Travel Hurricane

Travel is something we all enjoy, whether it is a weekend away or a day trip with the family; everyone needs to get away from it all. Right now, with the end of summer, the start of school, and the transition of seasons, the holiday rush is upon us, and boy, do we see the shocking effect of what is to come. If you don't know or haven't traveled, let’s take a look at the significant change that occurred in the short span from late October to early November. This was a wild ride indeed.

The trip started usually enough: a ride to the airport, a post to friends on Facebook, something snarky, just like me as I say bye to family, either in the car or on the phone, nothing big, 2 hours in the air, and landing no problem, except that we go to land and wait to taxi.

You must understand that the government shutdown has halted pay for a sector that is so vital to travel that a delay in landing is expected. We understand that waiting for 30 minutes can be frustrating, with some getting upset, but there are no real problems, just minor fussing; however, we make it okay. My stay in Jersey was, as always, its own separate adventure, but well worth the travel.

As I prepare to fly home, TSA's problems have escalated to a whole new level. Not to bad yet but choosing which is better plane or train, I have the five business days before I leave and we decide a train, the wait at the airport is just too long and I get to ride on my favorite train Amtrak has, perfect for me, buddy its booked already in my mind I know exactly where I am and its not even the day of yet.

You already know that the next morning the week slows to a crawl because I was too excited for it to pass quickly. It has been sung throughout timelines about watching that face with arms. No surprise when Friday hit, trying to get out the door and to the train station. Everything in the world could go right, but it went back and to the side, and nowhere to be found. Through the grace of every worshiping deity and servant thereof, I made it with three angels pushing me and the whole body of glory behind them, making sure I had everything I needed to succeed to get me back where I needed to be. I owe them the Taj Mahal. I am now home safe. However, the road here was not the easiest.

If you have been watching the news about 110 flights being cancelled by the federal government, about the same time I got on my first train, we are all good right now. You know, the train staff is a little fidgety because they are just a little off. If you have ridden on Amtrak, this is not like them; they have standards of care and service, plus if you take a job to be an employee on a train, I'm almost positive it is not for the paycheck, you do it for the love of the rails, sights, sounds, and that whistle. Children dream of that whistle, and if you carry that in your heart, they never want to disappoint the passengers. Of course, you would never want to leave a bad mark on a passenger, so I know it is never a personal thing for any employee.

My transfer to the second train was supposed to be simple, and I had a decent plan. While working on my master's, I am trying to start a small day trip food travel blog, nothing big, just something to occupy my time and introduce my grandbaby to more foods than just chicken nuggets. If you know a 5-year-old, you already understand, and if you stay at home in this economy, something inexpensive and close for you to get them out of the house is well-needed. The math adds up, so now I have an idea for my layover: find a restaurant and start it a little bit further away from home. This is where travel and calm meet before the storm, and take the adventure to the level of a travel hurricane.

I got off the train at the Pittsburgh, PA, train station and went to check my bag. The dear fellow who checked my bag was tired and stressed. I already knew that with so many flights canceled, delayed, and turned around, they were seeing people coming in, trying to get tickets either by train or at the bus station right across the street, which was in full gear and loaded down. So, it was no surprise that everyone was running on fumes. I ask a few questions, get settled with that and decide on a burger from this place across the street, Bill's Bar & Burger, tired and fussy I could not figure out how to get in the place, it was in the bottom floor of a tall building, the Westin Pittsburgh, with too many locked doors and I was not going mad for any reason, plan B or plan whatever combination of letters and numbers I was on now, went into action. I found a taco place, Condado Tacos, with good reviews and thought, 'Great, this works; in we go.' The place was busy, making it hard to get in the door. Travelers stuck in Pittsburgh, from both the train and the bus, filled the restaurant, where staff did their best to accommodate them, but everyone had to eat. I sat at the bar. The bartender came over, explained the menu, and told me about the different items. I ordered two build-your-own tacos, some queso, chips, and an iced tea. I never got my iced tea. I had water to drink, plus the place is busy, so we are not going to be anywhere near the hurricane, which is hitting everyone in the travel industry, and this is showing right now. The queso and chips come out.

The seasoning in the queso is good; however, the queso itself seemed off, like canned cheese dip. It's possible that there is a shortage of supplies in the back or an ordering error, but this could also be a contributing factor to the storm. No need to get upset, chaos must happen. The chips seem to be from a bag cold and very late night last ditch effort, I get it now, they are running low and why the whole travel industry is running its been how many months of lay offs working without pay not being able to afford food in your own fridge and now this, give them a break, everyone is trying for each other at this point not just their own families.  The tacos come out, which shows the quality of their food. The chicken was beautiful, it was juicy and sweet, with bright flavors, and had a wonderful lingering flavor left behind in your mouth that made you want to savor the bites, not gulp it down like a ravenous beast. The peppers and onions had some excellent bright snap and bite. I wish they could have been cut a little smaller, but rushing in a storm is expected, so I accepted what the reality was and ate it. I really wanted to finish what I ordered; however, I ordered two for the sake of pictures, so off we go.

Back at the train station, I pass by the bus station door, where a gentleman opens the doors for tips. We are all trying to survive out here. Hats off to my friend; start where you can and build from there. I tell him I am going to the train station, and we nod at each other; then I go on. I get back to Amtrak with an hour to spare, charge some devices, and get ready to go upstairs to take some pictures. I never realized how exciting doing something could feel, but I was really enjoying myself and having fun. I was snapping photos and taking notes on my phone, it was amazing, I found a place in my heart for a job I actually love for the first time I could remember. Little did I know this hurricane, far away from the ocean, was coming directly in contact with me.

My train was delayed by 30 minutes due to a malfunction—truth nobody knew why. One employee is standing there waiting for the train to arrive, but it’s a no-show. Another text came; it's delayed another 30 minutes. We now have more employees and carts going to the train, 2 to 3 miles out, trying to get it fixed. Boarding time was actually midnight, or 11:59, but why split that minute? Therefore, the delay time was easy to track and trust, as the whole lobby was watching the clock. The employees were trying their best to check luggage so we could leave and go places, even though the policy is not to check luggage after 11 pm. I figured, because it was that late, it had to be a low staff count, and they provide snacks, not having a café.  It was what they could do, and I am sure that was a hunt for them to find. While we at the station were getting restless, I could only imagine the people on the train felt, getting off the train in the dark, in the cold, 2 to 3 miles outside of the city limits to smoke, or sitting on the train, not sure what was wrong or if another train might roll up and not see you. I realize that some people see this as far-fetched, other people have worst-case-scenario brains, and that is where their mind goes. In all, the train was delayed until past 5:30 am, and some people missed connections, while others missed appointments, meetings, or family events. When we arrived at the next station, Chicago, IL, Amtrak called the individuals with problems to an area to discuss the issues face-to-face. I believe this was the best course of action because we all prefer our issues to be resolved with people rather than a machine. It's just the humanity of a problem being fixed by a person.

Now I am so close to the spot where I want to be sitting. Five hours and counting, thirty dollars in my pocket, and my plan intact. Nothing can break me now, but that damn storm. I am not the swiftest with phones. I know where things are if they are organized, but I am lost if they are not. It is by far the nature of some people, and that is where I land on the technology scale.

Trying to buy a bag of cheddar and kettle corn popcorn for my grandbaby, and I cannot get my card to work. It is maddening when you have what you need but cannot use your own resources. I call for help, I pace, turn my phone off and on, go out in the rain, jumping up, and I am now that crazy, scary person, unmedicated, in the train station and scaring people. I may now be the storm, you know, the permanent crash out that winds you up in a mental ward. Oh, please, just a simple thing, and I'm having trouble figuring it out. I am going to the vending machines no luck, something has to work I call my daughter, she settles me, centers me . she talks me down to something calmer and to be honest if I was in a saner state of mind I probably could have figured it out if I could have just thought it thru however it has been a long 2 days at this point and if you travel long distance not the shortest way you understand a travel crash out is never the easiest to work through. I call tech support. We get something set up on my phone and the sweetest people in the world at the pretzel place, Auntie Anne's, waited patiently while the tech guy on the phone and the crazy hair a mess two day old clothes on her back, yes me, all trying to get 10 bucks off my phone into his cash register so I could get a pretzel with one hour to go before I am on the city of New Orleans and boy were those two beautiful people sent straight from a land of milk and honey I will never know who sent them would be a bold truth.  We figured it out, just like NASA solving a problem, and I took my winnings downstairs, feeling like a king at a feast. I finished just in time to get in line for my train. After everything was settled in, I got my water bottle, found my seat to watch the night roll by and respecting the fact of what it really takes for the nation to come together to get one person half way across the united states in almost a man made storm of a government shut down with no paychecks and hungry families still coming together to keep us all moving forward. With that, let me leave you with this: we are all trying our best, so please don’t make it harder for the next person.