making friends

So, pretty much one of the best parts of traveling via Amtrack is all the colorful characters you meet along the way (and also are stuck in an enclosed space for many days with.) That said, it only feels fair to share with a few of the exciting favorites...
First and foremost was Israel based solely on the cuteness factor and what a good little ice-breaker/friend-maker he was. We played camera peek-a-boo all morning in the breadbasket (it's much easier to refer to it as such because it was always a little unclear when and where state lines were being crossed...plus we got a total kick out of it :) Because of the essence of the game, we ended up with approximately a million adorable pictures of which we have included a scant few so that everyone can understand the cuteness that is Israel.
Next came our two elderly sisters who completely adopted us and with whom we spent an enjoyable couple days. They were two of 18 siblings, both of whom had a great sense of sarcastic humor and thoroughly enjoyed making a seemingly endless amount of fun of me (to Clare's great enjoyment.)
After the lovely ladies were on their way, we met another all-time favorite: Larry. Here's a bit of a visual: taaaall, skinny as a rail, wicked tan, skinny jeans, skull bandanna wrapped around his head, and had just turned 50 twenty-six days prior to the trip. 50 had clearly been a major turning point for him, as during the first half of his life he had made a bundle of money (a million dollars according to him but Clare and I felt the reality of this statement may have been questionable) and given it to his family so that he no longer had any responsibilities and now could spend the second half of his life 'just doing Larry.' This entailed traveling where the wind took him and 'fixing things' (he was a do-it-all handyman of sorts it sounded like.) It also entailed running to the closest convenience store at every stop we made to buy cigarettes and then racing back to jump on the train before it pulled out with the whole car cheering him on and patting him on the back upon making it. He also helped all the Amtrack personnel carry heavy boxes and pass things out so as to get free booze. My, what a good samaritan.
Then there was Doug (who happens to be in the background of one of the pictures we posted.) Doug was on his way to a semi-mysterious court date in Nevada, which became problematic as our train got further and further behind schedule. He also, while mid-conversation, whipped off his prosthetic leg to which Larry replied, "show-off." He and Larry would sit around and have deep philosophical conversations in our vicinity. No really, I'm serious.
Lastly, there was Leo the Russian. Leo had one of those stories that sounded straight out of a mediocre comedy: He sold his marijuana farm and truck, broke up with his girlfriend and rode Amtrack off into the sunset to meet up with his internet love. Said true love however was living with her boyfriend and was quite surprised when Leo the Russian showed up at her doorstep. Needless to say, it did not end well and Leo's only interest by the time we met him was drinking and telling Clare about how Russian he was because his ancestors had fled the Bolsheviks and how dare she question his knowledge of Russian geography.
All in all, a highly engaging way to travel. Besides the lack of showering, we ended that leg of the journey with very few complaints. Highly recommended to any and all with no time frame and a willingness to mingle. :-)