Pivot!

Sleeper Cars

Back in August of 2022, I drove my son’s new-to-him car down to North Carolina to drop it off. We spent an amazing week together doing not much of note, just enjoying each other’s company. We got coffee and went to the movies. We stayed in his apartment-dorm at Elon University, which I had “helped” him move into. He did all of the heavy lifting.

So, to get back home to Connecticut, I chose Amtrak. I booked a roomette and showed up in Raleigh for the 10 am train. Little did I realize that the phone call I sent to voicemail was a message from Amtrak telling me my train was delayed. Because it was automated, I never got the memo. So I ended up with an extra hour in the train station.

This was at the beginning of my traveling, when I was nervous as all get-out about making it to places on time. When I overthought and overplanned. And things still went wrong. Like I left my glasses at the hotel in Raliegh at the breakfast table. The server from that morning handed them into the desk clerk, who got my name off the receipt and called me. They ended up mailing them to me.

That’s two … things that have gone wrong. So far.

The train was so cool, though! I had a little room all to myself with a great view and a desk. Yes, I worked on the train. The Wi-Fi, however, didn’t always work and I ended up staring out the window as the states rolled on by. We didn’t stop often.

Rainy Day in DC

So when we pulled into Union Station in DC, it was kind of a relief, Except that there were strong storms to our north, and there was a tree on the tracks in Bowie, Maryland. What started as a 15-minute leg stretching break ended up being four hours trapped on the train! The attendant was adamant that we could not leave – not even to get a sandwich – because the train could and would leave at any minute.

They ran out of food on the train.

Finally, we started up again. Tree cleared, good to go. Until somewhere in Central New Jersey. The train simply stopped on the tracks. The crew, it seemed, has “timed out” and was no longer permitted to operate the train. We had to wait for a new crew to be sent out.

Could they not have foreseen this in DC?

Any chance I had of making my connecting train from NYC to New Haven was long gone. And the trains the next day were sold out. “I’ll figure it out when I get to Penn Station (Moynihan Hall),” I told myself.

Except that by the time we got to New York it was roughly 1:30 am. And Penn Station was closed. As I humped my suitcase up three flights of stairs and into the eerily night-lit halls, there was no help. Just security guard yelling that we couldn’t stay there. Out into the August Manhattan night for you!

The city was alive. People were everywhere, including the 300 or so just now put off the train and out into the streets. Fights broke out over cabs.

I was well beyond the point of needing to get to bed and beside myself not knowing what to do. Looking back, I had so many options. But I didn’t see them at the time.

Focused on taking a train home, I set off for Grand Central Station and hang out there until I could simply take Metro North home.

Except that Grand Central Station was also closed.

Henrietta Hippo in the Pocket Park

So I sat in one of those little pocket parks across from the entrance to Grand Central for the several hours between now and the doors being unlocked. I shared the park with a woman who sat down a few benches away and promptly fell asleep. And I watched a man in nothing but boxers scream and rant across the street about the Yankees.

Slowly, other Amtrak refugees showed up and joined my vigil. I felt much better sitting in solidarity as 5:30 am approached. I hadn’t slept for about 24 hours at that point.

I made it home. I slept for a while and unpacked and took a shower,

And it was only in that shower that I realized I had had options. I have status with Hilton Hotels. Why didn’t I at least try to find one and sit in their lobby?

For that matter, I have travel insurance. Surely I could have booked a room for the rest of the night and gotten some sleep.

Grand Central Station - Still Grand

Two friends lovingly berated me for not calling them and having them pick me up!

For pity’s sake, I could have simply sat in an all-night diner and had a cuppa.

Since that trip, I have not had – luckily – a similar string of misses and travel blips. But I think in a way it is because I have learned to think a little better and explore the options a little more before I pivot.

I can be stubborn and I can be cheap, and both those qualities can get in my way. So I’ve learned to relax, and I’ve learned to ask for help. And I’ve learned to enjoy the ride.