Amtrak in. Amtrak home. So civilized, never mind that the return train ran 2+ hours late because of the heat.
On the trip in, I sat next to a young man and we got to chatting. He told me he was about to move across country and wa taking his parents on a trip to Washington DC. His parents were seated across the aisle, she in a sari and surrounded by bags of what looked like groceries, him snoozing.
The young man said he'd researched the Acelas and determined that the best seats for viewing are the odd-numbered ones. We were in Row 11 and sure enough, the view was unobstructed. I had no idea but now I'll pick my seats with that in mind--I love looking out the window.
I love to chat with people, if they're willing. And he was. He told me that soon he'd be moving across the country to take a job at a high tech company and live with his girlfriend.
Obviousy at a turning point in his life--moving away from parents, taking a new job--he asked me why I'd choose to live in the Boston area where houses are so expensive when I could buy a magnificent home for the same price or less in Texas. I tried to explain that then I'd be in Texas when all the people I care about are in the Northeast corridor. "It's not about the house." I didn't mention the politics.
We chatted amiably off and on the rest of the way to New York, and as I was leaving my seat, I leaned over and said to his mother, "Your son is very charming."
I was waiting in the aisle when the young man (whose name I never got) came up to me and said that it had been very nice chatting, and wished me well. It was lovely of him.
It was crowded and a family was sitting next to me was listening. I exchanged smiles with the mother and I said something like, "It's lovely when you meet someone nice on the train."
She said, "I met my husband on a train. On this train."
Her son asked, "What's the name of this train?" And I thought, such a kid question. The mother told him its name was ACELA.
A woman across the aisle must have heard because she chimed in, "I met my husband on this train, too."
The encounters left me smiling all through the hot hot weekend. (Plus my granddaughter graduated wth honors.)
Have you had any close encounters with strangers on your travels?
