There (And not back again for awhile) Part I

To say that my journey started on August 12th, 2011 would be to discard all my previous preparations for this trip and my studies that have prepared for a year in St. Petersburg. This is a story that I began writing a long time ago. We pick up this story on August 11th, 2011 at 11:00 PM where we find a young man staring blankly at a suitcase....

The black suitcase to be exact...and the brown book bag.

11:00 PM: I could stare at this suitcase all night and three things would happen: 1. I would not get any sleep and therefore feel miserable all day tomorrow. 2. My parents would be upset that I had stayed up all night and not gotten anything done. 3. My luggage would still be laying outside of my suitcase and not inside it where the gods of the airlines prefer their subjects to place their precious cargo. So I decide to repack my bag for the 3rd time today. Turns out a simple formula: Big computer + lots of books = they are buggers to pack without going over the weight limit (which in this case in 50lbs for checked luggage). But  how can I say no? When I got the computer, it seemed nice; a big screen for movies and a keypad for all the accents in French (very handy), but right now, as I'm testing the weight of my carry-on, I wouldn't mind sacrificing all those things for a handy little netbook. Whoops, I'll put that on the 'Future Reference' list. As for the books, well, let's just say I'd rather pack clothes for one day rather than leaving any of my books behind (okay, maybe that's a bit extreme, but it gets the point across). I haven't brought nearly all the books I could have brought, just the important ones: My Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekov, Lermontov, and Gogol, they will be my companions on this trip for they lived in the same city I will be living in and wrote about her streets and people. Sorry Dostoevsky, I didn't really care for the Idiot, so that's staying at home. This brings me to the next milestone...

11:13 PM: I'm staring at my books now that I've been thinking of them, contemplating all the things I could leave out of my suitcase to bring them with me. Throughout the day, my parents offered to send my books in the mail so I wouldn't have to worry about them. But I refuse; that's cheating. I have my limit and I'm sticking to it. I've already decided on things I can buy in Russia and I don't mind pulling a few more things out. My mind then wanders to thoughts about the things I will want to bring back from Russia...We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

11:55 PM: Yes, I did just spend 40 minutes thinking about all this. But after all that thinking I've decided on a radical plan: Go back to the original luggage configuration. A sore back for good books, that's okay. Let's do this. I pack everything in and tighten the straps, test my back-pack on my back (heavy, but not bad). I weigh everything.

12:12 AM: Good enough; it's time for bed.

12:12 AM-6:15 AM: Zzzzzzzzzzz.......

6:15 AM: There's that alarm....Uffdah. Why is it going off this early? Oh wait...(I forgot in the early moments of waking up that today was a rather important day, then I remembered). 12:12 AM wasn't that long ago, oh well. 

6:15 AM-7:36 AM: Showered, dressed...finished last minute packing. There's quite a bit more last minute packing than I thought....But it all got done. We pack up the car and I ponder how this is the lightest I've traveled in a while (long distance/long stay travel); two bags. I'm proud of that!

7:36 AM: Morning is breaking, the air is cool, and the town is quiet. We slip out of Washington without fanfare and without anyone noticing. We're on our way down the road, I stare out at the corn fields I've grown up with, the vast fields of corn and soybeans, tractors, cows, and farms, small towns, and bumpy roads. This is where it all began. I carry some dirt from Washington, Illinois with me whenever I make a big move like this to remember where I came from. Whether I'm in St. Peter, Minnesota or St. Petersburg, Russia, I started in Washington, Illinois. So I stare out the car window as we breeze past this land with which I've grown so familiar. We drive to the Busy Corner, a restaurant that once sat on a corner in Goodfield, Illinois, but has since outgrown its old environs and sits next to the road. The food is still good though and we sit down for breakfast. I have biscuits and gravy, possibly the last biscuits and gravy I will have in quiet some time. They were delicious. After we finish breakfast,  its on to Normal, Illinois and the train station. I take the traditional nap in the car.


9:03 AM: We arrive at the train station in Normal, Illinois; our train is schedule to come in at 11:00 AM. Ура! There are lots of people looking for parking spots; everywhere we turn, a lot is full or when we find empty spots, there's a sign reading: "Not for Amtrak Users." Wonderful. A train pulls in and my mom and I get out to try our luck at snagging a spot from one of the passengers debarking from the train. Unfortunately, there are vultures already waiting. Two cars, poised to take a spot being vacated by an exiting van. It looks like it could get ugly. I leave. We decide to drop our baggage off and we surrender our car to a parking deck. It's a beautiful day! Wonderful weather outside to sit and wait for a train and that's what we did...

The Beast

11:50 AM: Our 11:08 train just got in, so we're boarded and heading off to Chicago! (Cue Sinatra). I love the train so much, its relaxing, you can read, chat on the phone, watch a movie on your laptop, listen to music, sleep, chat with people around you, or walk up and down the train cars. And not have to worry about anything! I watched a TV show on my computer and enjoyed the ride up.

1:51 PM: Overheard some great travel advice from a chap sitting across the aisle from me. He was chatting with someone on the phone about his connecting train in Chicago and he said, if you're late, the rest of the world don't give a damn, so just get someplace when you can and make up the connection as soon as possible. That's some good advice there; just enjoying the moment and if something out of your control happens where you miss a connecting flight or train or bus or something, just find the next one. I don't know, thought it was good. Then again, the way he said it was funny so maybe that's why.

If you look really closely you may be able to see us.

2:22 PM: He were are! Union Station, Chicago, Illinois. Got a taste of what to expect when doing serious travelling. Hesitation is not allowed. It is imperative to make a decision when coming off of the train or plane as to what direction you need to be headed in. There are too many people staring blankly at signs and wandering in every direction to risk standing and trying to figure out where to go. Pick a direction, follow the signs, use your common sense, and bam, you'll get where you need to go. It also didn't matter for us because we don't have anywhere to go until 9:00 PM (our train to New York). Oh boy.

4:00 PM-5:00 PM: After lunch and reading a bit, I attempted a nap on one of Union Station's famous benches. These aren't just any plan bench. This isn't a church pew or a park bench you can sit on and may be cracked from people using it so much; these benches are built to last. They are thick and tall. If a roof was collapsing, you would find me under one of these if they were near-by. And they are surprisingly comfortable. I sit and think about all the people that have come before me to find some rest on this bench...there must of been a lot of 'em....I doze off.

5:00 PM: My nap was moderately successful, I got very warm for some reason and woke up sweating a bit. Not much else to report.

I'd write the same caption as the last one, but I'd feel bad.
You can't actually see us in either photo. ;)

9:35 PM: Finally boarded our train to New York. Departed by 9:50 PM. I sat with a guy named Jordan. Cool guy. We left in the dark, so there wasn't much to see. A bit of a bummer, but then again, I didn't have the window seat/we went through Indiana and Ohio, so I don't know if I missed much. I decided to take part in one of my favorite traveling activities: Setting up a long playlist and falling sleep to it. Exciting right? Actually no, but I like it for a couple of reasons. First off, it's nice to listen to songs in my library that I haven't listened to in a long time. And second, its just very calming to fall asleep in the middle of a song and wake up in the middle of another one (especially if said song is epic; i.e. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.). So I set up a three hour playlist, plugged in, and closed my eyes. I wish I could say I slept well, but that would be a blatant lie. I slept a bit, but it was off and on. I woke up around 3 AM and contemplated staying up, but fell back alseep and woke up at...

5:45 AM: Awake and decided to stay awake. It's too difficult to get comfortable for sleeping/I didn't bring a blanket (future reference for train travelling). I just stared around and leaned back. Listened to a bit more music. Then we decided to get breakfast.

6:30 AM: Breakfast. Very simple, enough. Plastic ware. Classy stuff on Amtrak.

7:37 AM: Just left Eire, PA; six more stops!

8:00 AM: You hear about getting a '2nd Wind' of energy. Well right now, I'm getting my 'Anti-2nd Wind' or 'De-2nd Wind.' Regardless, I'm exhausted.

10:26 AM: Solution to difficulty getting sleep on train: Just wait until you are very exhausted, then you will sleep a lot better! Oh yeah. It worked for me. I feel better. But I did wake up to the Border Patrol coming through the car asking everyone whether or not they are American citizens. They were nice about it, but I wonder what would happen if you said no....Luckily, I wasn't responded automatically in Russian and I did not say "Da." That would've been funny, but also needlessly time consuming. Perhaps I'll try that later....or not. But now we're rolling along nicely, well on our way to Albany....

But we saw Albany.

1:26 PM: Or not. Something is broken on the track, so we wait...for about an hour. Then we continue onto Albany and waited some more. We had missed our connecting train to Rhinecliff, so we stayed on our current train which took us there.

Very 1920s esque. I like it alot!

7:30 PM: We arrive in Rhinecliff, New York and grab a taxi for the Beekman Arms Inn in Rhinebeck, New York. A very pretty area up here. Simply gorgeous. The Beekman Arms is the "Oldest Hotel in America" supposedly. I won't argue with 'em. It's nice, very nice. We have dinner and walk around town, very pretty. Then we head back to our room.

Very 1770s esque. Even better!

9:45 PM: It's quiet and peaceful. Very nice after a busy travel day. Tomorrow the adventure continues, but every good adventurer needs some sleep.

10:01 PM: Споконой ночи.