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24 October 2007

By the time I got to Woodstock ... [More:]the sky was full of cloud and I'd left the beautiful NYC weather behind.

First, Amtrak. How bloody impressive is Amtrak compared with UK trains. On time, clean, comfortable, cheap tickets, helpful conductors. It was great.

I sat on the left of the train so I got the view up the Hudson, and a lovely ride it was too. My friend Joanee met me at the station and on the way to her house we stopped at the farm which used to be 'Maggie's Farm' (now under different ownership and name) to buy some organic food.

Her house is amazing, like the Tardis. It looks tiny on the outside but it's huge, on many levels and it goes back for room upon room. I have a lovely room at the back, overlooking the pool.

Woodstock is a pretty little town, full of little artsty-craftsy shops. I saw more ponytailed men here in two hours than I've seen in four days in NYC!

We went out for Mexican food last night, which I absolutely love. We can't get it in England (we have Indian instead) so any chance I get for a burrito I grab.

It's so lovely to see Joanee, and to meet her husband, Peter. They're both really interesting people (I once Googled Joanee and almost fell off my chair when I saw her achievements.) They're a lot of fun, and they have two kitties too, which has somewhat made up for my lack of kitteh contact whilst in NYC.

Only downside, no cellphone service on my network up here.
Awesome. I've never been.

Don't worry about missing out on any good weather though, essexjan: it's just as grey and cloudy down here.
posted by gaspode 24 October | 07:12
Groovy!
posted by JanetLand 24 October | 07:19
Mmmmm, Mexican food.

Sounds like you're continuing to have a grand time, ej... :)
posted by BoringPostcards 24 October | 07:20
I too love that trip up the hudson on Amtrak...i took it up to Lake Placid a couple years back...great views of all the old tracks and wetlands and just amazingly cool old structures in various states of disrepair...

Sounds funn EJ, I'm a bit jealous...

[snark]It is very hard to find quality mexican food in NY, Peurto Rican on the other hand...very easy[/snark]
posted by Schyler523 24 October | 08:16
...so any chance I get for a burrito I grab.

Me too.
posted by mullacc 24 October | 08:20
Hudson River train view is one of the best things ever. I see it whenever I take the train down to NYC from here. At first I thought you might be in *my* Woodstock, but I guess you're over the river. Glad you're enjoying yourself!
posted by jessamyn 24 October | 09:59
I love Amtrak too. Glad you think it compares well with the UK systems, which we always hear glowing things about. If only we could get some decent funding for the system to bring the price down. It's often more expensive than driving or flying the same route, so there's a disincentive.
posted by Miko 24 October | 10:22
I suspect that this is the first time ever that someone has said this about Amtrak: "On time, clean, comfortable, cheap tickets, helpful conductors. It was great." Without a sarcasm so incredibly dry that it could be used to prevent salt from caking up. Amtrak was more or less designed to make people drive cars everywhere.

I admit the last time I rode it, it was a lot better though. That's a nice ride up the Hudson for sure. The Hudson Valley is God's country.
posted by Divine_Wino 24 October | 10:28
Every time I think about how nice Amtrak is, how we have unused passenger and freight rail lines rusting all over America, and how we destroy our environment with roads and our roads with trucks and our trucks with accidents every day, I want to kill a Teamster.

Trucking destroyed the train, which destroyed Baltimore, as well as other rail cities. All it took was money, congress, and lies.

All aboard.
posted by Hugh Janus 24 October | 10:36
How bloody impressive is Amtrak compared with UK trains. On time, clean, comfortable, cheap tickets, helpful conductors. It was great.


I cannot say that it is like this on the West Coast. The tracks out here are owned by Union Pacific, and they give Amtrak a very low priority, to the point where passenger trains have to sit in the middle of nowhere for HOURS while freight trains go by.

The staff seems indifferent, also.
posted by danf 24 October | 10:49
Glad you think it compares well with the UK systems, which we always hear glowing things about.

*checks atlas* Nope, there is only one UK. Someone's been telling fibs about our train system.
posted by TheDonF 24 October | 11:45
The tracks out here are owned by Union Pacific, and they give Amtrak a very low priority, to the point where passenger trains have to sit in the middle of nowhere for HOURS while freight trains go by

It's that way on the East Coast south of DC, too.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 24 October | 11:54
Don't just have burritos. Have some real Mexican food, like Chicken Mole!
posted by matildaben 24 October | 13:10
Woodstock? NY? My god woman, go see Big Pink! See if you can buy Levon's new record while you're in town too!
posted by richat 24 October | 14:57
Worried about being tracked down and fined || If I had an extra 25 grand lying around,

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