Train Travels
2008
I took another train trip and this time, I was able to share it with my sweetie. This was her first real train ride and it was a success so hopefully it will be the beginning of many more to come.
We took Metro-Link down to the Amtrak station and the train left right on time, 8:30 AM. The new Amtrak station is under construction so for now, the area surrounding it is a muddy mess. We were glad we didn’t have to park. The advantage of boarding the train at the very beginning is great seat selection. It was National Train Day so at times during the journey; we filled up with some folks boarding in Kirkwood to travel to Hermann for the day. We made pretty good time and were interested to see how high the Missouri River really is. With spring melting still ahead, the potential for summer floods seems very high.
We arrived at Union Station in Kansas City just about 2:30. We had only snacked on the train so we were very ready to enjoy lunch. I had enthusiastically advocated the Union Station Café from last visit and it did not disappoint. We shared a four cheese pizza and each had a nice glass of wine. From there, it was an easy walk to the Westin at Crown Center. The hotel lobby is spectacular with a real waterfall and an overall feeling of nature and calm which is the Westin trademark. We have learned that business traveler hotel’s can be a great bargain on the weekend, amazing quality for a decent price.
Westin also features comfortable beds that they call the Heavenly Beds and they really are nice, a snuggly white comforter and sheets are a nice luxury for those of us with dogs that could never have that at home.
We settled into our room and then took a bit of a walk around the Crown Center shops. We had dinner reservations at Benton’s, the top of the Westin. Our table featured a nice view of the K. C skyline and a street party below called Fiesta.
It wasn’t long before a storm hit and we watched the rain and lightning from our nice dry dinner table. We had already made plans to eat steak as neither of us do much red meat anymore, it would be special treat. It was a melt in your mouth Kansas City strip with a cool yam potato casserole side. There was no room for dessert or a salad. It was all about the meat and a very robust wine from Argentina.
After dinner, we moved to the bar area and listened to some local musicians play jazz. It was really good and felt cozy with the storm still raging outside. The jazz group included a bass player, guitarist, drummer and female singer. A cute boy couple sat in front of us, they looked to be about 22 and in love.
The next morning, we enjoyed some lounging time and a carbohydrate filled breakfast from the hotel restaurant downstairs. They served Starbucks which always notches up the experience. We took another walk around the shops and before we knew it, the time to return to Union Station had arrived. We never went outside as you can do all of this using the above ground walk-ways. The train trip home was even faster, no real delays. The Metro-link home was a bit tedious as the trains just don’t run that often on Sunday night. But all in all, a relaxing experience and one we hope to repeat by adding full day in K. C. and actually going outside the Union Station/Crown Center complex.
2006
Riding a train evokes a nostalgic feeling. Though the engines built today are sleeker than those of years passed, there is still a sense of timelessness to train travel. My journey was a day trip, riding from Kirkwood to Kansas City and back. Travel is often about doing something that breaks your routine, gets you outside of yourself and your comfort zone. This was a perfect chance for that experience. Trains offer a view of America’s backyard. We passed a field of gravestones followed by a field of horses and then rode along side the massive Missouri River. Off in the distance, I saw the Calloway nuclear plant spewing its white cloud of billowing smoke. There is always the question of when it might not be a friend to this area. The journey passes two prisons surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. Their open recreation areas were empty and peaceful. Passing through the woods and open fields gave me a chance to see dozens of wild turkeys and a few hawks atop trees. Amtrak shares tracks with freight trains and this means that periodically, you stop and wait for another train to pass. I watched car after car marked "radioactive only." It was unsettling and I was glad when it passed on.
I took another train trip and this time, I was able to share it with my sweetie. This was her first real train ride and it was a success so hopefully it will be the beginning of many more to come.
We took Metro-Link down to the Amtrak station and the train left right on time, 8:30 AM. The new Amtrak station is under construction so for now, the area surrounding it is a muddy mess. We were glad we didn’t have to park. The advantage of boarding the train at the very beginning is great seat selection. It was National Train Day so at times during the journey; we filled up with some folks boarding in Kirkwood to travel to Hermann for the day. We made pretty good time and were interested to see how high the Missouri River really is. With spring melting still ahead, the potential for summer floods seems very high.
We arrived at Union Station in Kansas City just about 2:30. We had only snacked on the train so we were very ready to enjoy lunch. I had enthusiastically advocated the Union Station Café from last visit and it did not disappoint. We shared a four cheese pizza and each had a nice glass of wine. From there, it was an easy walk to the Westin at Crown Center. The hotel lobby is spectacular with a real waterfall and an overall feeling of nature and calm which is the Westin trademark. We have learned that business traveler hotel’s can be a great bargain on the weekend, amazing quality for a decent price.
Westin also features comfortable beds that they call the Heavenly Beds and they really are nice, a snuggly white comforter and sheets are a nice luxury for those of us with dogs that could never have that at home.
We settled into our room and then took a bit of a walk around the Crown Center shops. We had dinner reservations at Benton’s, the top of the Westin. Our table featured a nice view of the K. C skyline and a street party below called Fiesta.
It wasn’t long before a storm hit and we watched the rain and lightning from our nice dry dinner table. We had already made plans to eat steak as neither of us do much red meat anymore, it would be special treat. It was a melt in your mouth Kansas City strip with a cool yam potato casserole side. There was no room for dessert or a salad. It was all about the meat and a very robust wine from Argentina.
After dinner, we moved to the bar area and listened to some local musicians play jazz. It was really good and felt cozy with the storm still raging outside. The jazz group included a bass player, guitarist, drummer and female singer. A cute boy couple sat in front of us, they looked to be about 22 and in love.
The next morning, we enjoyed some lounging time and a carbohydrate filled breakfast from the hotel restaurant downstairs. They served Starbucks which always notches up the experience. We took another walk around the shops and before we knew it, the time to return to Union Station had arrived. We never went outside as you can do all of this using the above ground walk-ways. The train trip home was even faster, no real delays. The Metro-link home was a bit tedious as the trains just don’t run that often on Sunday night. But all in all, a relaxing experience and one we hope to repeat by adding full day in K. C. and actually going outside the Union Station/Crown Center complex.
2006
Riding a train evokes a nostalgic feeling. Though the engines built today are sleeker than those of years passed, there is still a sense of timelessness to train travel. My journey was a day trip, riding from Kirkwood to Kansas City and back. Travel is often about doing something that breaks your routine, gets you outside of yourself and your comfort zone. This was a perfect chance for that experience. Trains offer a view of America’s backyard. We passed a field of gravestones followed by a field of horses and then rode along side the massive Missouri River. Off in the distance, I saw the Calloway nuclear plant spewing its white cloud of billowing smoke. There is always the question of when it might not be a friend to this area. The journey passes two prisons surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. Their open recreation areas were empty and peaceful. Passing through the woods and open fields gave me a chance to see dozens of wild turkeys and a few hawks atop trees. Amtrak shares tracks with freight trains and this means that periodically, you stop and wait for another train to pass. I watched car after car marked "radioactive only." It was unsettling and I was glad when it passed on.
I had a small chance to confront homophobia and I took it. A conversation about the movie, Brokeback Mountain steeled me for what I might hear. I was seated behind a group of women traveling together for a weekend getaway. So I spoke up in response to a negative comment and told them it was one of the best movies that I have ever seen. It was, I didn’t lie. Union Station is what a train station should be, treating a visitor to railroad grandeur that puts you in the middle of an Agatha Christie novel without the murder. I ate a late lunch at Union Station Café, enjoying prime rib covered with brie cheese on French bread, au jus.. Beef vegetable soup was the starter and a cool plate of fresh fruit was a nice touch. I had a medium body Bordeaux with the meal since I was not driving for five more hours.
How is it to travel alone,? Do men feel more comfortable? For me, it somehow felt brave. Did it matter that I was happily married and wasn’t facing the rest of my life alone, that this was just one day? I thought of those ladies on the train. Do they ever set out alone. Do they have individual identities or was my stereotyping true that they were a reflection of their husbands and children? Do they ever step outside of the familiar? Am I being fair to them? Their lives appear so traditional but perhaps on many levels must be rich and complex. Am I judging them as I fear being judged?
Comments