There is something about traveling on a train.
I had to take a work trip up to New York a few days back and
got a chance to take the Amtrak. I ‘fitted’ well into my seat on the Restaurant
coach, with my laptop perched up the table. (Boss was with me, so had to work,
or at least pretend to work ;). I tapped and clacked away on the keyboard as I
sat, watching the world go by. Tis the season of fall and the leaves were
showing off their best colors. The bright yellows, the burning oranges, and the
fiery reds dashed by distracting me from my document I was trying to focus on.
It was too beautiful to ignore. Mercifully, the wifi on the train was slow and
my eyes were able to sneak in a peak or a few out the window.
The streets, bustling with cars were waving me bye-byes. The
buildings, old and new, were sneering and jeering at me. The river was painting
a picture-perfect poster along with the sleepy boat decks and urging me to buy
it. The far-away mountains beckoned, rather yelled out loud craving for my
attention. The tunnels echoed a sweet whisper in my ear each time it ran by.
And as I emerged from several of them, my eyes feasted on the skyline of one of
the biggest, busiest and the most bustling city of the world, NYC.
I could write an entirely different blog about NYC but
today, lets get back to the station and hop on our train back home. The
once-vibrant colors of the trees, that now looked dull, reminded me of the
evening that had creeped in so early. As the sleepiness of the countryside
replaced the magnificence of the skyscrapers, I let the landscape steal me away,
from the mundane and routine of my life. A bit of tranquility, a dash-full of
solace, amidst the the clickety-clack of the train. The rocking, oh so
soothing, made me drowsy. Even the wine ;) loll. (What better way to end the
day with a glass of Chardonnay). I leaned back, absorbed the sights as it
started fading away into the dusk until it were replaced by my own reflection.
I called home to check on the kids.
As far as I am concerned, train is always the best and the
most comfortable way to travel, especially shorter distances. Flying can come
in handy when the miles run into thousands; however, travel by air is
stiflingly boring. The snarling security lines, the rigid restrictions on
baggage, the crammed-up seats, the haughty stewardesses, and the stiff necks. Ouchy!!!
Wish Amtrak would reduce their tariffs and allow us to travel with families,
and not just on business.
