Today, I am just going to Portland. Me and Holloway, and a backpack with raingear and lenses. I only brought one camera. The Canon 7D. And just now, I remembered the Zeiss Ikon that I forgot. It has a roll of 120 in it. My grandfather bought it in Germany sometime in 1942, and it takes fabulous photos.
So, off to Portland, home of 99 and VooDoo Donuts. Hayseed and Powell's Books. Amtrak has a punchcard for this sort of regular endeavor. A hundred and ten bucks gets a rider ten rides. Not bad. Beats the heck out of the 1986 Cutlass in the driveway.
This afternoon, the Amtrak is not a train, but instead, one of their buses. It is smooth and quiet, comfortable, and the best part? It has internet. As I sit here, in a back seat on the Interstate 5, I can check my email or post photos to Facebook. The value here is not high priority, but it is a nice perk.
Free Wifi Onboard
Albany Station
These trains and buses are always on time, and in all of my riding rails, only twice was Amtrak behind. Once, an hour behind due to a small accident south of Albany, and another, when the conductor made a short stop to exchange a passenger who had missed his stop. Every other train has been spot on time.
The bus is also ultra-efficient, and rolls up the interstate in the passing lane. Never excessive or unsafe, the sleek bus just makes good time.
Generally, I try not to spend money on the train, as I am usually on a skimpy budget. Today, I am traveling with five dollars, and I don't need expensive domestic beer anyways. I'm going to the city, to take some photographs, not spend money I do not have.
The Amtrak staff is always super courteous and helpful in any situation. Stops are swift and not so often. Bathrooms are clean, and professional- I judge this by one criteria: Mom. My mother is the definition of a clean house. One could eat off her floors. I figure, if I look at a bathroom and can say; "Yeah, mom would use this restroom," then the bathroom passes the test.
Albany to Portland takes an hour and forty minutes, and has one stop in between. A short stop in Salem, and then back on the interstate. For the first leg of this ride, internet signal is strong, and I have six windows open on this cheap laptop. The service is outstanding.
The rail yard at Albany Station, photo uploaded on the Amtrak "Cascades" bus shuttle.
Stops are centrally located. Albany Station is in west Albany, just on the south side of downtown at Tenth and Pacific Boulevard. The Portland stop is in its downtown as well, as Union Station sits in the heart of downtown Portland. Union Station is within walking distance to shopping, libraries, entertainment, and hotels.
On both the Amtrak train, and the shuttle buses, ample room is accommodating for luggage, food and drink, and luxuries such as laptops, ipods, books, and newspapers. The seating also has an arm rest and a foot rest. Each seating bunk has electrical outlets and lights. This is not a cramped and cumbersome ride, Amtrak provides a quality service for traveling.
In the end, the value of Amtrak far outweighs the convenience of an automobile. The savings on gas, are substantial, and for what this trip entails, Amtrak fits the bill perfectly.
Now let's go do some street photography! (I'll post the street photos here later tonight.)
UPDATED at 1 a.m. November 8:
I missed the train out of Portland, but like I said earlier, Amtrak is the best. They waited for me and I boarded a minute late. Thank-you Amtrak! Now for some Portland photos...
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