The Amtrak Crescent: New Orleans to NYC
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
8/18/14, 5 am - So far, we have escaped the alarm bell every day of the trip, except today. A 7am departure means a 5 am wakeup call. By 5:38, we are completely dressed, packed and ready to leave the hotel. We’re in a cab by 5:50 and at the New Orleans Amtrak station at 6:00 am, on the dot. We boarded about 30 minutes later and departed precisely on time to begin our 30 hour, 12 state + DC journey across the eastern USA. 
We are splitting two roomette sleepers on this leg; Roomettes are roughly 7’ x 4’ by 12’ private rooms with two twin beds, a sink and toilet and two large windows, upper and lower. It’s a tight space, but infinitely better than the coach alternative. This train is single level, whereas the Sunset Limited was double-decker “Superliner” rolling stock. Both configurations have their pros and cons, but I give the edge to the single level “Viewliner” car we are on today.
After the train worked its way northward through central New Orleans, it turned right at the shore of Lake Ponchartrain. We ate breakfast as the train seemed to glide like a hovercraft over the water as it rolled along the unseen Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge beneath us.
As we finished breakfast, we crossed the Pearl River into Mississippi. We went back to the rooms and promptly fell asleep for three hours and woke up to find ourselves in Alabama. I guess the 5 am wake up call was too much to bear.
11 pm - We walked to the lounge car for a few more hands of Mao and then called it a night. The train passed into South Carolina as we said good night.
8/20/14 8 am - The last day of BBT 2014 began with a wakeup somewhere south of 
Lynchburg, VA. After a brief stop there, and a “we’re in your town” text to CCS, Charlie and I headed to breakfast. Peter chose to stay snug in his dark bunk for a few more hours until near Washington DC. Once we cleared 
Baltimore, we enjoyed our last meal in the dining car with a quick lunch. The final hour of the trip, we packed up the rooms and prepared to disembark in hot, teeming Penn Station.
8/20/14 2:45 pm - we had 45 minutes to kill in the Club Acela lounge before our 3:30 Northwest Regional train to the Route 128 station outside of Boston. The train was marvelously on time and brought us to our destination at 8:30. 
Along the way, the train hit straightaway top speeds of 125 MPH. The track between New Haven and Boston is owned by Amtrak and dedicated to passenger-only traffic, so the Acela and NER trains are the fastest in the USA.
Kate met us at the curb and we piled in for the quick ride home. Fabulous trip and great memories.
2015?
Baseball Trip 2014
