Invasive Species
Apparently, they are called Kudzu vines. They were brought in from Japan to “control erosion.” But what happens when you bring in a non-native species into an ecosystem? Hmm, let’s see, in this case, it has taken over. Seemingly from dawn near Atlanta all the way through Mississippi, the Kudzu vines were everywhere. Yes, it seems that they are doing a pretty good job with erosion control. Too hell with every other living plant.
I had an memorable time in Washington. Walked and walked and walked some more. Google Pedometer says I walked 4.77 miles or so. Saw some sights that I felt I had so see, perceived a few more in the distance that I just couldn’t quite make it to. You see, Amtrak travel is finicky–no, it’s just plain luck. My train was on-time, giving me a full 4 hours in Washington. The train the day before and the day after were about 2 hours late. I guess luck was on my side Tuesday.
Knock on wood for me please…my Amtrak luck continued during the ride on The Crescent. I managed to get photos uploaded using the free WiFi in the Acela Lounge, then threw the laptop into the bag to catch my early boarding opportunity. This is an all-single level train, so there is not a Sightseer Lounge car. One thing that I’ve noticed, so far, is that many of the sleeping car passengers lock themselves in their compartments and come out only for meals. Hermits, if you will.
Meals are interesting, as they fill up the tables with strangers and you get to strike up some interesting conversations. Over lunch, I sat with a media-career-hopeful student returning from a CNN internship (he had a very nice personality; he could actually make it in TV news if he catches the right break), a retired 1st Grade teacher, and a 19-year-old women on her way to meet up with her finance in Baton Rouge. But that’s only the beginning–she didn’t know what he does for a living, she recently drove her car into the ditch, got arrested for DUI, and, there’s more, but you don’t really want to hear it. Ironically, both the young lady and gentlemen got sent to the train in Atlanta by Delta Airlines, because they both seemed (twice, each) to have trouble getting to the airport in time for their plane. So, rather than put them on the Clue Bus, Delta handed them off to Amtrak and said, “here, you deal with them.”
I got a lot more sleep on this train. Simply, I was tired. I slept through much of the night, only waking up a few times during various stops. We stopped at some unknown station in some unknown town at some unknown (but very early) time for a long period of time (we were EARLY! I’ve never had that happen on an Amtrak train before!). Unfortunately, we stopped right next to this really, REALLY, bright light. Right outside my window. Thank you very much.
We passed through some very nice countryside, and entered “new” territory for me…traveling through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. I’m used to the train following rivers (like we did in Pennsylvania), but not this time. Just a long winding path through countryside, hills, trees, pastures, and kudzu vines. At times, things were very swampy & wet, especially as we got closer to New Orleans (wow, what a surprise). We crossed Lake Pontchartrain, passed City Park (with the Museum of Art) and pulled into the station right next to the (in)famous Superdome. I posted some photos of the lake crossing and a shot overlooking a New Orleans cemetary with downtown in the background. Saw some signs of Katrina damage, still, but in the areas we went by, not too bad. I’m told that parts of town still are a long way from being anything to speak of, though.
So, now, I’m back off to the French Quarter, going to find some frozen beverages and party hardy…well, not really. But I am going to go find some nice Jazz to listen to for a while before crashing back at the hotel. Join me…throw some Thelonious Monk on your iPod, or perhaps a Stanley Turrentine CD…
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