Stuff I've Learned About Train Travel

1. Spring for a spot in the sleeper car. It's a little more expensive, but on a trip with two overnights, an actual bed with a blanket on it is well worth having. Also, meals are included in the price of the ticket and they have special activities for sleeper car passengers, like wine-and-cheese tastings.
2. Those packages of moist towelettes are awesome! It's not the same as an actual shower, but they sure made me feel better.
3. I'm not so sure how I feel about dry shampoo. I may not have done it right.
4. The Great Plains are vast and seemingly unending.
5. Glacier National Park and the nearby Flathead River are beautiful.
6. The Border Patrol checks everyone out in Havre, MT. I'm not sure that there's anything else going on in town.
7. The Columbia River Gorge is awe-inspiring. I'd like to see it next by boat.
8. Don't count on the train to travel 2300 miles without any delays, especially if it has to go through a place that was very recently under five feet of water. My train arrived 6 hours late to Portland.
9. The food in the dining car was only alright, but better than what was available in the sightseeing car. The Amish folks got it right by packing their own meals in a cooler. Had I done that, it would have been my best chance for any kind of a vegetable.
10. The coach car attendants are fantastic people. They had to put up with a lot of crap from people who were unhappy about how far behind schedule the train was. Like it was their fault, or something. I know I couldn't do their job and keep a civil tongue in my head. (Mary, if you see this, thanks for being so great!)
11. The Mississippi River in Minnesota is just gorgeous, and I'm glad I got to see it at sunset. It was the end of a great first day on the train.
12. A sweater is a good thing to have. Even better things to have: a neck pillow and a blanket. Or possibly a Snuggie, but I wouldn't be caught dead in one. Unless I were being ironic, or something, and anymore I just can't be bothered.
13. Most of my fellow travelers were very nice people. Many of them were very chatty. Headphones and pointy sticks mostly insured my solitude. One guy, upon discovering that I was from Kentucky, told me a dirty joke about a horse named "My Face." I avoided him thereafter.
14. The trip would have be infinitely better had my husband been with me.

See All the Things! Or, uh, not.

Ninety minutes is not enough time to go to the Art Institute of Chicago. Hell, it's not enough time to go to any museum. But as I had three hours between trains, I decided that I couldn't be so close as 6 blocks and not go. There was one thing, in particular, that I wanted to see: the Golden Spider Silk Tapestry in the African gallery. Have you seen the video about this tapestry? It's so freaking cool. They actually pulled the silk from the bellies of Golden Orb spiders from Madagascar. Then they did it a whole bunch more times. Then they unstickied the silk, spun it into threads, warped a loom with it, then wove it into a bunch of small brocade panels which they attached to each other to make one big brocade panel. Seriously, if you're going to be in Chicago any time soon, you need to see this. And give yourself the whole day, would ya?

To get to the African gallery, you have to go through the American Indian gallery, as well as the Chinese gallery. And if you're me, and you're in a hurry to get to the African gallery, you miss the turn and take two trips through the South Asian gallery before you figure out where you're going. And then you go through it again to get to the textile gallery to see the special exhibit of kimonos. The South Asian gallery had all kinds of statuary of Hindu, Buddhist and other religions' gods, made from many different materials: stone, wood, metal. If I'd had more than 90 minutes, I'd have taken a closer look.

After I flew through the African and South Asian galleries (with nary a look at the American Indian gallery), I went downstairs to see the kimonos. I took one picture (which didn't come out) before one of the security folks let me know that photography wasn't permitted in that exhibit. Anyway, the kimonos were all lovely, and I especially liked that they had on display some stencils that had been used in patterning on kimonos. My favorite of all that were on display was one that was a black and white checkered shogun's kimono which also had a very subtle floral pattern all over. Up close, you couldn't really see it - it really played tricks on my eyes. Stepping back a few feet, the floral patterning asserted itself. It was gorgeous.

After the kimonos, I decided I had time to take a lap through the Japanese gallery, which I don't remember having seen on past visits to the Art Institute. There was some interesting early sculpture, from the 5th century or so. I also took a look at the wood carvings and ceramics, but the space that really grabbed me was the Ando gallery, fully of woven bamboo baskets by artist Fujinuma Noboru. These were the most beautiful baskets I've ever seen. It makes me want to take up basketweaving, just to try. Of course I couldn't achieve that level of skill, but it would be fun to try. Maybe for my next hobby.

After the Japanese gallery it was time to head back to the train station to catch my train to Portland. I'm cheap enough that I only paid for a coach seat, rather than coughing up for a sleeper car. I lucked out and got a seat all to myself, but I very nearly had to sit next to the chattiest woman ever. She was on the phone the whole time the train was boarding, then she -horrors- started talking to me. And before you go thinking I'm a completely nasty person, it wasn't just small talk. She was heading for life's story territory just as I realized a couple seats were about to open up. I couldn't move fast enough. After I moved, she placed another call, which got her all the way to Wisconsin, I think.

In knitting news, I cast on for Peasy, by Heidi Kirrmaier, with more lovely Rowan Revive - it's the same yarn I used on my Vesper, by the same designer. Peasy is a top-down cardigan, with pretty little lacy/viney bits on the cardigan fronts. I'm knitting it with size 4 needles, which got me gauge the last time I knit with this yarn. I'm so glad I brought this project, as the miles of stockinette would be just the thing for a 46-hour train ride.

Well, that's all I have for now. Until next time, Friends.

All Aboard for Sock Summit!

Well, so much for getting two posts up before I left - I didn't even get one!

Early last Tuesday morning my husband drove me to Indianapolis, where I got on a train to start my journey to Sock Summit. It was an uneventful drive, which started a little late because I forgot to go to the ATM and I couldn't find my neck pillow. (Yes, I know: First World Problem.) We got to the station with a few minutes to spare before boarding and then my dear, sweet husband turned right around and drove back to Louisville, fueled on a 20oz. can of Red Bull.

Once I found myself a seat (I had two to myself!), there was a short wait before we could depart. At one point, they cut all the lights in the car, and for half a minute, I was expecting Dementors to show up. It was pitch black both inside and out. But then the lights came back on, we felt the locomotive power up, and we were off!

I pulled out Damask, which only had about 1.5 chart repeats to go before I could call it done. I've been very pleased with how well this project has gone. No major mistakes, just one dropped stitch, which I was easily able to fix. I didn't even have to use any lifelines, which is not a practice I recommend, as lifelines really are your friends. The only thing I might say I was unhappy about would be that the front of my shirt was covered in alpaca fuzz, but it was not really that bad. As the train rolled along toward Chicago, I completed Damask while the sun came up over the corn and soybean fields.

Having grown up in northeastern Indiana, these fields are my favorite view. As a kid, I rode my bicycle for miles and miles on country roads surrounded by acres and acres of corn. I don't remember many fields with livestock, just crops as far as the eye could see, occasionally broken by a barn or silo. This morning, there was a mist over the fields, giving them a dreamy quality as the sun rose over them. It was a great way to start the trip.

Next time, I expect I'll be writing about my Peasy cardigan, which I cast on last Monday, in anticipation of completing Damask. I also had a little Sock Summit homework to do - I needed about an inch of ribbed cuff for one of my classes. Until then, Friends.

A Short Update

For the last two days, I've been traveling toward Portland, Oregon, for Sock Summit. I'm writing this post from Spokane, Washington, while the Amtrak folks separate my section of the train from the section that is going to Seattle. It's been an uneventful trip, so far, although I feel like my ass is becoming one with the seat. I've written a couple posts, which I expect to put up once I've arrived in Portland.

Looks like I'm out of battery, so that'll do it for now. Until next time, then.