here’s a picture from our trip back in october, at the famous blue swallow motel. better half looking for all the historical stuff and neon, but we were never near it by the time the sun set. closest we got was in seligman, but decided to keep moving to another town for that night.
my better half, my brother, and myself were flitting about this landmark taking pics, with our “professional” looking gear, which of course caught the eye of the owner of the motel. he came out and had a chat with my better half, who reassured him that we were not taking commercial images nor using them in illicit ways. nope, just a vacation, just catching some memories. sharing just one here, not cashing in on it.
all these towns were somewhat the same: run down, hanging on, trying to keep appearances. especially empty because of the pandemic, the motel owners were either full up or desperately willing to make a deal to bring in any dollars.
not sure if i liked the road trip or the train trip part of the vacation. not everyday that you see a full train car or two of amish folk (thou art very plain). they stare at us as we pass through their car on the way to the food car, and we stare at them.
quite a number of people trying not to wear a mask, or thinking they were being clever and removing once the conductor had left the car. but the chief conductor was quite willing to stop and drop off anyone with the next sheriff in the middle of nowhere. they actually did that, and it was a group of people being rowdy and arguing about the rule.
either way, there was a lot of time just staring out the window, neck getting sore, so switching from one seat to the other to equalize the ache.
being in the back seat of the car ride back from washington, dc, once you hit texas, new mexico and arizona, there are long stretches of sameness. seemed to bother my better half that i spent a lot of time reading my ipad. i couldn’t hear the conversation up front, and i’d look about and shoot pics through the window once in a while. whatever.
that being said, my better half didn’t think i enjoyed the trip. it was different, but i’d do it again, but only if we had more than two weeks. and take more stops off the train—too many nights in the sleeping car is not my favorite. i liked the idea, but i couldn’t sleep!