Monday morning; after spending a wonderful Sunday with Rebecca, Tim and the yet to make an appearance granddaughter Grace I set about getting ready to check-out of the hotel and say good-bye to Portland.
My friend was picking me up around 11 a.m. Our plan was to go out for coffee and catch-up on fifty years in two hours. But first I had to find a place to eat breakfast.
Sunday evening I wasn't very hungry so I bought a Starbucks Protein Box. I thought it was a healthy choice.
A protein box consists of one hard boiled egg from a cage-free chicken (devoid of shell), white Cheddar cheese, honey peanut butter spread, multi-grain muesli bread, apple slices (four) and grapes (about a dozen). It's a low calorie choice that fuels a body with 19g of protein. In addition to the good stuff I consumed 30% of my daily allowance of fat and 75% of my sodium. On the other hand I ingested 20% of my fiber and that's got to help in the long run.
I bought 50 cents worth of food for $4.95 and I got a nice packing container for my dirty socks.
Monday morning I walked around the hotel looking for a place to eat breakfast. Nothing appealed to me and Starbucks was out of its Protein Box as it's more of a dinner item. Eventually I walked back to the hotel and tucked into a breakfast of coffee, oatmeal, yogurt and fruit. It was $17.50 and I didn't even get a sock box.....so I took a fork.
Well, you never know, someday I may want to stick it in my eye.
Doreen picked me up around 11:30....I was the one in the Harry Potter hat and she was the one in the red SUV.
She was about a year and a half older than a grade school friend. We were always hanging around their house and saw lots of each other in the neighborhood. We reconnected on Facebook a few years ago. So much, well....almost a lifetime had passed since we last talked but our common memories made the get together very special.
After a delightful chat and some very good coffee Doreen drove me to the train station. Two minutes after she dropped me off I realized I left my favorite hat in her car. It will give us another reason to get together when Wanda and I return to Portland.
The Portland Union Train Station has a First Class lounge for folks who purchased rooms. I checked-in got a bottle of water and within five minutes we were called to board. My trip, if all went as scheduled would be seventeen hours.
If you're interested in this train, and it is one of the best, check any number of You Tube videos on The Coast Starlight.
The car attendant introduced himself and directed me to my room. All meals are included with a first class ticket and the dining room was open and serving lunch. I hadn't been on board long enough for the train to move and I was already eating.
Tables in the dining room seat four and are shared. I've never been uncomfortable eating with strangers on a train (a good Hitchcock film by the way). Everyone is friendly and it's so easy to begin a conversation. Usually, "Where are you heading?" opens things up. Everyone riding with you has a story to tell. My lunch table mates were in their late 70's and going to the Grand Canyon. They were world travelers and regaled me with tales of private railroad cars and river cruises. On the other hand they may have been a couple of pick-pockets but who am I to judge?
After lunch I watched the beautiful countryside slip by and soon it was time for dinner. I shared a table with a young couple from the north Oregon coast who were going to visit family in Chicago and a retired rocket engineer on his way to Minnesota. The company was interesting, the food very good and the dessert even better.
After dinner I returned to the Parlor Car (a refurbished 1950's lounge car) and talked with other passengers for awhile. At 8 p.m. the movie Gravity was showing in the lower theater and I hadn't seen it in three days. Since I knew what happened the tension was gone and I only stayed a few minutes. Just long enough to say I watched a movie set in space while on a ship and a train.
Around nine I went back to my room to read. The train was due in my home station of Martinez at seven in the morning.
We arrived on time; after one week, a car, a ferry, a pedicab, a ship, a taxi, a bus and two trains I was home.
Some final thoughts.
Spending time with Younger Daughter Rebecca and Husband Tim was the highlight of the week. She and I have had a distant and at times rocky relationship but we've always loved each other. Her mother (The bad spouse) and I were divorced when she was only four. As the non-custodial parent I didn't have much say in her upbringing. I always hoped that Rebecca would come to understand that my non-involvement was not my choice and now, as an adult, I think she has.
Every day I curse Facebook for its maddeningly frustrating settings. I still don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to see what I want and from who. But if nothing else it has put me in touch with many wonderful people. Seeing and catching up with Doreen was very special. Facebook, for that I thank you.
I loved the cruise. I don't know if I would do another without Wanda. I really missed her.
My longest cruise was fifteen days but most have been seven or ten. No matter the length my experience is always the same. The first half passes slowly and I savor the time. At the middle, rather then enjoy the remaining days, I whine that the cruise is half over. I start counting each day left and the second half passes quickly. This cruise I didn't think in terms of halves as it was only four days. I stayed in the moment and it was the longest cruise I've ever been on.
Stay in the moment, it seems so simple. I know it, I've known it for years, but still I find myself looking back at missed opportunities and ill conceived chosen paths. I am also guilty of not only looking forward to what little time I have left but using it as an excuse for complacency.
If I can take my four day cruise experience and live in the now, maybe the sands of time will slip through the hour glass a little more slowly.
Thanks for going on this journey with me. Tomorrow I'll get back to current events.
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