinner.  I had the chicken and rice dish, which was delicious, along with some great cheesecake for dessert.  I was seated with a 62-year old man who was retired from “working for the government, with the military” overseas (he said this in a rather mysterious James Bond-ish way!) who was heading home to Memphis. 

Our other tablemate was a distinguished old gentleman who talked exactly like Jimmy Stewart (I told him so, and he took it as a compliment, which is how I meant it!)  I guessed this gentleman to be in his 70s, and was astonished to learn that he was actually 91 years old!  He was another major highlight of the trip, and we had a completely fascinating conversation about old movies and about the era in which he had grown up, and of his service in World War II.  (He had went in the May after Pearl Harbor.)  

I was totally delighted (especially since this was, coincidentally enough, the evening of the same day of my visit to Milwaukee) to learn that this gentleman had been entertained by, and had met, none other than Jack Carson.  This had occurred when my dinner companion had been serving in the Pacific and Jack had been there on a USO tour.  He said Jack was very down to earth and was wonderful with the servicemen, taking the time to talk to each man individually and to find out a bit about their lives back home.  He said that he had also met Rita Hayworth, among others, later on at a USO Canteen!

After dinner, I went downstairs and had my first shower at 79 MPH!  Actually, other than a bit of swaying, you would never have known you weren’t in a shower at home or at a hotel.  I dressed in the tiny changing room in my PJ’s, then retired back upstairs to my roomette and enjoyed once again just lying in my little bed and watching the moonlit countryside roll by as we headed south across the central Illinois prairies.  I put on my MP3 player and listened to a few versions of the song “City of New Orleans,” marveling at just how much the kinds of scenes depicted in it still hold true on today’s version of the famous train.

Monday, December 12 – Day Four

I was awake about 6am the next morning, as the sky was first getting light outside.  I dressed and headed outside during our extended stop in Memphis at around 6:30am.  At this early hour in Memphis it was already probably about 55 degrees outside.  I took a few pictures, then headed inside and upstairs.  I walked though three coaches and the Sightseer Lounge car up to the dining car.  I was seated for breakfast and had the pancakes and bacon, which were wonderful, as we were heading south out of Memphis during a beautiful sunrise.

 The City of New Orleans at Memphis Central Station, 

around 6:30am.

 The sleeping car in which I rode was the last car on the train.  To the right is Memphis Central Station.  This beautifully restored building now houses the Amtrak station and a police substation, as well as apartments on its upper floors.  

(You may have seen a picture of Elvis being screeched at here by a gaggle of young girls in 1956 upon returning home on the train from his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show!)

Me beside the City of New Orleans in Memphis.  (Unlike Elvis, I was not greeted by a screaming gaggle, LOL!)

Breakfast on the City of New Orleans. 

Breakfast sunrise just south of Memphis.

I went back to my room and took several pictures of the northern Mississippi Delta country.  We passed fields that clearly had been full of cotton before the harvest.  I noted that this far south there were still quite a few multicolored fall leaves on the trees, more like Kentucky had looked in late October or early November.  We stopped in Yazoo City, hometown of the late country comedian Jerry Clower.  Just south of there we passed several areas that had the tell-tale twisted rows of trees, reminders of a devastating tornado I remembered having heard about on the news some time back.

Mississippi Delta country. 

 

 Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Tornado-twisted trees just south of Yazoo City.

At about 11:30am we made our station stop in Jackson, Mississippi, another stop which is long enough to allow the smokers to get out and attend to their bad habit, and to allow the rest of us time to get off, stretch our legs, and snap a few pictures.  I sat for a while in the upper level of the amazing Sightseer Lounge car.  This car has large windows on both sides and curving up to the peak of the roof, is great for watching America roll by.  Downstairs is the bar and snack bar.  

Jackson, Mississippi and the Mississippi State Capitol. 

 The City of New Orleans at Jackson Union Station.

 My fascinating 91-year-old WWII vet dinner companion from the night before, walking down the platform after getting off the train in Jackson, Mississippi.

I had lunch where I was seated with a very entertaining 45-year-old lady from New Orleans (born and raised!) who was returning from visiting a friend in the hospital in Jackson.  This was her first ride on Amtrak, and she was very clearly enjoying every minute of it.  She was one of at least seven or eight people I’d meet during my roundtrip who said the same thing.  It is clear that there is a lot of support for train travel in this country, and not all of it just from train and retro nuts like me, either!  Lunch was yet another good meal, I had the Angus bacon cheeseburger and another slice of that divine cheesecake for dessert.

Sightseer Lounge Car. 

 Louisiana swamp/bayou country.

I spent most of the rest of the trip into New Orleans in the Sightseer Lounge car taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.  The last hour or so of the trip passes through amazing swamps and bayous, and runs along the shore of the enormous Lake Pontchartrain as well. 

 Lake Pontchartrain.

We arrived into New Orleans nearly an hour early, at around 2:30pm.  While it had been sunny and 65 or so at our lunchtime stop in Jackson, we had run into a thick fog as we approached New Orleans, and so it was a damp and chilly 55 upon getting off the train in the Big Easy.  I took a cab over to my hotel, the very nice Drury Inn in the Central Business District.

The Drury offers a free light dinner and a gracious free breakfast to its guests.  It is in an elegantly restored old 1920s building, which had originally housed the local phone company.  My room on the sixth floor was impressive, with 12-foot ceilings.  I got a really great rate on this place for two nights, and was very happy with it.  I was tired and it was kind of nasty outside, so I decided to have the free dinner then just relax in my room that Monday evening.  I headed to bed early so as to be rested for a big day of sightseeing.

My room at the wonderful Drury Inn in New Orleans.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 – Day Five

I was up bright and early on Tuesday morning.  I walked all the way from my hotel to the Riverwalk on the banks of the Mississippi, and enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells of a city just starting to come to life.  I was at the part of the Riverwalk across from Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral by a little after 8am, and got some great pictures just before the crowds really started gathering in.  I spent the next few hours having a great time exploring the French Market, Jackson Square, the Cathedral, and the French Quarter.  I got pictures of many landmarks and enjoyed seeing what Bourbon Street looks like at 10am when it is still sleeping off the night before!

 A view from the Riverwalk, showing the Steamboat Natchez.

St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square. 

 Golden statue of Joan of Arc, a gift from France, 

in the French Quarter.

 The French Quarter.  Petunias and Christmas decorations on that balcony - nothing like a sub-tropical climate!

 The French Market (left), downtown (center), and French Quarter (right).

"There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun..."  Now the Hotel Villa Convento, this building is reported to have once been the infamous Rising Sun brothel.

 "Another man done gone!"  Marie Laveau's

House of Voodoo on Bourbon St.

Bourbon Street.

Me in Jackson Square, complete with roses in full bloom in mid-December!

The magnificent interior of St. Louis Cathedral, built in 1794.

Me riding the St. Charles Streetcar.

St. Charles Streetcar.

I rode the famous streetcars a while during the midday on Tuesday.  I then went on a two-hour afternoon cruise on the Natchez, the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River.  This was very enjoyable.  It included a good meal of Creole fried chicken with all the fixin’s, too!  The temps had warmed up to around 60 by the end of the boat ride, and the cloud cover had finally started to lift some as well.  I enjoyed seeing the site of the Battle of New Orleans from the boat, as well as the levee that broke during Katrina and caused the horrible flooding disaster in the Lower Ninth Ward.

The Steamboat Natchez. 

Lunch on the Natchez.

 Dining room on the Natchez.

The levee that broke in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

 

 View off the back of the Natchez.

 The Natchez's paddle wheel.

Me on the Natchez.

Speaking of Katrina – the city shows practically no signs of it now, at least not in the tourist areas of the French Quarter and the Central Business District, anyway, although I’m sure it is still a very different story in the areas that were the hardest hit.  The French Quarter, having been wisely located by the French on the only relative “high ground” around, didn’t flood to begin with, after all.

Tuesday afternoon, I spent some more time in the French Market and then headed back to the hotel for dinner and to rest awhile.  I headed up to the roof (which has a heated pool and hot tub, although I didn’t use them) and took some pictures of the city’s illuminated skyline.  I then caught the streetcar, which runs right by the hotel, back over to Canal and Bourbon and walked around taking in the sights and sounds that make New Orleans at night so famous.  One of the highlights of the trip was hanging out with my friend Marlon, who I hope to get to see again when he comes to Kentucky soon to visit his sister.

 View from the roof of the Drury Inn.

Bourbon Street at night.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 – Day Six

After checking out of the hotel, I rode the St. Charles Streetcar out to the Garden District, and enjoyed walking around checking out all the beautiful old homes.  It was a gorgeous day, sunny and in the lower 70s by the time I left town.  I visited the quaint local bookstore in the Garden District, where I was delighted to find a signed hardcover copy of the book The Help.  I also took a stroll through one of NOLA's famous "Cities of the Dead," Lafayette Cemetery.

  Lafayette Cemetery.

A beautiful home in the Garden District.

I then headed back over to the French Market for a farewell to New Orleans lunch that included an awesome sausage and shrimp Po Boy, and a great conversation with a friendly waitress who had returned to NOLA after Katrina, unlike most of her family and friends.   

I grabbed a cab back to the hotel and picked up my bags, then headed back to New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to board the northbound train 58, the City of New Orleans back to Chicago.  I soon got some more great pictures of the lake and the swamp from the Sightseer Lounge as the train rolled north.  This time around my sleeper attendant was an older gentleman named Terry.  He was efficient but not really friendly, and kind of seemed to basically be tired.  I was in a lower level roomette this time, number 13.  I found that I like the upper level on a Superliner sleeper better, because it is a much smoother ride and you can see more.

Lake Pontchartrain

Port Manchac, Louisiana.

Sunset in Mississippi in the Sightseer Lounge Car. 

Sunset as seen from the back window of the sleeper.

I enjoyed watching the sunset in Mississippi, and stretching my legs at the stop in Jackson once again.  I had the best dinner of the whole trip that evening.  One of my companions for the meal was a 62-year-old Chicago businessman returning home from Jackson (we actually remembered each other as he had also been on the same train down as me, and we were roomette neighbors on both trains, as well.)  

 The sleeper car in which I rode on the northbound City of New Orleans, at dusk during our station stop in Jackson, MS.

 My other dinner tablemate, and also a neighbor in the sleeper car, was a young man in his twenties named Jordan, who was riding the train as far as Carbondale, Illinois, and then driving home to Evansville, Indiana where he is a student.  Interestingly, Jordan’s whole family is from Somerset and Monticello, Kentucky, 20 and 50 miles respectively from where I live.  It really is a small world, folks!  Anyway, we all three opted for the New York Strip steak with baked potato for dinner, and it was wonderful!  I had yet another slice of the great Amtrak cheesecake for dessert again, too!

I was stretched out in my bed by the time we made our stop in Memphis, although I lay awake until probably midnight and just watched the nighttime scenery roll by once again.

Thursday, December 15, 2011 – Day Seven

I was up early again, and had breakfast in the dining car with a friendly music professor from the University of Illinois who had just gotten on the train in Champaign.  She was heading for a conference in Chicago later that morning.  I had the French toast and bacon, which were purely to die for!  The idiot penny pinchers in Congress have caused them to have to switch from china to heavy-grade disposable dishes.  But, let me tell you, as far as I’m concerned, Amtrak’s food really still is the kind of great comfort-food-on-rails that you heard people talk about enjoying back in the olden days of railroading!

 Chicago skyline and Metra/Amtrak railyards 

as seen from the inbound City of New Orleans.

I deboarded the City of New Orleans after taking some more good pictures on the ride in.  We arrived about 35 minutes late, not bad at all, and actually the only delay of my whole trip.  I checked my baggage in lounge once again, then walked down a couple of blocks and caught the “L” around to the Art Institute.  I got there a little before time for it to open, so I strolled over to Millennium Park and goofed around at the Cloud Gate, better known as “The Bean,” for a few minutes.

The Cloud Gate, or "Bean," in Chicago's Millennium Park. 

Me clowning around by the "Bean."

The Art Institute was an amazing way to spend a few hours.  From Monet to van Gogh, it was amazing to see some of the world’s great art treasures up close and personal, and surprising to be allowed to take no-flash pictures of them, as well.  After the Art Institute, I took the “L” (actually the Red Line subway part of it) as well as a bus, over to the Navy Pier.  I would imagine this attraction would be a lot more fun in the summer.  However, it was still neat to see the views of the harbor on Lake Michigan, and to stroll through the shopping mall inside and grab some lunch.

 The Art Institute

 American Gothic.

Monet's Water Lilies.

 

 Navy Pier.

I took an express bus back across town to Union Station, and spent the rest of my layover just relaxing, watching TV, and enjoying the free soft drinks and comfortable chairs in the Metropolitan Lounge.  We boarded train 50, the eastbound Cardinal, and by 6pm were heading out of Chicago.  I had a very friendly sleeper attendant named Delisa for the final part of my journey.  I was in roomette 8 on the side of the train that would be toward the Ohio River the following morning.  My last Amtrak dinner was a great pasta dish with an interesting white chocolate and raspberry dessert.  I sat with a charming seventy-something grandmother from Niles, Michigan who was heading to Charlottesville, Virginia to visit relatives, and a lady who was taking the train to Cincinnati to switch to a bus on to her home somewhere else in Ohio.  I went to bed around 11pm as we rolled past the Christmas lights of small town Indiana.   

Friday, December 16, 2011 - Day Eight

I slept well and woke up about 5am, and decided just to go ahead and get dressed and get ready to get off the train.  I sat and watched the Ohio River roll by in the early morning moonlight for awhile.  The fact that I was already awake seemed to pleasantly surprise Delisa when she came by to knock and make sure I was up.  I had another silly Lucy-like moment just before getting off the train, though.   

The conductor had come by about 10 minutes outside Ashland, to also make sure I was ready to de-train.  This was the same old stern conductor who had been on the Cardinal when I had boarded it nearly a week before.  I wasn’t sure, but I thought he said to come on back to one end of the car in just a few minutes.  So, I did.  While I was standing there in the narrow aisle with all of my luggage, one of the ladies from the dinette/lounge came down.  I thought she was just wanting to do something to the coffee pot, so I stood there like a fool, but finally realized (just as the old conductor said so!) that she was needing to get past me so she could get to the dinette.  LOL.  Oh well, as I told them, it was early and coffee that Delisa had nicely brought to me a few moments before had NOT kicked in yet!

I got off the train, which had arrived into Ashland about five minutes early, and was delighted that my car started right up after having sat there for nearly a week.  I stopped in Grayson, Kentucky for a quick Mickey D’s breakfast, then drove the couple of hours on back home.  I was very tired by the time I got home, and didn’t do a lot the rest of Friday except nap and relax.  Now it is late Saturday night, and I’m finishing this blog and reflecting back on what was really a great trip overall, and one I know I’ll always remember and want to repeat when I can.