May 16, 2001 (Day 70): Brooklyn, New York – 11pm
Ten days left. We continue to keep pace with Fogg. He was in New York City today buying passage on the Henrietta after missing the Cunard liner China by 45 minutes. Hopefully we will have better luck with our Cunard connection.
Health: OK.
Morale: Good.
The day began clear to partly cloudy and segued into overcast skies. A freight train derailment outside of Albany put us behind schedule, but the ride along the Hudson more than compensated for the lost time.
We collected collected Anna’s parents in Chicago; they will join us for the journey to New York. We were on the train by 7 PM, but the train was held for about one hour and twenty minutes waiting for trains from the east. Because of the delays they opened the dining car for us, so we were able to eat most of our meal before the train left the station.
Our carriage was a slightly more modern version of our on the Empire Builder. It is not a bi-level carriage, like the Empire Builder. It is more like trains we have ridden in other countries. Our cabin is another cozy two-berth compartment; a bit more room than our Empire Builder digs and with a few more built-in creature comforts. It is a marvel of molded plastic inspired by Scandinavian minimalism. This 6 foot by 4 foot compartment is loaded with features. There is more headroom, storage space over the door (like on the Trans-Mongolian), an upper bunk that moves along a track instead of a hinge, upper and lower windows, an air-conditioning unit with an incalculable number of vents, built-in cup holders, a small sink, and a TV running movies. The Legend of Bagger Vance is on now – although I joined after the scene where Will Smith gets concussed by an errant golf ball while fighting with the gopher from Caddyshack. Also playing is Finding Forrester, but I think they edited out the F. Murray Abraham versus Sean Connery slap fight.
Despite all these wonders, I am less thrilled by the in-cabin toilet. While having to use a public lavatory can be a drag, it is more uncomfortable to ask the other person to step out if you need a little “private time”. But it is only for one night.
Many of the positive sentiments that have been built up by our Amtrak experience have evaporated by the experience of collecting our luggage at Penn Station. Granted, going the two floors from the train to the luggage claim promised to lose at least one of our group in the eddy of bodies. The unexplained half-hour wait for our bags to materialize was aggravating. The luggage claim was closed, no information was available informing us why there was the delay, and the nerves of my fellow passengers got a little frayed. To make matters worse, there was not even that much luggage. But Anna’s Uncle Mark had met us at the train, so we had the added confidence that we were at the right place to collect our bags.
Uncle Mark was also there to maneuver us through the New York public transit system. From Penn Station it was a straight shot to his subway stop, no need to change trains. The hardest thing was getting us, Anna’s parents, and all of our collective bags into the subway system. No small feat, this. We had to get through the turnstiles, up some stairs, down some stairs, onto the same train, and deal with certain people who like to stop at the top of stairways when there are others carrying bags coming right up behind them. Friends, if you must stop at the top or bottom of stairways, move out of the way so that others can get past. An additional wrinkle was the advantage that Anna and I have so far into this trip. We have our own style and communicate and anticipate each other often without words. Our style is neither better nor worse, but we tend to see what needs to be done and do it without discussion. This can be difficult for others new to traveling with us to accept.
We are staying with Anna’s Uncle Mark in Brooklyn, right at the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge. For dinner – and to celebrate his birthday – he took us on a walk to a little neighborhood place that served a cassoulet that was full of flavor. The skies cleared on the walk to the restaurant. Great weather to be outdoors: not to warm or cold and full of the scent of approaching summer. The area was busy but it was not the wall-to-wall bodies of the New York City of my television and film-fueled imaginings. People smiled; said ‘Hello.’
After we got back, we went up to the roof of his building to view the city at night. The panorama included the World Trade Towers, the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, the Brooklyn Bridge (of course) and, lit tonight by a near-Biblical parting of the clouds, the Statue of Liberty. It was a superb way to end the day.
I have been on the road too long. Across the street from Uncle Mark’s apartment is a federal courthouse. Prominently displayed on the side of this building is an official looking emblem with a bald eagle. My first thoughts upon seeing this was that it was the American Embassy.
Excerpts from Anna’s journal included.
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