Onward to New Orleans

March 25 – 26

Having arranged last night for a taxi to arrive this morning at 7:30, we scurried to get showered and packed. We had done our laundry the night before but the dryer didn't work right. We woke up to still-damp clothes hanging all over our room. We got some more change and threw everything back in the dryer for a bit, while getting a breakfast buffet to-go from the hotel.

Our taxi arrived 15 minutes early so we made her wait. I absolutely hate rushing. In the highly perfumed car was a sign, “Feel free to throw up in my car if you want to pay $200”. Appetizing. I couldn't wait to eat my cold scrambled eggs and egg-scented muffin.

In ten minutes we were sitting in the station, opening up our no-longer-steaming styrofoam boxes. It was then that I realized I left my full cup of coffee in the taxi cup holder. I had no water bottle, but I did have a paper cup full of grapes. They say “necessity is the mother of invention”. I filled my grape cup with water and just drank from there before eating the grapes.

The six hour ride on a full train to Wilson, NC was pleasant enough. The only problem was that we had a fairly close connection there and we had almost immediately fallen behind. I spoke to the conductor and he assured me he'd keep an eye on the time and make sure we made the connection. Despite being busy, he did check back with us later and assure us that we were making up time and should have no problem. And he was right. We rolled into Wilson with some time to spare and right across the street was a Jamaican deli. Every train since we got off the Empire Builder in Chicago has had only a cafe car, not a dining car. Thus, when we are traveling we've only had access to snacky foods like pretzels and hummus or pre-made sandwiches. The thought of a freshly-made deli sandwich was enough to risk missing our train to Charlotte.

With the coach fairly crowded, we opted to spend most of this leg of our journey in the cafe car, enjoying our sandwiches and playing Bananagrams, until they closed the car and kicked us back to our coach seats.


Charlotte, North Carolina has an old, medium-sized station where we would camp out from 8:00 pm until about 2:30 am. We staked out a corner on the back bench where the lights weren't so bright and attempted to sleep on the beautiful, but very hard, wooden benches. Alyssa at least dozed but I kept one eye open to watch our luggage. Since this station also acted as a bus depot, there were a lot of people going in and out all night long. When it was time for our departure we gathered our things, only to find that our train was running late.

Boarding around 3:00, we were given seat assignments. It wasn't really necessary as the train was rather empty at this point. We curled up the best we could and got a little rest before they announced that breakfast was being served. Lacking sleep, I wasn't feeling very sociable so was glad that they did not require community seating for a change and I could enjoy my cheese omelet and grits without feeling like I had to make polite conversation.


The day wore on with mostly blue skies and interesting, but hard to photograph scenery rolling by the window. Many areas were swampy, with cypress and oak overhead and stubby ferns poking out of the dark, brackish water.

At some point during the afternoon, a large bunch of young men got on. I will not call them gentlemen because they weren't. We were sitting in the cafe car, playing a game and several of them came in to buy beer. Later, when we were back in our seats, they came by from the car in front of us, cutting through to the cafe car for more beer. Many had several strands of plastic Mardi Gras beads around their necks. Back and forth they went as the evening wore on with giggling girls joining them in their beer runs. Every time their car door opened we could hear their shouting and laughing, completely disregarding Amtrak's code of conduct. I felt sorry for the family with two little kids who were seated there. When they finally relocated to our car, the little girl looked in shock.


The conductor and car attendants all seemed too weary to do anything about the impromptu party. One was seated in front of us, his seat leaned all the way back, playing a game on his cell phone. When we finally reached New Orleans a couple of hours late, I was about ready to wring some necks. Since it was the end of the line for that train, everyone got off. Meaning, there were way more people needing rides than there were taxis to supply them. When I had booked the hotel, I spoke directly with the hotel agent. She said that although the hotel was fairly close to the station, we should not walk if it was after dark. So at almost ten o'clock, I figured we had better join the ranks and get a ride. More taxis arrived and soon a driver told us we could fit in the back of his car. We stepped through a big mud puddle and climbed in the way back of the mini van. A minute or so later, we were in front of the Hotel Lafayette. When I asked how much I owed, I about fell over when he asked me for $11. I told him I thought $11 for a shared ride for a few blocks was a bit steep. I handed him $20 because I didn't have anything smaller. He asked how much I wanted back and got in a tiff when I said I'd take $9. He stalked off to his car muttering loudly about how grateful I should be he dropped me off first. Well duh. My hotel was just a few blocks away from the station.



I never did take any picture of our hotel, but it was lovely. A small “boutique” hotel, it was quite old and had only 44 newly renovated rooms. Ours was a suite on the top floor. My bed had a beautifully carved, dark wood headboard. I didn't take a picture though because the carvings weren't quite decent, if you know what I mean. Alyssa had a big pull-out sleeper sofa in the sitting room two huge picture windows looking up and down St. Charles street and across the city.