Train trip to and from San Diego

Marty and I just returned from our Amtrak trip to San Diego.  I love love trains. While I am able I wanted to visit friends and go by train.  I have way too many pictures and did edit some.  Did I tell you I love love trains. 

Because I must wear a mask around people and I tire easily, Marty booked us a roomette.  That way the mask could come off and I could get in the upper berth to rest.  It was a great fun trip.  Now on to the pictures.

We used our phones a lot.  No Wi-Fi except in the Parlor car, so Marty set up a hot spot with his phone.  When not looking at the beautiful scenery, I read a book on my Ipad.  We also napped.

 



 

California has lots of oil fields.  One area was many acres of pumping oil rigs, not the picture above.  This is in Kern County. 

 

View from the top berth.

 

Nap time

 

A foggy day on the Pacific coast line.

 

 

The coast line through a dirty window.

 

 

When we arrived in LA, all first class passengers were driven to a private lounge to wait for our next train.  Then we were picked up and taken to our loading area.  The lounge had soft drinks, tea, coffee, water, and snacks.  It was a beautiful room, lots of wood, comfortable chairs, and TV.

 

 

Business Class on the commuter train to San Diego.  Snacks, drinks, reclining seats with foot rests. 

 

 

Our friends wonderful gorgeous home.  It is good to visit here.

 

Turning around from above picture, the view.  We are looking toward Mexico.  There was a major storm front coming in from Mexico, and it was hazy.



 

And we are back on the commuter train headed home.  What did we do before we had cell phones?  Oh right, we read books and talked.

 

 

My side of the roomette.

 

 

Marty's side, he picked it because the plug to charge phones was on that side.

 

 

 Gorgeous view

 

 Winding around horseshoe curves

 

Marty and me in the Dining Car.  We had a great trip. Talked to interesting people, ate good food, and just enjoyed the ride.  Love train trips.

Health Update with some other stuff

This has been a busy week, some good, some not so good.  I posted last week about the great news of the tumor being smaller.  I earlier had posted about my leg infection that was clearing up.  Well, that didn't continue.

I talked to the advice nurse and had a phone appointment with a doctor on last Sunday.  I had finished the antibiotic and the swelling and redness began to increase.  They started me on another 10 day round of antibiotics, a different one from what I had been on.  Monday I went into oncology for my weekly lab work.  I told them what was going on, the nurse checked my legs, and then said not to go home yet.  She wanted my oncologist to check me out.  The decision had to be made on whether or not I had chemo on Tuesday.  

The doctor looked at my legs and talked to Marty and me.  She knew we were leaving on our Amtrak adventure on Wednesday.  She said no chemo, (so I will have 2 weeks off)  with the infection I might have more side effects and that could ruin my trip.  She changed the antibiotics back to the one Baylor hospital had put me on.  It had fewer side effects and we knew I had done well on it.

So here I am in San Diego a week later with ankles most of the time and very little redness.  ( I will do another post about Amtrak and San Diego later this week.)  I have had no trouble with the antibiotic and it seems to be doing the job for me.  We will see how things go when I finish the bottle later this week.

A little bit about San Diego.  I am walking in the pool everyday.  I am eating well and often. I feel good and not as tired.  Our wonderful friends/hosts Richard and Luis are really taking good care of me.  We eat out, Richard cooks for me, and today Luis' family is coming for a pool party and to see me. 

Internet is spotty, I thinks our computers are home bodies and don't like traveling.  I will post a blog with pictures when we get home.  I don't want to be in the middle of posting and lose internet connection for several hours.  That is not good for my blood pressure.

Amtrak riding buddy.

I am not overly fond of flying.  In fact for years I refused to get on a plane. I did some group therapy and have managed to get on planes either with Valium or Bourbon. I rode Amtrak for a few house buying trips when we were transferred.  Marty and Erik would put me on the train then fly to the destination, and pick me when I rolled in. 

In January 1982 we were transferred back to Louisville KY.  Chicago was as close as I could to get to Louisville by train.  Marty arranged for someone working for him to pick me up and bring me Louisville to buy a house  (the driver was visiting family in Chicago.)  So I did not have to fly.

When we got to the station in Martinez all the passengers were all agog.  Pointing, whispering, asking for autographs.  I looked at the man and I had no idea who he was.  The friend who drove me to the station said it's John Madden.  The link is for those like me at the time who have no idea who he is.  It was patiently explained to me by Ann telling me to look at his ring, a huge Super Bowl ring.  He also was a local radio commentator and did commentary on pro football games.  I rarely do pro sports.  And only when the local teams are in playoffs.  The ring was won before I moved to California.

Marty and I are more about University of Kentucky basketball.  Go CATS!!!

John and I have one thing in common, we do not like to fly.  This was before his fancy bus days.  He rode the train and then had drivers if he couldn't get to his final destination by train. There was also a golf pro (no idea what his name was, a minor pro) who wouldn't fly after he was ditched in a lake while in the military.  And then there was me.

John Madden is a lovely down to earth man.  He got on the train with an entourage and I thought fancy star, will be a pain.  Wrong.  Every time he walked through the cars he spoke to me, if he saw me in the dining car he spoke. In the bar car we had conversations.  We talked about me buying a house, we talked about the scenery. We talked about the golf pro in the lake.  We chatted for 2000 miles.  It didn't matter that I knew nothing about sports.  He can talk about lots of other things.  It was a lovely cross country trip.

I am sure he doesn't remember me, he met lots of people in his train riding days.  But I will never forget meeting him.  He was fun, he was just a guy, he didn't act like a super star, he didn't hog the conversation.  And that attitude makes him a Super Star in my book.