Union Terminal and the First Class Meyers

Union Terminal at night is beautiful. The rotunda is a little haunting, but the murals look even more impressive without the movement of other people in the hall.

The Terminal isn’t a new thing for is because we have a family pass to the Cincinnati Museum Center. However, this is the first time that either of us had been in the Amtrak station there. There is beautiful, inlayed wood paneling on the walls in a train motif. Jon, however, decided not to take a picture for some reason.

 

We got there at about 3:00am for the 3:33am train. As soon as we walked in the attendant said aloud, “Mr. and Mrs.Meyer?”

That was more-than-a-little weird. It was like he had a mug shot of each of us and was just waiting for us to pull in. While we were checking in he mentioned (rather loudly) that we had a sleeper car and would be boarding first. While we were thankful for that, it was a little uncomfortable. Amy and I aren’t the “First Class” type, so I didn’t really know what to say other than “Thanks.”

The assembled were a motley crew of passengers and individuals there to pick up passengers whose journey ended in Cincinnati. We sat there for awhile, people watching and reading the huge timetable that we got from the attendant. It’s always fun to plan dream vacations.

At about 3:30am the attendant came out and said, “Mr. & Mrs. Meyer: you may come with me. After I am finished assisting our First Class passengers I will come back for the rest of you.”

Again…super uncomfortable. I felt like freakin’ Prince Ali in Aladdin. We were on parade. It was both awesome and disconcerting. I wonder if First Class/Business Class air passengers feel like that. I’ve never noticed any hint of it.

We walked down a long ramp with two-tone inlayed floors. It wasn’t in the best shape, but it was obviously original. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people had walked down that ramp. I know that there are only a handful of departures from Cincinnati on Amtrak now, but tens of thousands of soldiers left for war by walking down that ramp, including my grandfathers on their way to WWII.

 

We waited for several minutes and watched the coach passengers file out of a different door. They were a good 200 feet away from us. Again, I felt very uncomfortable. I’ve lived the life of a bourgeoisie. I’ve always been looking up at “the haves.” I’d been looking forward to riding in the Viewliner Bedroom even since my lucky break last Thursday (see post-to-come about the great deals that I scored for this trip), but now I felt guilty. That passed pretty quickly.

 

Here are the reasons for our change of heart:

   (1) Jay the sleeping car attendant. He handed our luggage up to us. Very helpful. He had also already turned down the beds in our room. That was very thoughtful at 3:30am

   (2) Private bathroom. I don’t really think that I need to explain this one.

   (3) Dining Car food is included. This is a real bargain. If Amy and I had ridden in coach and decided to buy the food on the train, as opposed to bringing our own, breakfast would have been $22, lunch would have been $30, and dinner would probably have been around $40.

   (4) Complete darkness. They can’t turn the lights all the way out in coach. In our bedroom, we can.

   (5) Power Outlet. Very helpful for charging the cell phones, iPod, and computer. Very necessary to power my CPAP machine.

   (6) Odor Control. Ever sit next to someone that really stinks on a plane? Then you know what I mean.

   (7) Ease of conversation. Amy and I can talk to each other or to people on the phone and not worry about what we’re saying. If you know either of us, you know that this is key.

 

 

 

I got about 3 hours of sleep. That’s not enough, obviously, but I can nap this afternoon. Amy got about the same, I believe. However, Amy also slept for 3.5 hours before we left. I was playing Left 4 Dead 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, watching The Hangover, and programming a webcam with Mark until we left.

 

Breakfast was fine for Amy. You can’t go wrong with cereal, yogurt and a grapefruit. I ordered an omelet and it was positively disgusting. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever order anything other than a continental breakfast on a train.

 

Lunch was stellar. I had a sausage, pepper and mushroom pizza. This was big for me because of the bolded ingredient. I HATE mushrooms. This pizza, however, was fantastic. Amy had a good turkey sandwich and we are currently splitting a small (very small) container of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Ice Cream.

 

Next up: Great deals on our transportation and room.