Live from Penn Station, NY and En Route to Harrisburg, PA

Location: Amtrak waiting area in New York’s Penn Station. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by fellow travelers on mobile or electronic devices.

Time: 11:33 am, half an hour to go before train for the second weekend of my Great 2014 Northeast Tour, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania!

Physical state: Hot! My bag is way too heavy (most of that weight is this six-year-old laptop).

Bladder: Thankfully just emptied.

Mood: Excited. Tired. Thirsty and hungry. Feeling sorry for Andy that he still has the mission of finding parking in this crazy traffic-filled city.

Need to Remember: Buy batteries for camera!

Time 12:25 pm

Location: The 645 Keystone, somewhere in New Jersey. Why do I always choose the rear-facing seat?

Mood: Even more tired. More hungry; somehow food was the last thing on my mind this morning (except for Doughnut Plant, of course). Less sweaty but contemplating a bird bath to freshen up.

Weather: About high 40’s, low 50’s, with beautiful blue sky. The Harrisburg forecast calls for rain today and tomorrow, so I am wearing my wellies. Hoping the forecast is wrong though; I’d love to get some nice photos of this new-to-me city.

HOW DID I NOT THINK ABOUT LUNCH?? Aaaaand there’s no café car on the train. This is going to be a long three and a half hours.

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Time: 1:00 PM

Scene: Trenton, NJ Amtrak station, looking out onto platform from seat. Somehow the man in the pin-striped suit seems out of place here.

Hunger status: Trying not to focus on the fact that I haven’t eaten since 8 AM. I smelled Auntie Ann’s pretzels when I used the restroom in Penn Station; why on earth didn’t I buy one? Why didn’t I buy a packet of peanuts at the very least?

Time: 1:28 PM

Scene: Philadelphia, PA station. The train sitting across the platform has individual compartments, with curtains and roomy seats. Cue daydreaming about long-distance train travel. I saw some great graffiti along the tracks leading into the city, as well as plenty of abandoned buildings of the crumbling brick variety.

Hunger status: We have five minutes to stretch our legs, but unless I get something to eat I won’t have the energy to do much stretching. Oh man I’m getting the hungry headache. Why isn’t there a vending machine on the platform?!

1:40 PM New passenger boarded in Philadelphia, sitting ahead of me. Unfortunately a very loud phone-talker. Perhaps I’ll try out the Quiet Car at the front of the train….

2:02 PM Andy texted me saying he is outside of Doughnut Plant and wondering which delicious treats to choose. My stomach growls with envy; he assures me he will save one for me until Saturday.

2:12 As we approach Downington, PA, we pass abandoned train station and huge old factory/plant. Smiled to myself when I simultaneously thought to tell Andy about it and saw a guy with a camera on a tripod exiting said abandoned building.

2:18 PM Coatesville station/platform not very inviting. Looks abandoned, but isn’t.

Sending my sister all these tweet-like texts makes me wish I had a smartphone so I could make everyone on Twitter laugh like I’m making Sue laugh.

2:24 PM Another cute station! Parkesburg. Looks like a homemade sign, and the whole thing is just quaint.

Someone just walked by with a Subway sandwich. I’m pretty sure he brandished it in my face as he passed. I don’t even eat Subway anymore, but if he had paused for half a second longer, I would have snatched that sandwich right out of his hands.

2:28 Trying not to think about food. Trying to ignore the pangs in my belly. Trying to remind myself that I am not hurt or injured or starving and in an hour I will eat something and all will be well. Also in an hour is Ellen!

2:33 The universe is laughing at me. We just passed some Auntie Anne’s pretzel trucks. “Spoiling Dinner since [something]”. (Look at it this way, self. You didn’t eat any train station junk food! Well done!)

3:04 I am so excited to see my friend.  Time to publish this darn post- not too long until Harrisburg!

 

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This is the third day of the April Blogging A to Z Challenge. The theme for today is Currently. Tomorrow will be another edition of Diaries of an Essex Girl’s Daily Diaries, and on Saturday I will feature my battle reenactment day at Tamworth Castle in England. Hello to my new followers and thank you for visiting!