Too busy to post

Lovely breakfast at Biscuits Cafe with copperwise, tanuki_green, irismoonlight, her companion whose LJ I can’t remember, catamorphism, kr8vkat, and Alan. I meet the most interesting people online. Definitely need to spend more time in Portland. Topics of discussion included volcanoes, high tech, true crime, and much more.

Safe in the train station, suitcase checked. Now looking at dimly lit WPA paintings of Oregon sights. 12:21 PM Feb 16th

Possibly they are not WPA paintings, since I am having a hard time finding anything about them online. Painted in matte shades of indigo and ochre, or possibly just lit and faded into that palette. Portland has a lot of public art, including some stacks of flagstone outside the station and a sculpture that looks like a crashing meteorite just outside Powell’s.

This is not a criticism. I love public art, whether it’s the grand Beaux Arts fountains of Philadelphia or the silly and charming giant clothes pin, also of Philadelphia. Or the bizarre, hypnotic 42d Street Ballroom in the NY Port Authority bus station.

On our way to Oakland – 17 hours, then change trains for the last leg. Portland was lovely, but I want to go home. 2:58 PM Feb 16th

Ha.

This part of Oregon is lush: moss, vines, ferns, brush. It’s the abundance of surface water. Even the firs are succulent as grapes. 3:18 PM Feb 16th

Lush is a funny word to use in mid-winter, when the many deciduous trees are bare, and the world looks raw and unfinished. But lush it is.

Four great skeins of birds circle and merge into one vast flock. Beyond are dove-grey mountains two shades deeper than the clouds. 11:56 PM Feb 16th

A peaceful scene, but under the snow volcanoes drowse. In the fields three men with shotguns watch the birds. 11:56 PM Feb 16th

Fresh fish for poker players. Just overheard 3 people who were inspired to learn holdem by the movie 21. WTF? 12:44 AM Feb 17th

Everyone admires the Kevin Spacey performance and the daring and intelligence of the MIT blackjack team. I did not drop any names.

Observation car: an old man playing blues on acoustic guitar. Picking deftly in the dusk, untroubled by those who listen, those who don’t. about 12:48 AM Feb 17th

No power. Only emergency lights. It would be sweetly old-fashioned except for all the laptops, DVD players, cellphones, and handheld games. 1:38 AM Feb 17th

Somewhere in here, I had a fascinating two-hour conversation with my seatmate about web development, good and bad corporations to work for, copyright issues, and the comparative virtues of SF and Portland.

On a siding in Eugene, waiting for a new engine. I hope we can make up the time. To track our lateness check train #11 on amtrak.com 1:53 AM Feb 17th

Couldn’t sleep in the hot crowded coach car. Have enjoyed 3 whole hours of refreshing slumber stretched on the floor of the observation car. 5:13 AM Feb 17th

The most uncomfortable thing about train travel is assuredly the overheating of the coach cars. I understand that sleepers have individually controlled temps.

Did I complain that CA lacks surface water? Seems it heard. Drenching rains started the day I left. Now the earth is sodden to overflowing. 8:56 AM Feb 17th

And still it rained — which we desperately need.

North of Sacto I spotted a village of tents in a field near power lines. Migrant farm workers? Homeless encampment? Surely not Boy Scouts. 9:05 AM Feb 17th

mactavish informed me that migrant workers generally live in wooden shacks. I bet this was a homeless village.

Next stop Oakland. Since we’re more than 2 hours late, I’ve already missed my connection. So I’ll wait 2 more hrs for a 20-min train ride. 9:48 AM Feb 17th

Home with a purring cat on my lap, amenity unavailable on Coast Starlight. Train has better view, but apt is not running 2 hours late. 7:42 PM Feb 17th