From Chicago the Empire Builder is actually two trains. #7 and #27. In Spokane the train splits. #7 contiues on to Seattle and #27 goes to Portland. So whereas the Capitol Limited was organized with coach cars together at one end and the sleeping cars together at the other end and the lounge and diner cars in the middle; the Empire builder had a mix and match design to facilitate the split in Spokane.
Our ticket indicated our car was #730 (the corresponding Portland ticket would have said #2730 get it?). We found the car and our attendant, Dennis. We dumped our big suitcase on the rack and proceeded up to find roomette #7 which was about halfway down the row and on the opposite side from the room on the previous train. The rooms were identical except for one item. Where the first train had a space for the first suitcase to slide into there was a closet on this train. The suitcase didn't fit in the closet though so we ended up putting it on the step going up to the upstairs bunk with the backpack on top. During sleep mode we put the backpack at the bottom of my bed.
The first visitors to our roomette were a couple who had tickets that also read train #730, room #7. Uh oh. Dennis came along and at first said he thought maybe Amtrak had double booked the room. He said this as if it was not uncommon. However, he found the couple's name on his master list in a different room. The ticket had simply been printed incorrectly. Good thing because we were not budging! ;)
Fran, the no nonsense dining car attendant came by and we made a reservation this time for dinner at 6:30. We decided that our decadent lunch would carry us through until then. Also we looked at the timetable and judged that we would be through with dinner just about the time we'd be pulling into Milwaukee which was a designated smoke stop. So while the smokers cleared out of the lounge car we could get in and find two seats together. After Fran we got up to walk around and see that most everything was more or less in the same places that they were in the Capitol Limited. I was disappointed that the coffee station did not have a box of water bottles though. They had a water dispenser that I used once and had to throw the water away. It spat and sputtered and the water came out gunky. I probably cleaned it out for the rest of the passengers but it turned me off so that I hesitated to go back to it. We returned to our roomette to find a neat little drawstring pouch with the words "Amtrak" on the outside and shampoo, soap and lotion inside. Just like you'd get at a hotel. I was wearing my Media Five Mile race tshirt and the man in room #6 asked if we were from PA? I said yes we were. He lived at one time in Medford NJ and worked in Philadelphia. Now the couple lives in Virginia.
We dined with Sharon and Cliff from Illinois. They were travelling to Seattle for their niece's wedding. Sharon and Cliff have a daugher living in Minnesota and a son who still lives at home and inherited is father's green thumb, raising orchids. Sharon and Cliff are retired and in their past life they owned a nursery/garden center with adjoining gift shop. Dinner was again very good. Dave and I both had the lamb shanks with mashed potatoes for me and rice for Dave and very fresh green beans. I had skipped desert last night but this night they had a chocolate peanut butter pie that was sooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!! Sharon, Cliff, Dave and I enjoyed each other's company and yapped so long the waiter, Damon, kicked us out. He was very nice about it and explained that we couldn't linger as they had another seating coming in.
We proceed to the lounge car for a few hours then back to our room. I decided to take a shower at night so that my hair could dry in the relative warmth of our roomette. There are no hairdryers and the outlets are marked "No Hair Dryers". So a bit about showering on the train. Earlier a man who is apparatnly a regular asked us "Do you know how to shower on a train?" Without waiting for an answer he said, "Soap up the walls, stand against it and wait for the rocking of the train to lather you up!". Well it's not quite that bad. The train of course is moving but I didn't find it too difficult to manage. The door on the shower on our car however was broken. The mangetic piece was missing. So Dennis had rigged it so the laundry bag would hold it shut. Which worked except when the train lunged and the laundry bag moved. The exterior door worked fine and was locked so there was no danger of being exposed but it was weird when the shower door suddenly opened on you while showering. The shower also works 'Navy Style". Or so they say; I've never been in the Navy so I have to take their word for that. Anyway, the water works on a push button that shuts off after a minute or two. So you get wet, lather up and then get wet again. Washing your hair is a challenge. So I showered and washed my hair this night (Monday ) and then waited until Wednesday morning to go again.
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