What do I remember about this day? Not much...and a lot. It was a surreal day. I knew it was the 22nd...I knew that I needed to leave the apartment by 4pm to get to the train station...but it all felt like a fog. I had been planning for this day all year and finally here it was. It never crossed my mind to chicken out but I do remember worrying what if Amtrak cancelled this run even though it was a daily trip and I had started following the route departure/arrival times in the month leading up to the day. A lot of good that did me but that's better suited for tomorrow.
I could write a lot about what I don't remember about this day but I think I will stick with what I do.
It was time to leave. My bags were packed and my walker was secured to my chair. I had this brilliant idea to go to LA Cafe before getting to the train station. Due to the train leaving at 6pm, I didn't know if dinner was going to be offered so I went to the Cafe to get my favorite Lobster Grilled Cheese...one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Now while this was brilliant in idea form...I didn't quite take into account that I was already carrying about a 20lb suitcase and had a duffel bag around my neck and..oh yea, driving my chair. But I wanted that sandwich so I bought my dinner and the staff were kind enough to tie the bag to the suitcase handle so I wouldn't technically have to carry it.
So I finally get back on the subway and head to Union Station. Once there I had to pick up my boarding pass. And as I went through the procedure, I kept repeating to myself that I couldn't believe the day was here. I had a 3000 mile journey and I was going to appreciate it however on the other side of that was NEW YORK CITY! I was going to be in NYC in 2 1/2 days!
When it was finally time to head up to the platform I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things were going fairly smoothly. Too smooth. Then around 6pm-ish, it was time to get on the train. I should mention I was sitting in coach for the next two days. Had I opted for a sleeping car, I would not have taken the trip when I did. Besides, I didn't think Coach would be all that bad. So I get on the train and I have a big window to look out of. And enough room to put my suitcase and duffel bag within reach at my feet. At this moment, I'm still in a state of "how the hell did I get here?"...I still couldn't believe all the sacrifices I made over the last year and support I got from friends and family was going to pay off.
The train starts to move and I feel like I'm going to burst. The first night of travel was basically California and getting into Arizona in the early hours of the 23rd so there was nothing new to see this first night. And honestly, I almost got off the train before it left California.
The time came where I had to use the restroom. Now I had been reassured that the train had a wheelchair accessible restroom. The problem is: my definition of wheelchair accessible and Amtrak's version of wheelchair accessible are not one and the same. Unfortunately, I did not think to take a photo of this restroom and I can not find a photo on the Internet of the restroom on the Southwest Chief specifically. It was wide but not deep so my wheelchair could not go all the way in and I had to depend on an Amtrak attendant to back the chair out when I would use the grab bars to stand up and then bring the chair back in. I looked at the situation and wondered if I could do this two more days. I almost got off the train. The situation was embarrassing, humiliating, and awkward...but I decided that I could make it work for the sake of the bigger picture.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Calm before the storm.
I could write a lot about what I don't remember about this day but I think I will stick with what I do.
It was time to leave. My bags were packed and my walker was secured to my chair. I had this brilliant idea to go to LA Cafe before getting to the train station. Due to the train leaving at 6pm, I didn't know if dinner was going to be offered so I went to the Cafe to get my favorite Lobster Grilled Cheese...one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Now while this was brilliant in idea form...I didn't quite take into account that I was already carrying about a 20lb suitcase and had a duffel bag around my neck and..oh yea, driving my chair. But I wanted that sandwich so I bought my dinner and the staff were kind enough to tie the bag to the suitcase handle so I wouldn't technically have to carry it.
So I finally get back on the subway and head to Union Station. Once there I had to pick up my boarding pass. And as I went through the procedure, I kept repeating to myself that I couldn't believe the day was here. I had a 3000 mile journey and I was going to appreciate it however on the other side of that was NEW YORK CITY! I was going to be in NYC in 2 1/2 days!
When it was finally time to head up to the platform I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things were going fairly smoothly. Too smooth. Then around 6pm-ish, it was time to get on the train. I should mention I was sitting in coach for the next two days. Had I opted for a sleeping car, I would not have taken the trip when I did. Besides, I didn't think Coach would be all that bad. So I get on the train and I have a big window to look out of. And enough room to put my suitcase and duffel bag within reach at my feet. At this moment, I'm still in a state of "how the hell did I get here?"...I still couldn't believe all the sacrifices I made over the last year and support I got from friends and family was going to pay off.
The train starts to move and I feel like I'm going to burst. The first night of travel was basically California and getting into Arizona in the early hours of the 23rd so there was nothing new to see this first night. And honestly, I almost got off the train before it left California.
The time came where I had to use the restroom. Now I had been reassured that the train had a wheelchair accessible restroom. The problem is: my definition of wheelchair accessible and Amtrak's version of wheelchair accessible are not one and the same. Unfortunately, I did not think to take a photo of this restroom and I can not find a photo on the Internet of the restroom on the Southwest Chief specifically. It was wide but not deep so my wheelchair could not go all the way in and I had to depend on an Amtrak attendant to back the chair out when I would use the grab bars to stand up and then bring the chair back in. I looked at the situation and wondered if I could do this two more days. I almost got off the train. The situation was embarrassing, humiliating, and awkward...but I decided that I could make it work for the sake of the bigger picture.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Calm before the storm.
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