One Minute Before Midnight: The Journey Begins

I arrived at the Amtrak station last night with mixed thoughts running through my mind. Apparently, there were a few too many thoughts because I got out of the taxi and left my backpack behind!

Thankfully, the driver was paying attention. He called out to me before pulling away and handed me my backpack.

That little moment made me wonder: Am I more anxious about this trip than I realize?

Maybe some of that anxiety comes from my previous train experiences. I’ve had trains arrive three hours late. I’ve even spent six hours sitting on a train because of weather delays. When you’ve experienced enough of those moments, I guess you learn not to expect everything to go according to schedule.

But this trip started differently.

The train actually arrived early!

Our scheduled departure time was 11:59 PM. I had to smile when I saw that. Imagine that—one minute before midnight! And right on schedule, we departed.

Once we were moving, the ride was smooth. I settled in and got something I definitely needed: sleep and rest.

There was one small lesson in giving up control. I didn’t get to choose exactly where I wanted to sit because the seat was assigned to me. Sometimes you just have to accept what has been given to you, sit down, and enjoy the ride.

And apparently the train was determined to surprise me because we arrived in Chicago early, too!

Now I’m sitting in the passenger lounge, which is quite nice. There are light foods and refreshments available, and I have plenty of time to relax because my next train to Kingman, Arizona, doesn’t leave until 1:30 PM.

So what do you do when you have hours to spend in a train station?

People-watch, of course.

As I’ve been sitting here watching people come and go, I noticed something interesting. There are a lot of Boomers and older adults traveling by train.

Maybe this is what we do in our retirement years!

We have a little more time. We’re not always rushing to get somewhere as quickly as possible. Perhaps the journey itself becomes part of the experience.

And maybe that is something I need to remember on this trip.

I’ll close for now.

My next update will be from my roomette aboard the Southwest Chief.