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Labor Day Weekend, 2020 was the weekend of my niece's wedding in Paoli, PA. As the invitations went out, she offered to put the wedding on line for me because of my health issues. But she is more like a daughter to me, as I have no children of my own. So I was a kind of second dad to my sister's children. I told her that wont be necessary, because I would be there no matter what. So I got a round trip ticket Fredericksburg _ Philadelphia for $58. I boarded the 8:10 AM Amtrak Regional at the Fredericksburg Station, having nearly collapsed pulling my heavy baggage up the steep ramp to the elevated track before a good Samaritan helped me after hearing my prayers for help. Boarded the train, and it was a refurbished Amfleet coach. A very good job! the coach was spotless inside and and out. No urine smell near or even in the restrooms. Must be the Covid 19 policy making them clean more frequently. The earth tones were gone. No more brown carpeting going up the walls, no curtains at the windows. Everything is grey plastic, like the Viewliners. The ceiling lights are bigger, and the overhead racks seem wider. Much more light inside. As for the seats, they are now soft grey leather, well padded, especially on the head. What a sensation, being able to recline the seat with the slight push of a button. I miss the on board magazine, but more trees saved in this age of global warming is a good thing, right? Each passenger had their own pair of seats and wore a mask. Up the Virginia Corridor, we went, the familiar sounds of the train's horn lulling me to near sleep as it nears road crossings.God, i love it so! I met a passenger about my age on the station platform nearly my age. We helped each other on the train, and later accompanied each other to the cafe car. The attendant was hard of hearing and had her back to us. My new friend was nearly blind, so she couldn't read the sign about the attendant's sign informing us about her condition. Confusion ensued. My new friend paid for my coffee, and the Conductor brought our trays to our seats. We couldn't sit in the Cafe Car, and the attendant only takes plastic. I watch the towns go by in Virginia, which is to become a high capacity line with more tracks alongside ours, and a new , passenger trains only bridge across the Potomac. We cross the Potomac, I spot the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Museums, the Capitol Dome. Then the tunnel, the half hour engine change. We leave Washington with much more speed. Baltimore with its tunnel, Wilmington and a half hour later Philadelphia. Even though my luggage has wheels, it is quite heavy. A man in a uniform I'm not familiar with sees me struggle and helps me with my bags. I soon realize he is a Red Cap. But not like any Red Cap I ever saw. Uniform is way different and more practical, and First time in my life I saw a white Red Cap! To me, this is a big sign of social change!He pushes me in a wheelchair through the station with my luggage on a cart behind us. We go the the SEPTA booth for info and tickets, and takes me to the SEPTA commuter train platform and gets me a Coke while I wait. My train to Malvern arrives and I board. When we reach the station, More ramps and even steeper streets outside the station. I call an Uber when I reach an intersection. I arrive at the Desmond Hotel Malvern, a Doubletree by Hilton.Really nice. This was recommended by my niece, and a floor was blocked out for family members. Big mistake. All my immediate family decided to stay at the cheaper Courtyard by Marriott nearby, and used my nephew's employee discount. I could have saved a ton of money.. But I assumed more distant family members would stay at the Desmond. And I wanted to abide by my niece's wishes. Turned out the only family members staying there were the OTHER family. I have 40+ cousins, and not one came to the wedding, not even the ones who live in Philadelphia. Perhaps it was the fact my niece was marrying a woman? We've got cousins who don't even speak to us anymore because of this.We do have a cousin who maybe would have come except that she had just gone through heart surgery. And I have another sister who stayed behind to look after my brother, who lives with her and never leaves his room since he had a stroke and had a leg amputated. So that's me, my sister and her ex - husband, my nephew and his wife, and my other niece. Thats my family's total representation, all staying at the Courtyard by Marriott on my nephew's employee discount. Had I stayed with them, I would have saved a ton of money, and maybe caught rides with them, since each of them drove their own cars. You see, the Philly suburbs have very bad public transit, especially on holiday weekends. The SEPTA trains do a decent job of taking you to or from Philadelphia, or from Brwyn Mawr to Paoli, but to get around in those towns, its a bit more complicated. When I checked in at the Desmond, the holdback depleted my charge card account, so I couldn't use Uber or Lyft. I couldn't call a taxi because the cab companies had been driven out of business by the aforementioned ride share companies. Taxis only exist now in Philly itself. And the hotel was a quarter mile from the end of the nearest bus line! The hotel's shuttle van service was cancelled by the covid virus, and the only way to get around was the more expensive limo service.Yes, I should have either driven or stayed with my family at the Marriott! Maybe both! At least I was able to use the hotel drawback for all my meals, which were very nice by the way. The Desmond did have a very nice pool, though too cold for my tasre. Good hot tub, though. Saturday posed a problem - how to get to and from my dialysis session in Bryn Mawr? Public transit not practical, Uber unuseable, only enough cash for a one way trip! When I had exhausted all possible alternatives, I called the dialysis clinic I use in Fredericksburg and told them of my problem. Turns out they have a transportation program for people who have such a problem. Since I never use it at home, I had forgotten about. They contracted an Uber for me in both directions. Had I known of this, it would have saved me a lot of anxiety on top of what I already had.
Sunday 6, Wedding Day. Because of the virus, activities were cut down to the bare minimum. No Saturday night party or Sunday brunch. The Sunday brunch at the Desmond was fine, however, and I put it on my tab. There was to be shuttle service to the wedding starting at 4PM But then word came they wanted everyone at the service by 2PM to take pictures! That was a $38 limo fare to the Anthony Wayne House, where everything was scheduled. My niece is a successful defense attorney in Philadelphia, and has made quite a name for herself. Her bride is an executive at Comcast. They were able to afford a far more expensive wedding than we could have paid for. Having it in a historic house and grounds, with caterers walking around in formal dress offering wine, champagne, and hors d'oeuvres. Because ov the virus, all activities were cut down to the basics, with the photographs, the ceremony, a limited number of guests, and social distancing with everyone wearing masks A great dinner, my choice being baked salmon with black bean sauce. I consumed thre glasses of wine, more alcohol than I had in 20 years. Perhaps that explains why I danced so well with my cane and all, more than I ever did back in Richmond! Everyone took videos of that! At least there was the free shuttle taking us back to the hotel! Monday, September 7. OK, time to go home! I checked out of the hotel, having used up nearly all of the hold back. But at least the food was very good. A $38 limo ride to the Paoli station, seeing an Amtrak train go by. The station was unmanned on holidays. Would SEPTA stop here? I should hve phoned SEPTA info to find out, but in my panicked state, I called the limo service for an $18 ride to the Brn Mawr station, where the train terminates on holidays. Found out later the train did make all stops. Got on the SEPTA train to 30th Street Station.
In all the times I've been to Philadelphia, I've never had a Philly cheesesteak. I looked around the station to see if I could get one, but no luck. Most of the shops were closed. I had half a mind to get over to South Philly or the Reading Terminal to get one. I scorched that idea, because those places might be closed and I would HA v e put myself in danger of missing my train. Never venture far from the station if you are waiting for a train. So I just waited. Finally my train came, and I boarded, only to find the coaches I boarded full. Not wanting to get off and board an empty coach near the front, and drag my luggage behind me, I stood in the vestibule until we reached Wilmington, where one passenger got off one of the coaches. I took her pair of seats. Now seated and comfortable in another rebuilt, clean Amcoach, I drifted off to sleep. Engine change in DC, pass the monuments, cross the Potomac, passed the Alexandria Masonic Memorial. Soon Fredericksburg would approach. Just one problem: I used my card to park my car in the garage.Would I be able to get it out with the card maxed out? At $8 per day maximum, Friday to Monday, I MIGHT have enough cash to cover it if I was able to call the garage personnel. Off at the station, partway down the ramp, and I spot an elevator on this side of the station I had never seen before. I take it, and I land next to the restaurant. On the opposite side of the station from where I usually enter.Ill remember this, if I ever go anywhere again. As I struggled with my bags past the open air portion of the restaurant, one of its customers saw me struggling and offered to help me. He not only pulled my bag two blocks to the garage, he even paid the exit fee with his card and refused the money I offered him to compensate! I was stunned! I even had money to buy groceries on the way home!
I am not a religious person, but I somewhat believe in karma, that good and bad deeds are repaid, and moving to Fredericksburg gave me a chance to practi e that. In Richmond I got bad deeds done to me most of my life, and I passed them on to others. But since I moved to Fredericksburg, I got more courtesy and respect from total strangers than I ever got from co workers, classmates, customers, or total strangers I n Richmond. So here I was living in Fredericksburg, doing and getting good deeds, until someone did me a bad deed.I waited all year for a chance to pass it on to someone elze. One time the opportunity presented itself, and I didn't take it. Now this trip had completely overloaded me with good deeds: the restaurant patron who gave me so much help refusing any recompense; the passenger who helped me up the ramp; the redcaps, even though it was their job; the hotel restaurant patron who paid for my first dinner without even letting me know who it was; my sister and my ex brother in law, who loaned me a combined $125 to get by, though they are family. Altogether, this trip marks the end of my traveling days. Even though I had a good time, my struggle with the weekends luggage mages me loath to think about carrying something for a week or two. Or a month. Something I could manage with ease in my 30's and still could at 50. I wouldn't want to depend on the kindness of strangers, or have anxiety when something invariably goes wrong. I might not be able to handle it. So, for me, I'm afraid it's armchair travel from now on. But I'd still like to hear from the rest of you!
Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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I'm surprised to learn of the rate difference between Hilton Doubletree and Marriott Courtyard. I thought they were same level in the hotel brand "pecking order". I used to be a fan of Courtyard, but a few years ago, they revamped their Food and Beverage to appeal to the Millennial generation. They might like little "huddle alcoves", but darned if I do. When overnighting on road trips, I'm lower - Marriott Fairfield or Hilton Hampton (Comfort, Best Western, Motel 6? lower than I go). At destination higher: full service Marriott, Hyatt, or IHG.
To avoid the embarrassment of having your card "maxed" without your knowledge, best bet is to have an American Express. They haven't got a pre-set limit, and, assuming you are good pay, they adjust for hotels tying up the card with a "hold" sometimes double what you expect to spend.
With all these Ubers and whatever, I think you would have been "$$$ ahead" simply to have rented an auto. As desperate as they all must be for business, I think rates like $100/day I've paid in Greenwich, would be quite "beatable".
I'm also sorry to learn that health issues are interfering with enjoyment of a retirement for which you worked hard, and put up with a lot of crud along the way, to justly deserve.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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The Desmond was $160 a night, minus hold. My family paid $50 per night, with much smaller hold at Courtyard by Marriott. And they all used my nephews employee discount. They tell me the free breakfast is no longer a thing. Too bad. They used to be good value for the money. As a former follower of the $5 a day crowd, creature comforts took a low priority in my younger days. I've stayed in YMCA's, guesthouses, and near fleabags. I've stayed in places with the bathroom down the hall. Motel 6. Red Roof Inn, where your breakfast is across the street. Our motto is the less you spend on the hotel, the more you have to spend on food and sightseeing. But as I got older, I came to appreciate the finer things in life. I stayed at the. Chateaux Frontenac in Quebec City, the Royal York in Toronto. But all.things considered, mid price hotels suit me just fine.
Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Mr. Nicholson, "my days are over" as well. While I'm expecting our age group to be offered a VAX during 2nd Q '21 (think at 79yo I'm pretty well up on that pecking order), but COVID will be disrupting "life as we knew it" throughout '21.
In short, volks, "get used to it"; for in my case, I had been making some nine overnight trips a year, including overseas, totaling some 30 days away from home. But being 81yo during '22, it's all over.
I could easily lose my Driver's License next year when it comes up - and then every two years including driving and vision tests. That means what travel I do, I'd be dependent on others at destination (or possibly taxicabs) for such as people meeting me and even staying at their homes - things I last did in college. While my Sister (77yo) has no issues with such, I have plenty.
I could as of this past January, carry my own bags (I don't have any wheeled luggage) and handle such at hotels and airports.
Amtrak; the only possibilities I foresee to use again are if I were already out in the Corridor and I had reason to travel somewhere within it, or at such time I can no longer safely drive to attend the Detroit Symphony or the visiting orchestras that perform at Ann Arbor. Anything LD, Auto Train this past January "did it" (22,000 points will just go down the hatch; as if I could care).
Finally, on major hotel chains, I don't think "free" comp Breakfast was ever part of the Courtyard brand. I liked them when they had the traditional Buffet (pay) found at full-service Marriott. But when they "millennialized" the brand, that went the way of one health food or the other (also pay). At that brand level, Hilton Garden has "traditional" (pay) Dinners and Breakfasts.
Finally Mr. Nicholson, consider giving Old Towne Steak on Caroline Street a try. I've always liked, but after having had a had a recent falling out with my 41 year long friend in Fredericksburg, not likely to come that way again. At one time, the restaurant in the former train station. Claiborne's, was very good, but that's gone. For the latest incarnation in there, the Alpine Chef, I have had no experience.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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