About 30 years ago, I had been to a high school reunion in Connecticut and had stopped to visit my brother who lives near Galesburg, Illinois. I booked the California Zephyr from Galesburg to Davis, California, where I spent the night and caught the southbound Coast Starlight from there down to L.A. the next day,…
Ask any professional advertising or marketing person what is the single most effective and least expensive form of advertising and I’ll bet the answer will be, “Word of Mouth.” Take a look at this photo. I took it five years ago in the Pacific Parlour Car on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. My brother-in-law and I were…
Veteran rail travelers know from personal experience that Amtrak’s long-distance trains often run late— sometimes very late—and rather than take a chance on making a connection, we’ll stay overnight and continue on our way the next day. The fact is, it’s risky to take an Amtrak schedule at face value and assume any given long-distance…
My part in my latest book project is just about done. The manuscript is 99-percent finished and all that remains will be a final read-through looking for anything that needs tweaking. And, since my editor is far more skilled in that area than I, there will be little if anything of consequence for me to…