Day One, Complete!

Whew. I managed to pass out before I could update about my first day.

So I rode my very first train today. Today’s trip was from High Point to Newport News, Virginia. Today’s trip consisted of two separate train rides, with a layover in Richmond.

Riding the rails... like a hobo... for the next almost three weeks...

I got to the train station super early (because I am weird like that and I have to be ridiculously early for travel). The station in High Point is unmanned, so it was very quiet and not a lot of hustle and bustle. The highlight of the train station was the man watching porn loudly on his phone without earphones. Don’t ask me what kind… all I know is I heard a lot of smacking and a woman moaning loudly. (What can you do?)

The first train was interesting. I had a hard time adjusting to walking on the train while it was moving. And I took many many naps because the movement of the train lulled to sleep. The first train’s highlights was a man who decided to start singing, then tried to get the rest of the train singing when they conductor told him that he had to be quiet.

The layover in Richmond was uneventful, unless you include the “I’m not racist, but…” older white woman who decided to strike up a conversation with me. I kid you not… she came up to me and asked me if I spoke English and when I said yes, she plopped down next to me and started talking about how she wasn’t sure if I did because I was brown. She also walked up to the man at the snack stand guy (an Indian looking man) and asked if he had all of these Middle Eastern food items (when it’s obvious he’s just running a snack stand) because with the way he looked she figured he’d have curries or something like that served.

Sigh…

The second train was completely uneventful. I finished up my trip from Richmond to Newport News on the quiet car. No one was allowed to talk in loud voices or have their cell phone ringers on. Okay with me!! I happily sat there and enjoyed the view until it got dark and there wasn’t a lot for me to see.

So now I’m at my hotel. There probably won’t be any big updates while I’m here, as this is just a sort of bonus trip to see a friend before the real adventure begins. Having said that, I guess I’ll see you all on Sunday!