The End of the line

Taking my final train journey from Charlottesville to Washington DC completes my amazing circular trip.

I have travelled 7003 miles in 23 days (not counting the air miles from Heathrow)
I have stopped in 10 cities
I have passed through 19 different states
I have crossed  26 rivers
I have travelled on 6 Iconic trains - and slept on 5 of them!

I have seen countless wonders, sunrises and sunsets, Oceans and Mountains.  I have seen hundreds of miles of the United States of America - endlessly awe inspiring, amazingly beautiful and jaw droppingly (made up word) stupendous miles!

I have ticked many things off my bucket list

• Seeing the Grand Canyon
• Staying in a Hostel
• Sleeping on a train
• Learning about America's history
• Riding on a Steamboat
• Eating Chicago deep dish Pizza and French dipped sandwiches
• Experienced an American Tea Bar
• Seeing both the mighty Rockies and the Sierra Nevada
• Meeting new people and sharing their stories

I can honestly say I have enjoyed every single moment of the trip and really have to say that all those critics are wrong - AMTRAK IS FANTASTIC.

Many people have asked me "what was your favourite place" and during the entire trip, right up until Charlottesville, Chicago was by far my favourite City.  Charlottesville, however, with its laid back vibe and all that Thomas Jefferson history, just pips Chicago to first post.

I also feel I cannot end this blog without thanking all the fabulous Americans who helped me along the way and took the time to either talk to me, help me or share their stories/experiences with me. One big thing I noticed about them all is that they are so positive - no moaning or complaining, Americans just get on with it.  And I know they get a bad wrap with their "Have a nice day" dialogue but it is used in  a very genuine, polite way that really does lift your day.

I have also really enjoyed writing this blog and having you all follow my adventures - its been kind of comforting to know you are keeping tabs on me!

Apparently I can have the blog printed in a hardback book so that I have a souvenir to keep so with that in mind I am adding a few more photos from my last day in DC as I managed to get up to the top of the Old Post Office tower to take some last shots.

Thank you for following - I hope you've enjoyed reading xxx



“No one realises how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

 

Repairs are on going to the Washington monument following last years Earthquake

 

The Capitol building showing Pennsylvania Avenue

 

The Lincoln Memorial in the distance

 

 

 

Inside the 11 storey Old Post Office

 

 

Hotel roof garden

 

Distant view of the Potomac River

 

The distinctly '70s' FBI building

 

 

 

 

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

As I have already explained I originally chose to visit Charlottesville because of the Walton's TV show.  That lead to me finding out about Thomas Jefferson and Monticello and I must admit, during my travels, my curiosity about him has grown.  From seeing his memorial and his book collection in The Library of Congress to the 'Declaration of Independance' - he was an extraordinary man.

 

 

With an IQ of 160 Thomas Jefferson could speak 5 different languages, read in 7 (Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, Old English and of course English).  He would never read a translated book if he could read it in its original language.  A lover of books - he famously wrote to John Adams "I cannot live without my books" -  he had a passionate interest in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy, interests that led him to the founding of the University of Virginia after his presidency. He designed Monticello himself - taking 40 years to complete it to his satisfaction.

 

 

 

The design and building of Monticello was delayed by his time in Office - first as Vice President then two terms as President.  He also spent 5 years in Paris, France as an overseas secretary of State where he studied French Architecture (which he found enthralling) so on his return he demolished the upper floors of Monticello and had them rebuild with much French influence.  He also added the Octagonal Dome to the top floor.

 

 

 

The picture above shows the elongated sash windows much loved in Paris at that time - Jefferson had the top nine pane's added on his return but the window frame is actually an illusion - the windows belongs to the room above, on the next floor, which are set low to create the desired effect.
Jefferson also invented sash windows/doors for this house - working exactly as an ordinary sash window, there is actually 3 panels - enabling the lower 2 panels to be raised high enough to be used as a door. His other clever invention was skylights - he had them in several lower rooms to let light flood through.  Always looking for efficiency and ease, he had a dumb waiter built into the fire surround in his dining room so the wine could come straight up from the wine cellar below.  The dining room also had a shelved revolving door so that the butler could put the food on one side and turn it into the room - thus ensuring privacy for Jefferson's guests and their many in depth conversations.



Jefferson used local craftsmen as well as his own slaves to build Monticello. Though Jefferson owned many slaves, he opposed the institution all his life and consequently treated and took care of them very well and expected them to work no more than free farmers.  They were allowed a day of rest on Sundays and he gave them cloth twice a year to make winter and summer clothing.  He never sold his slaves on or broke up families and the women were encouraged to have children.  Jefferson believed having children was the best work a woman could do.

 

He was keen for his plantation to run smoothly and efficiently - he encouraged his slaves to become multi skilled and let them use their skills to create their own economy on Sundays - their one day off.  The top picture shows Mulberry Row which is when all slaves where housed and where they worked - producing food for the plantation as well as Ironworks and Nail production for construction.

Jefferson was meticulous about keeping records so The Thomas Jefferson Society have a first hand account of all details and numbers involved.  From the slave headcount and family numbers to the amount of metal given to make the nails on a daily basis - Jefferson himself would weigh the days produce and note it in his ledgers.

The house remains lovingly restored and contains many of Jefferson's original items from furniture to books and Artifacts.

The entrance hall is a study of Native American Indians and contains gifts sent back from the Lewis & Clark expedition which he commissioned to explore the New West after he orchestrated the Louisiana Purchase - land purchased from France in 1803.

Unfortunately, due to the preservation of all these items its not possible to take photo's inside the house so here is a useful link - very interesting if you have the time.

http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens

I really loved my visit to Monticello and it was a beautiful day.  As the local bus only goes as far as the entrance to the estate I decided to walk up the hill via Saunders trail.  The bus driver assured me it was only a mile and half and would take about 20 minutes. Ha - muggins here believed him!!!! it was actually a 3 1/2 mile hike up the side of some quite steep terrain - good job I had my walking shoes on and that I needed to shift all those peanut butter laced bagels!!!!!

 

lovely flowering Dogwood

 

 

Saunders trail



As I said it was a beautiful day so I really enjoyed the trek and photographing some lovely flowering trees.

A fantastic end to my visit to Charlottesville.

No wonder Mr Jefferson loved Charlottesville

Having boarded The Cardinal in Chicago in the early evening it was already dark by the time we reached Indiana so unfortunately I missed Lafayette, Indianapolis and Cincinnati (which is in Ohio).

I awoke, after the one and only restless night on a train, as we approached Portsmouth, Kentucky and was rewarded with a stunning sunrise.

 

 

As we press on into West Virginia the scenery is very reminiscent of home - green and lush with undulating landscape - so different from the flat arid deserts and plains of Central America.

 

The photo above is taken in Huntington, WV and could almost have been an English village somewhere.

We could see the Gold domed Capital building of Charleston in the distance as we passed.

Following the Greenbrier River  we head towards White Sulphur Springs - the birthplace of American golf - which has hosted the Ryder cup at the World famous Greenbrier Resort.

 

 

The landscape is beautiful especially following the river and springs, trees and blossom are now in bloom and flowers are beginning to appear - spring has finally sprung in  West Virginia.

 

I have been looking forward to seeing Charlottesville and as we continue along the Shenandoah valley we start the climb into the Allegheny Mountains which mark the boundary between West Virginia and Virginia as well as the Eastern Continental Divide.

We finally reach Charlottesville early afternoon and the Sunshine is glorious and very welcome!

Charlottesville has been named the best place to live in the USA based on cost of living, climate and quality of life - and I'm not surprised.  It has a very organic, homespun, laid back feel to it.

Its Historic downtown mall is one of the oldest in America and the Town was undamaged by the Civil War as it was surrendered by the Mayor to spare it from burning.

An imposing statue of Robert E Lee, Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, dominates in Lee park - another memorial to the Civil War.

I stopped at Timberlake's Drug store to sample the advertised 'best milkshake in Virginia' - you walk through the store and the diner is at the rear - it took a full 5 minutes to prepare my cherry milkshake and it was, indeed, stupendous!!

Charlottesville is home to not 1, not 2 but 3 former Presidents - Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe.

 

It is also home to the University of Virginia and Jefferson's renowned mountain top home Monticello (more of Monticello later).

 

 

I stayed at the beautiful Alexander Inn & Hostel with its own picket fence and front porch - the house was amazing inside - all wooden floors and I had a bedroom to myself not a dorm this time.  The house is owned and run by a co operative and is fully organic and totally Eco friendly, I could have stayed quite happily for weeks.



 

All the houses were of this traditional Virginian styling, all with front porches and rocking chairs.

 

After spending a very pleasant afternoon exploring the old town I made plans to visit Monticello the following day ...................



Back in the Windy City

After Kansas City my trip took me back to Chicago for an overnight stop before changing trains again to the Cardinal which would take me to Charlottesville.

As Chicago is my favourite place on the trip so far this can only be good news.  This time I am stopping at Oak 112 which is in the Gold Coast area of the city.

again a lovely old house but this time completely modernised inside giving a fresh contemporary feel - nice.

I bought the sunshine with me so set off into the city for a little retail therapy and gift shopping.

Of course, suffering from Bluebird Tea withdrawal I immediately headed to the next best thing - Argo Tea, for a refreshing iced chai (now my firm favourite).

As Oak 112 didn't have a PC I could use to update the blog they recommended I visit the Central Library where PC use is FREE - so I jumped on the 'L' and made a bee line.

The Central Library is huge and absolutely beautiful - inside and out ......

Disappointment of the day - Union Station was used for the famous 'pram running away down the stairs' scene in the file The Untouchables (Kevin Costner).  So I went to get a picture of the Grand Staircase - this is how it looked in the film .................

 

 

and this is what it actually looks like ...................

Unhappy Face! Not impressive at all and very narrow and small.

7.30 start in the morning for Charlottesville.

Follow the yellow brick road ..................

So not so bright but very early the next day I find myself back at the patch of concrete otherwise known as Williams Junction waiting to board the Southwest Chief once more, for the longest segment of my whole trip - I will be aboard for over 24 hours, covering 1293 miles and cannot wait to climb into my bed!  My Roomette is ready and waiting and I get straight to sleep.

There will be 2 time changes before I reach my destination so my body clock is well out of sorts - the time is punctuated by mealtimes and I have to admit, a cheeky little nap after my lunch.

By the time it is light we have crossed the boarder from Arizona into New Mexico - a pretty desolate place with hardly any vegetation or human settlements.

Inhabited by Native Americans for many centuries, New Mexico has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, including descendants of Spanish colonists and recent immigrants from Latin America.

The name New Mexico, or Nuevo Mexico, is often incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the modern Republic of Mexico. New Mexico was given its name by Spanish explorers believing there were wealthy Indian cultures similar to those of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire.

The picture above shows a distant 'Starvation Peak' - said to be where travellers sought refuge whilst on the Santa Fe trail after being chased there by native American Indians.  The Indians blocked their retreat and they starved to death - nice!

The scenery remains pretty repetitive as we roll on through Winslow and Gallup and after we stop at Albuquerque I am unable to get the Prefab Sprout rendition of the same name out of my head - very annoying to say the least!  When I posted the chorus on Facebook, Mr C asked me if I could name any other songs by Prefab Sprout - I could not, indeed I could only remember the chorus of this one song which repeated repeated repeated inside my head for miles - just as it had when it was Kristina's first favourite song as a child!

Just before we reached Raton the sky turned black and the relatively unheard of happened - it started to SNOW - now this is very rare in New Mexico and caused quite a stir on the train - we crossed into Colorado, and Trinidad did not live up to its namesake - by the time we reached La Junta ice was forming on the outside of the train windows.  This didn't happen even when we were caught in the snow blizzards approaching Denver.

Weird!!!!

As darkness fell I could see little of Lamar, Dodge City or Topeka as we reached Kansas.

The train arrived in Kansas City at 7:30 am with no sign of snow or rain - just a biting, gusty wind.

"I have a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore Toto" ....... well that depends on which part of Kansas City you are in and what side of the Missouri river you stand on - Kansas City is divided by the River putting one side of the city on Kansas and the other in Missouri.

I  stayed in Kansas.  And while we are on the subject Dorothy didn't wear Red Shoes - she wore Ruby Slippers - attention to detail please folks!

The Union Station in Kansas City stands on the Missouri side and is a beautiful example of  early 1900s architecture - the 'Beaux-Arts' building opened in 1914.

Union Station made headlines on June 17, 1933, as four unarmed FBI agents were gunned down by gang members attempting to free captured fugitive Frank Nash. Nash was also killed in the gun battle. The “Kansas City Massacre” highlighted the lawlessness of Kansas City under the Pendergast Machine and resulted in the arming of all FBI agents.

After falling into decline and closing in 1985 the station was redeveloped in the mid 90s.  Union Station is now home to Science City, a family-friendly interactive science centre with more than 50 hands-on exhibits; the H&R Block City Stage Theatre, a live-action venue with productions for young and old alike; the Reginer Extreme Screen, the largest 3-D movie screen in the region at five and half stories tall; two restaurants, an upscale steak and seafood restaurant, and the Harvey's at Union Station.

The developers have done a magnificent  job as the Station retains it Old World feel and transports you back in time as you walk through its halls.

After seeing a poster advertising a tour I couldn't resist a trip to The Federal Reserve Bank!

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank. The Bank covers the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and portions of western Missouri and northern New Mexico and has branches in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Omaha.

 

 

It has an interactive money museum and a Dollar design section where you can superimpose a picture of yourself on the note and have it emailed home - just a bit of fun.

 

There is also a viewing gallery where you can watch the staff packing notes for storage in the vaults.  The crates of cash are then transported and stacked by robotic trolleys that move about the vault between sensors - very high tech.  None the less just paper to me as its always been!  They give you a bag of free money as you leave as a souvenir - $165 - shredded!

 

Kansas City's other claim to fame is that its the home town of Hallmark cards.  Created by 2 brothers back in the day, it has grown to be a multinational household brand and as I looked around the exhibition of their history it reminded me very much of the Cadbury family's ethos of community and company well being.  All staff were viewed as part of the 'Hallmark family' where they were developed and encouraged personally to achieve their potential.

 

A very interesting City to visit but alas, I soon had to click my Ruby Slippers together and return to Oz, I mean Amtrak.