Denver August 2022 Part 3

Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2. 

Day three, Tuesday, August 23rd began on the Amtrak California Zephyr. Monday ended with the train about an hour behind schedule due to the one undefined and one fire delay. Overnight the train gained back a half hour.

We changed from Central to Mountain time
between McCook, NE and Fort Morgan, CO.
Just about where this photo was taken. 

Estimated arrival in Denver was now 7:45 a.m. (scheduled 7:15 a.m.) The delay meant for a more leisurely breakfast in the dining car. Or so we thought. The dining car opens for breakfast at 6 am. First come first served (For dinner you have reservations). We, and just about everyone else who was planning to disembark at Denver, were in line about 5:55 only to be told there would be a delay. 

As mentioned in Part 1, the SuperLiner trains, such as the Zephyr, have real kitchens with cooks who make the meals mostly to order. Which is great until the griddle decides not to work. 😟 At 6:30ish the dining car steward decided it was best to at least let everyone in and try to smooth things over with coffee and tea. Eventually, the griddle did get working and a good breakfast was had by all. 

Our dining table companions for breakfast were Richard and Denise from Reading, PA. They had boarded the Cardinal with us in Philadelphia and their roomette on that train was just across the aisle. It was like dining with old friends. 😄 They are empty nesters with two sons and they used to live in Norristown, PA. Like us, they had ridden Amtrak before. We enjoyed a pleasant meal exchanging stories with them before all of us headed back to tidy up our roomettes and make any final adjustments to our suitcases before arriving in Denver. 

Our first glimpse of Denver is just to the left of this paragraph. It was also our second, third, fourth and so on. Upon arrival we sat here or just a tad up the line for almost 2 hours. 

First there was (we were told) more computer/switching problems. We heard several announcements apologizing and ending with, we are almost there. It wasn't quite as bad as being told your "almost there" at mile 20 of a marathon but frustrating none the less.

Once that issue was corrected we were informed that the train was picking up a "private car" and would be moving and stopping several more times before it would be our turn to de-train. That process involved a significant distance backing up. 

In case you haven't realized it yet, you do not plan to be anywhere at a certain time when you travel by Amtrak. Always give yourself wiggle room because there are any number of reasons for running late. While switching /computer problems and apartment building fires were the reasons for this trip, on other trips it was due to freight trains in the way or needing to pass. We knew this going in. We purposely planned our baseball game for the day after arrival just in case. So the delays here, although frustrating because the view never changed, were more comical than than upsetting. We had brought plenty of reading material. Though we did regret having decided against packing a deck of cards. 

At 9:45 a.m. we were off the train and headed in to Denver's Union Station. Our hotel for the next two nights was about 30 minutes away near the airport so we'd have access to an early morning shuttle before leaving on Thursday. The hotel attached to Union Station will hold passenger's bags for $12 a day. We decided that made more sense than an hour round trip to check them into our hotel. That turned out to be an even better decision than we knew for reasons I'll explain later. 

Bag checked, restrooms visited and off we went for our walk about Downtown Denver. First we headed to the state Capitol complex about a mile away. Upon arrival, we inquired about the tours and there was one just starting. Brenda, our guide, took us and one other visitor (from Paris) up, down, around, in and out of various parts of the building. She seemed very knowledgeable (although truth be told she could have been making it up and we wouldn't really know now would we?). 

The tour culminates in a climb to the dome of the Capital building. There are 99 steps to the top. At least that's what their website claims. I didn't count them. I was just happy that they were sturdy and enclosed with no view that would trigger my aversion to heights. And the climb felt good after sitting on a train for two days. Once at the top (actually two levels down form the top top) you enter a round room with views of the city like this one --- 

After the tour we left the building and tried to find the Mile High marker. Despite a map and, at one point, an arrow allegedly pointing in its direction we did not find it. Truth be told after two nights of fitful sleep (remember the train horn and the bumpy rails) we were both a little punchy and could have walked right past it. 

We began our return trip to the station via the 16th Street Mall. The street is closed to all traffic except for a free bus that runs the length of it. The mall's website tells us "Designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, the pedestrian promenade is made of red, white and gray granite in a repeating pattern that, seen from above, resembles the skin of a diamondback rattlesnake." It boasts shops, restaurants and fun activities along it's length. Unfortunately for us it was undergoing massive renovation while we were there so we did not get to see much more than construction fences and machinery. 

Back in the area of Union Station we wandered a bit more. This area, we learned from historical markers, was once a warehouse district. The boxy shape of the buildings certainly supports that. Taking advantage of proximity of the rail lines, the architects of these buildings created warehouse and corporate office space for the town as it changed over from mining gold to managing merchandise. 

We stopped inside The Sugar Building. Today it appeared to be a mixed use retail/residential building and still has a working Otis Cage Elevators. Dave reported that the ride was very smooth. 

We finished our day with a very good, albeit early, dinner at The Thirsty Lion before boarding the train to the Airport where the hotel shuttle would pick us up. 

Denver's public transit system is decent. It's not as extensive as other cities we've visited but it's also smaller than most of those. There is a one day fare pass for $10.50 ($5.25 or seniors) that included all buses and trains and the A-Line to the airport. So for the two days we would need to use public transit, the cost would be $31.50 for unlimited off and on the system. Quite reasonable.  HOWEVER, due to Colorado Senate Bill 22-180 the state was celebrating Zero Fare for Cleaner Air for the month of August. We lucked out on that one!! Timing really is everything 💚

There was (and based on news reports has been) trouble on the rail lines. On Tuesday, we had to take a shuttle bus between three stops on the airport line. This added time to the ride and our growing fatigue. Still we arrived safe and... well safe.. at our hotel and after checking in and doing our best to stay awake until a 'decent' hour we slept soundly that night. 

Keep Smiling and Keep Moving

-Paula 

Denver August 2022 Part 2

If you'd like to read Part 1 first, click here. 

Day Two, Monday, August 22nd began on the Amtrak Cardinal moving out of Indianapolis. It was a very foggy morning. The fog clouds were so low that we could see only a few feet of the windmill stands with regular slow moving passes of the windmill arms. 

We gained an hour when the time changed from Eastern to Central time zones between Lafayette and Rensselaer, Indiana. And yes we were watching our phones to see if we could observe the change as it happened. Of course we missed it. However, I took this photo as soon as we noticed it. 

We arrived in Chicago at almost the scheduled time of 10 a.m. Sleeper car tickets gave us access to the lounge where we could store our bags and head out for a walkabout Chicago. We had 4 hours until the next train so 3.5 hours to wander. 

We've experienced an Amtrak layover in Chicago many years ago when we travelled from Philadelphia to Seattle. For the record, on that trip we took the Capitol Limited from Philadelphia to Chicago. On that previous trip we walked down to Navy Pier and back. Having less time on this layover, and not wanting to do the same thing again, I used Google Maps to plot out a 2 mile-ish walk to Lake Michigan and back. We had plenty of time to do that and stop along the way. 

Google maps showed me the "Relish Chicago Hot Dog" stand near the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue. I never knew that Chicago Hot Dogs were a thing and discovering this we had to try them. According to Wikipedia "The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the many toppings." It made me think of Primantis Brothers sandwiches, but for hot dogs. 

Chicago is one of the HQ locations for the REALTOR Association (the national tier of my employer). In August there are a lot of leadership meetings and workshops. I wasn't sure of this year's schedule and I was wondering if I would see any REALTORS wandering around. I did see one man with a REALTOR pin but not anyone I know. 

However, on our return walk to the station, I saw two people sitting at a window counter at Dunkin Donuts. These two people are REALTORS from my local Association, but they were NOT there on real estate business. They, too were on vacation and happened to stop overnight in Chicago. Even stranger is the fact that they had planned to stop at two other coffee places but both were too crowded so they settled on this Dunkin Donuts. Had there been room in their 1st or 2nd choices we would not have seen them. I'm still kicking myself for not getting a photo of the four of us. 

(By the way, the REALTOR all caps is a trademark thing and seeing as how compliance is one of the hats I wear at work, I can't write the word any other way). 

We arrived back at Chicago's Union Station a little after noon. Our train, the California Zephyr, was due to leave at 2 pm. We settled in to read books and wait. About 1:45 they called our train and we followed our guide to the platform. No elevator ride at this station. Also there were only 4 of us boarding the Cardinal at Philadelphia. Here there were many many people getting on the Zephyr. 

Our journey on the Zephyr was not as timely as the Cardinal. **Spoiler Alert** We arrived in Denver 2.5 hours late. The first delay came almost immediately out of the station in Chicago. The conductor announced that there was a signaling issue and that although no one on board the train could discern a reason for it, the train had a red light and had no choice but to wait.  

About a half hour later we stopped again. This time due to fire fighter activity in Mendota, Il. The photo in the linked article shows how close the tracks are to the fire. The air was so thick with smoke, the train engineer had to wait likely because visibility was low. Even when we were allowed to go through it, the smoke was pretty heavy. (if you scroll down in the article there is a slideshow with more photos). As far as I can tell from various articles available, there were no fatalities but several people did have to go to the hospital. 

Since the Zephyr is a SuperLiner model we did have dinner in the dining car. Amtrak's approach to meals in the dining car is called "community dining". If you are a  group of less than 4 you will be seated with others. And those not ready for this after COVID, can have their meals brought to their rooms. The community dining aspect is one of our favorite things about long distance train travel. It may seem strange to my fellow introverts, but part of the beauty of it is that you have no choice. You can ease into conversation with the one thing everyone at the table has in common. You are all on a train going somewhere. So there is a script of sorts to start things off - sharing your name, where you are from, where you are going and why. Things do sort of flow from there. 

We dined with a father and son, Bob and Tyler.  Bob and Tyler are from West Chester, NY. They were on their way to Denver as well. (It turns out they were also on the Cardinal earlier that day). They were celebrating Tyler's first job with a paid vacation. Bob is (early) retired from Phillips. He is enjoying retirement except for the need to pay for his own health insurance since he's not old enough for Medicare yet. Except for the less than helpful retirement medical plan, he enjoyed his time at Phillips. He began there as a college intern and was hired right out of college. Tyler (the son) is a train enthusiast and only wanted to talk about /share everything he knew about trains. I'll admit this was challenging to listen to. His passion soon became a bit annoying. It is what it is and it takes all kinds to keep the world smiling and moving, right? (At least that is what I kept silently telling myself)

Dave and Tony exchanging
stories of working on the railroad

After dinner we returned to our roomette and asked Tony, our sleeping car attendant, to turn the room over after the fresh air break. Certain stops on each long distance train are designated fresh air (smoke 'em if you have to) stops. Usually, there is something else going on like a crew change or taking on supplies or, as is the case in DC, switching engines. (see part 1). 

This stop was in Ottumwa Iowa. When I learned the Zephyr had a stop there I was hoping it was a fresh air stop so we could take a photo of the station sign. I would have liked to get one with us in the photo but the angle wasn't right for that and there wasn't anyone near enough to take it for us. Here's a link to information I just learned today!! Who knew that Radar O'Reilly was based on a real person from Ottumwa, Iowa! 

Here is a description and route map for the California Zephyr. 

We spent our daylight hours in Illinois and Iowa. Our overnight hours were mostly in Nebraska. The train whistle was not used as much this night but the tracks were in bumpy shape. Being on the top of the double decker train car meant we really felt the rocking back and forth. 

Both Tony and Dave were amused that I wanted my head facing in the direction of the train. They both said it was 'normal' to have your feet facing that direction. My logic was that I wanted my head away from the steps that Dave would use to descend. Given the bumpy ride I think my choice made perfect sense!! And 'normal' is over-rated. Note, Tony cheerfully turned the mattress around for me. 

Keep Smiling and Keep Moving,

-Paula 

Denver August 2022 Part 1

Now that the virus-that-shall-not-be-named is sort of controlled we decided to book a vacation to Denver so Dave could get is Denver Rockies baseball hat. Here are my thoughts on that trip. I keep a notebook handy on these trips and jot things down as I go. Then using memory jogged from the notes supplemented with Internet searches I can write this record of the highlights of our trip. I'm not sure how many parts there will be. Likely at least three. Stay tuned. Or not, your choice. 😄

We started out on Sunday, August 21st. First step was Septa regional rail. We took the newly minted Media/Wawa train from Media to 30th Street. The extension from Elwyn to a new station at Wawa was just completed. In fact, the train we took was the inaugural run from Wawa to Center City. And it was three minutes late. LOL. 

In the grand scheme of things (and this trip in particular), three minutes is not significant although it is puzzling since it was a Sunday and the official ribbon cutting had taken place the Friday before. There were a lot of people on the train 6:00 am on a Sunday. I think many, if not all of them, were doing what Dave and I would likely have done had we not had plans. That is, wanting to be one of the first to ride from Wawa to Center City. 

We arrived at 30th Street just before 7 am and we made our way to the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge to await our 8:15 am train to Chicago. Lounge access is a perk of being a sleeping car passenger. It's a quiet, comfortable space to wait with coffee, tea, water and snacks. About half an hour before departure we were led to an elevator that took us down to the boarding platform. 

On this trip we would be on two different Amtrak trains. The Cardinal, our train from Philadelphia to Chicago, was a Viewliner model and from Chicago to Denver we were on the California Zephyr, a Superliner model. The primary differences are this: 

• Superliner models are double decker trains; Viewliner models are single level trains and are necessary on trains that travel north of Washington DC because of the low clearance tunnels in Baltimore and NYC. 
• Superliner models have formal dining cars with a kitchen and food is mostly cooked to order; Viewliner models have café cars with a modified menu of heat and serve items. 
• Roomettes on the Viewliner models have higher ceilings so the person in the top bunk can sit up in bed. They are also slightly wider. 

Due to the dining differences, Bateman, our sleeping car attendant on the Cardinal, also brought us our meals. There are tables in the café car but when COVID hit, they stopped serving there and haven't resumed yet (at least not on the Cardinal). Here is sample menu for the Cardinal meals. They were really quite good for heat and serve items. 

The Cardinal originates in New York and ends in Chicago. Here is a link to a description with a route map. The daytime hours heading West took us through PA, MD, VA and WVa.  

Most of this first part of the Cardinal trip was cloudy and overcast with occasional showers. It was particularly foggy (yet very pretty) between Charlottesville and Staunton West Virginia. There was a vulture convention near Greenbriar, WV.  Hundreds of vultures, on rooftops and in the fields, yet no roadkill that I could see. According to this Internet find  "vultures are invading West Virginia, having migrated from Central and South America about 45 years ago and now settling up the East Coast." Ok, then. It was spooky. 

Shortly after dinner, we passed through Thurmond, WVa. If you blinked you might miss it. Quaint is a word that easily describes it. Banners hanging from light poles referred to the town as "Historic Thurmond". The buildings were adorable! According to the town website, "Thurmond hosted the Guinness Book of World Record's longest poker game, is one of Travel & Leisure's coolest ghost towns in America". We may have to go back for a visit!! 

Around 8 PM, Bateman turned our room into upper and lower bunks and we settled in for the night. Lights out at 9 pm. It was too dark to see anything and we had been on the move since well before 5 am. Overnight the train travelled through KY, OH, and into Indianapolis, IN. Kentucky must have a lot of road crossings because the train whistle was going most of the night. The ride was comfortable but noisy. 

I woke up at around 5 am to a motionless train in Indianapolis. I'm not sure how long we were there
before I woke up but it was almost an hour after that before we left. Part of that time the train was quiet, shut down. Later, as we were going around a bend where I could see the front of the train, it was obvious we had picked up quite a few cars while we were stopped. I've tried several different variations of Internet searches to discover why and have not found any reason. I wonder if that's a regular thing or a one-off. 

Keep Smiling Keep Moving,

-Paula 

I Will Still Donate Because I Can

For the moment (at least a couple of months) I will be donating whole blood not platelets. It's disappointing and a bit confusing so I share the details here in case any reader has a similar experience. 

It turns out my blood sample tested positive for HLA - Human Leukocyte Antigen - antibodies. According to the Red Cross information provided to me "Every individual has a unique combination of HLA on their cells. Your immune system uses HLA to identify which cells belong in your body and which do not – like bacteria and viruses. When you have an immune response, your body forms antibodies against that antigen." 

The danger is that the HLA antibodies could cause a "serious and sometimes fatal transfusion reaction called TRALI (transfusion-related acute lung injury)" in the recipient. 

The donor (in this case ME) is in no danger. The antibodies are produced by our own bodies if we have received blood transfusions in the past or been exposed to fetal blood during a pregnancy. In my case, it it is likely the latter. 

The good news  - "Antibodies are found in the plasma portion of blood, so they are present in highest quantities in plasma products, followed by platelets. Therefore, donors with anti-HLA antibodies are not eligible to donate plasma or platelets. An individual with anti-HLA antibodies can still donate whole blood or red cells because plasma is removed from these products during collection or manufacturing." I have already made my appointment for whole blood later this month. 👍

Additional (potential) good news -  The screening tests are "highly sensitive so as not to miss any true results of “reactive.” The tradeoff is that we will also see false “reactive” results." Therefore, I have also been informed that the red cross will retest my sample in a few months and if they get a negative test at that time, they will clear me to give platelets again. Unfortunately the platelets donated on Friday are already past their useful life so they will not be used. 

Keep Smiling Keep Moving (and Keep Doing What I Can) 

Don't let disappointment of not being able to do exactly what you want to do, get in the way of doing something. 

- Paula 

I Donate Because I Can

 

Today, I donated platelets for the first time. 

Today was my third attempt. I had an appointment about 8 months ago and 'chickened out'. I had another appointment about 6 months ago and was deferred due to an online scheduling glitch that was beyond my control. At the time of this second attempt I still wasn't sure I could go through with it so my fear rationalized that this was a sign I was not supposed to. 

Why the fear? Mostly, I think, it's fear of the unknown. Oh and that the process involves taking blood out of one arm, removing platelets and a bit of plasma and returning what's left in the other arm. It's the retuning part that had me all heebie-jeebied. 

In the final analysis it came down to this: 

A - I am a healthy 62 year old with no history of disease or illness. B - I know (way too many) family and friends who are, or were, dealing with cancer and other situations causing them to need platelets.  

A   +     B    =     I can MUST DO THIS. 

If you are considering this, and have reservations, perhaps I can help. Although as with anything else everyone's experience is going to be different. Which is why my first recommendation - if you are a Facebook participant - is joining the "American Red Cross Platelet Donors Group". It was recommended to me by a friend and I am grateful for that. The group is super supportive and happy to share experiences which really helps alleviate the anxiety. Among other things I learned my anxiety wasn't just me. 

I'm not gonna lie, it was not the most comfortable thing I've ever done. It wasn't horrible though and the discomfort is nothing compared to what patients who need the platelets are going through. That thought helped me power through. 

The process is long. About two hours on the bed. Remember when your parents made you go to the bathroom before the long car ride even though you didn't think you need to? It's like that. Don't turn down any opportunity to pee before getting on the bed. The phlebotomist insisted on it just like your parents would. Going in, I was worried that my mind would fixate on this and cause a problem that didn't exist. Turns out there was way too much going on to even give that a second thought. 

I was also worried about needing to scratch something and having to ask someone else to do it for me since both arms are in use and moving them is a BAD idea. I learned I could tolerate a lot more than I thought I could although I did need help wiping my nose after a sneezing fit. The staff were not fazed by that at all. 

The sneezing was a reaction to the tinging in my nose which was a reaction to the citrate treatment used to keep the blood from clotting in the tubes of the machine. The citrate pulls calcium out of your blood to keep it, the blood, from clotting. It caused my whole body to tingle and feel kind of numb. So I need to increase my calcium intake better before the next donation. I thought I had but obviously not enough. 

The citrate reaction, even though I had been warned about it, made me have a mini panic attack. They offered to stop the process but once they assured me I was fine and the feeling was normal, I calmed down and we kept going. 

The other issue for me was being cold. I brought a blanket as instructed but it was not enough. If you know me, you know I am often cold even in hot weather. Air conditioning and I are not friends. This process seemed to exacerbate that for me. The return arm was especially cold. I was told that was due to the saline solution returning my blood parts to me. Next time, I will wear some layers on my torso and a glove on the hand of my return arm. 

Shout out to the Red Cross workers who went out of their way to make things as comfortable as possible. Explaining everything along the way. 

Ok there you have it. If you are able, please donate. Blood, Platelets or Plasma if you qualify for that. If we are able, this is a simple thing we can do to help others. 

Keep Smiling Keep Moving

-Paula