donderdag 30 april 2026

donderdag 30 april 2026 Finally, I'm here. The black cat is shy of me.

Now, we're good friends. Ladies and gentlemen: Beryl of Bellingham!

The sunrise (5:52 AM) greets me. It's supposed to be warm (70°) and sunny all day. Soon, I'm going downtown on the bus. Why not? 😉

Visit downtown B'ham. City hall. Public library. Food Co-op for lunch. People are meeting tomorrow for a rally followed by a march to advocate for workers and community solidarity. Should I participate? The flower baskets on Railroad Ave are pretty, too!

woensdag 29 april 2026

woensdag 29 april 2026 La Main Heureuse! This is a curiousity, indeed.

This is the view from my hotel room. I'm surrounded by skyscrapers.

Out for walk while the sun rises on Seattle. Down to Rainier Square.

This modern, all-electric bus brought me from Seattle to Bellingham. 🚌

dinsdag 28 april 2026

dinsdag 28 april 2026 What preserved my sanity during this long train trip without wi-fi (WHY NOT?) is my portable hard drive with 8 movies. I'd connect it and watch on my laptop. Kirk Douglas (in one of his earliest movies) is Ulyssses - the 1954 fantasy adventure film.

One of my favorites... Weird Science. Lisa introduces Wyatt to his frozen Nanny and Grampy. (Hey, Wyatt! I like your panties, too 😄)

Up to Whole Foods for breakfast... I'm doing old, familiar things in Seattle in 2026. Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow... 💛 Yellow by Coldplay is playing in the background. That song takes my back. I'm Mr. Transit Geek! A trip on the Flooting Train to Bellevue. The trip was sooo fast! But Bellevue is meh! 😐 The weather is meh, too 😐

maandag 27 april 2026

maandag 27 april 2026 Another big travel trek for me. I'm unstoppable! Today, the Empire Builder travels through snowy Montana, upper Idaho and finally... blessed Washington. Terminus: Seattle.

It was funny to see snow in late April, but we're spending time in the Glacier National Park. The snow is pretty, though.

Eastern Washington has beautiful scenery from the train. (Driving on I-90 doesn't have the same dramatic views.) In Wenatchee, we stop for a smoking/fresh-air break before we traverse Stevens Pass.

Of course, the first thing I do, is get Thai food. E-Jae Pak Mor offers delicious Pad Thai. Love the tamarind sauce and thick fried tofu.

zondag 26 april 2026

zondag 26 april 2026 Spending my last moments in lovely St. Paul, MN in my hotel room. I've discovered that at my age, I can't do all the exploring that I used to do. My train leaves at 11:15 PM for a 36-hour trek across the country. I'm sure that I'll have an interesting experience. I'll meet regular and weird people. The chances that Amtrak will provide Wi-Fi for blogging is 50-50. So, I'm posting this early.

While I'm waiting, I'm just sitting and thinking... watching MST3K. 😄

Breaking news! Trump Whisked out of WHCD... Developing...

zaterdag 25 april 2026

zaterdag 25 april 2026 Spend a mellow evening with another MST3K Marathon. Mike gives Crow a valuable lesson about gentle pressure, but Crow forgets... with drastic consequences. (He blows up! 💥) 🤣

Always keep a light on in your hotel room... or stumble your way through the darks when you have to go potty. Poor Nick Wilkins. They're trying to tell you! (So funny and cute!) 😂

A narrow band of rain is bringing wet weather for the Twin Cities. 💦

Express bus #94 to downtown Minneapolis. The town is a bunch of No Fun on the weekends. However, I found the Mary Tyler Moore statue!

Over to the Minneapolis Central Library to relieve my bladder. This place IS busy! (I just had to go bad!) What a cool building! Read, lounge, or study on one of the four floors surrounded by unique curated art.

Into Five Guys to get lunch. These friendly guys make a hamburger for me. I'm taking it back to the hotel to eat. Yum! 😋

vrijdag 24 april 2026

vrijdag 24 april 2026 Trump's interventionism comes for Spirit Airlines. Analyst: I guess it would be the Amtrak of the skies...

Colbert's advocacy for Amtrak comes by channeling good ol' Joe Biden. It's a beautiful day in St. Paul - 53°F and abundant sunshine. The downtown is quiet. (It has that reputation.)

Me... the train guy... I'm taking the Metro Green Line 👉  to d'town Minneapolis' Government Plaza. Hello Nur House Cafe. It's a Somali sponsored cafe. This is a delicious Salted Date Caramel Cloud! OMG! ☺️