K004: How are we numbering these?
Dear Emily,
I am writing this from the tracks of a Northeast Regional Amtrak - according to the train app, it will cross the southern span of Rhode Island in about ten minutes, which leaves me just enough time to write you a message. (I am also listening to Adeem the Artist - with headphones, I'm not a monster - after your recent email).
While this trip had no delay, the other portion of my ride was significantly delayed. This downside of Amtrak transportation is likely one reason that train transportation doesn't even get its own statistical category on Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year.1
As you know, I love to have train travel on my itinerary. I think that I’ve been on a train in every country that I’ve traveled to, with the exception of smaller island nations like Grenada. (I’ll never get over the immaculate precision of the Swedish airport train).
So today, I’m keeping a log of my 5.5 hours of train activities to encourage both of us to remain steadfast rail travelers.
1) Played two rounds of the easily transportable game Love Letter (2012) with my fellow traveler - our brother - and failed both times to get my favor to the princess. My rivals ultimately knocked me out of contention.
2) Enjoyed the view of the TRENTON MAKES THE WORLD TAKES bridge.2
3) Took advantage of decent cell service in Connecticut to complete lots of tasks on my to-do list: YMCA membership, job applications, ordering a few Christmas gifts, scheduling car maintenance, writing newsletter emails.
4) Finished Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, which I absolutely loved. I highly recommend it if you haven’t stumbled upon it yet.
5) Researched books on Amtrak history, but didn’t have much luck. I set a few more general US train history books aside at the library but I’ll continue looking into this.
6) I started and got through a significant portion of Cher's The Memoir Part One, which I'm enjoying so far.
This is a short email, but so is the distance between Westerly and Kingston!
Enjoy your travels, whatever means they are by,
Kate
AAA coverage puts a combined 2.3 million Americans on trains, buses, and cruises in comparison to 5.84 million flying domestically and 71.74 million by car. ↩
Linking the Wikipedia article on the Lower Trenton Bridge to spread knowledge of this important landmark. ↩