AMTRAK CAN'T GET TO CHRISTIANSBURG QUICK ENOUGH

 

If You know me or have read some of my other entries here, you know I absolutely love traveling on Amtrak. Traveling by train is more laid back and relaxing than flying or even driving.

I don’t fly. I find there is nothing at all enjoyable about flying. I used to fly a lot when I umpired, and I can really say that I never looked forward to the experience. There is nothing fun about having to show up 2 hours before your flight. Go through the very unpleasant TSA screening and then being herded onto a large metal tube with a bunch of rude and unpleasant people.

The last time I flew was back in 2013. Since then and especially since I retired, I have either driven or taken Amtrak for my trips. On Amtrak there is no TSA Screening. Don’t get me wrong, there is security. You can pretty much be assured that at every stop there is at least one police office present, whether you see him or not. And every train has at least one Amtrak Police Office on board.

Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Amtrak is scheduled to extend service to Christiansburg. Work is currently underway on the new station at Cambria. I, for one am excited about this new service as I will no longer have to go to Roanoke, which is the nearest place where I can board a train.

There is currently rumors that Amtrak may extend service from Christiansburg into southwest Virginia all the way to Bristol. From Bristol the door will be open to service into Tennessee to places like Knoxville, Nashville and maybe ever Chattanooga and on into Atlanta.

I doubt that I will ever see the extension beyond Christiansburg, but rest assured that once Amtrak comes to Christiansburg, I will be a more frequent passenger, as traveling to Roanoke is no longer a pleasant experience.

Last Year I had the opportunity to take three trips on Amtrak. Two of the Three trips Originated in Roanoke while the other one I boarded in Clifton Forge. As I said Earlier, Roanoke is the closest place that I can Board Amtrak and since my first Amtrak Trip in 2018, the boarding experience in Roanoke has gone significantly downhill.

Over the last couple of years Downtown Roanoke has become more or less a Crime ridden crap hole. Going into the Downtown area is not a pleasant experience anytime, day or night. Shootings occur just about daily.

Center in the Square use to be one of Roanoke more popular areas with restaurants and shops, but now days if you go there us are confronted by vagrants who pester you for money. Some of them can be quite intimidating and threatening.

Roanoke does not have a station. It only has a platform with a small cover that does little to protect you from the rain and snow. One of the things that Roanoke was supposed to do when Amtrak service was restored in 2015, was Build a proper Station. It’s been over 10 years now and there is still no station and as far as I know there are no solid plans to build one. This is just another example of Roanoke’s leadership not following through on any of their promises.

Parking is yet another problem. There used to be a parking garage that was located near the station. For a fee, passengers could park there. This would accommodate both long-term and short-term parking. But a couple of years ago the city condemned the garage and the owner closed it.

For the past couple of years, the garage has been abandoned and is now used as a shelter for the vagrants and the city’s drug population. It is not a safe place and is located very close to the Amtrak Platform. Today the only place to park is an open-air paid lot next to the station. It is not a safe place to park and leave your car.

Early in 2025, I opted to take the afternoon Amtrak Northeast Regional Train to Washington D. C. I arrived early and have Lunch at one of the Restaurants on the City Market and the Center in the Square.

As I walked from the shady parking lot next to the Station, I was confronted by a couple of very aggressive panhandlers. I ever saw one of the Vagrants taking a leak in Broad Daylight right in the middle of the parking lot.

The walk from the parking lot to the Market Area reeked with the smell of urine and several places along the way I saw what appeared to be human waste. This was not a good Idea to Say the least.

My second trip from Roanoke was a longer trip where I took early morning Northeast regional train to Washinton and then took the Capitol Limited up to South Bend Indiana. I rented a car and spent a couple of days in South Bend and Northern Indiana before returning to Roanoke 5 days later.

I had left my car in the Parking lot adjacent to the Amtrak Platform. When I returned, I discovered that My car had been vandalized. Someone had keyed the rear passenger side of my car.

Of course I was quite pissed off to say the least. I knew that my insurance would require a police report in order to file a claim. I called the Roanoke City Police Department who refused to generate any kind of report so that I could file a claim with my insurance. The dispatcher I talked to told me that the parking lot was private property and that there were signs posted that parking was at my own risk. She refused to ever give me the number of the Computer Aided Dispatch Record of my call so that I could give that to my insurance.

Needless to say, traveling to Roanoke for ANY reason is something that I will NOT do unless it is an absolute emergency. Roanoke has turned into a crime ridden city that smells Like a sewer.

It was for that reason that for my next trip that I drove up to Clifton Forge, Virginia and Boarded the Amtrak Cardinal for my trip to Washington. Rather than traveling into Washington Union Station, where there were some large protests at both the Supreme Court and the Capitol. I chose to leave the Train at Manassas and rent a car for the next couple of days.

I returned to Clifton Forge on the Westbound Cardinal and found my car undisturbed and just as I had left it. This was a much better experience. I think, if possible, I will schedule any future trip through Clifton Forge and stay away from Roanoke.

I still look forward to traveling on Amtrak when the opportunity presents itself. I will just make every effort to avoid Roanoke until Amtrak service is established in Christiansburg, sometime hopefully in the near future.

LOOKING BACK AT 2025 - PART 1

 

Where have I been you ask. Well, the fact of the matter is that I have been right here. In fact, I had written several posts for this blog but due to my own mistake none of them got published. I don’t know exactly what happened except that apparently, I failed to schedule them for publication. And to make matters worse, I inadvertently deleted them, so they were all lost.

So, let’s do a little recap of my 2025 adventure. Like most years my 2025 travel season started off with a trip to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Every year since 2001 I have attended the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. I say every year, well, every year except 2020 when the entire tournament was cancelled due to COVID and 2021 when the tournament was play in closed venues in the Indianapolis.

Other than those years I selected a site and attended the First and Second Rounds of the Tournament. I like the First and Second Round because they are held at different sites all across the country.

Some of my favorite Tournament Sites over the years have been, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Pittsburgh. Some of my less favorite sites have been Kansas City, Orlando and Charlotte.

In 2025 I chose Raleigh, North Carolina as my Tournament Venue. I had been to Raleigh a couple of times before and always enjoyed the experience. Raleigh is one of the few tournament venues that has a huge onsite parking lot. In previous years the cost of parking had been a very reasonable $20 per day. This year I was shocked to find that they were really gouging you by charging a whopping $60 per day. That is not a good look for Raleigh.

The Games in Raleigh were for the most part good competitive game. One of the Teams that I had in Raleigh was the Florida Gators who went on to win the National Championship. On the day that I didn’t have games I spent the morning visiting the North Carolina State Capitol and my afternoon I drove over to Durham and visited Bennett’s Place.

Most people consider the end of the Civil War Occurred when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

While General Lee Surrendered about 28,000 troops at Appomattox. About three weeks later a larger number of Confederate Troops were surrendered when General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered almost 90,000 troops to General William T. Sherman at the farm of James and Nancy Bennett near Durham, North Caolina. This was the largest surrender of the Civil War,

I stayed close to home until May and then I was off to West Virginia for a couple days. I started off Spending some time at one of our Newest National Parks, The New River Gorge National Park. Some of the overlooks here give you amazing views of the New River Gorge Bridge that carry’s U. S.

Highway 19 across the massive New River Gorge.

I also spent some time at Cook’s Mill in Monroe County, West Virginia. Cook’s Mill dates back to the late 1790’s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The main mill building was built in 1857 on the original stone foundation and site of an earlier mill built in approximately 1796. It has hand-hewn post-and-beam, with massive timbers pegs. The mill site also includes the dam, mill pond, and stream.

I spent the night at a place that I had wanted to visit for several year so on the way back home I stopped at the Depot Lodge in Paint Bank Virginia. I was lucky to just walk up and get a room without a reservation. I opted for a really nice room in the Main Lodge that had a gas fireplace that I didn’t need and a TV.

I walked across the road to the Swinging Bridge Restaurant which is in the back of the Paint Bank General Store. I had the Buffalo Chapped Steak with a Baked Potato and apples with Blackberry Cobbler for dessert.

After supper it was warm enough that I sat outside and enjoyed the quiet. The only sound was a flowing creek that was interrupted every once in a while, by a passing car.

The Next Morning I walked back across the road to the Swing Bridge for a great Breakfast.  I had two egg, sausage, back and two pancakes. It was just a good if not better as my buffalo chopped steak the night Before.

I really enjoyed this little trip to West Virginia, especially my stay at the Depot Lodge. I enjoyed the stay so much that I just might do it again.

Before I get into my summer recap, let’s take a break and continue this next time.

OFF TO RALEIGH - FIRST ROUND OF THE 2025 NCAA TOURNAMENT

 

A little over 5 months ago I bought my ticket and made my hotel reservation for the First and Second Rounds of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Now, here we are in March. The regular season and conference tournaments are over, and Selection Sunday is here and I will find out who will be joining me at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Now, going into Selection Sunday, I knew that one of the teams that would be coming to the Raleigh Venue would be the Duke Blue Devils.  Duke is both the Regular Season and ACC Tournament Champions. So, it is almost certain that Duke will be a #1 Seed in Raleigh.

As the bracket was revealed to say that I was shocked to see that Not only Duke would be coming to Raleigh as a #1 seed, but we would also be getting Florida as a #1 Seed. This sucked because there would be two 1-16 games in Raleigh which almost always results in a route, unless you are Virginia or Purdue.

This also mean that we would be getting two 8-9 matchups with will probably be the only chance we have at a good game in the first round. The chairman of this years selection committee was Bubba Cunningham who is the athletic direction at the University of North Carolina. Which also explains why a mediocre North Carolina Team made the tournament over several more deserving teams.

As I looked over the complete 68-team bracket, I have to say that some of the seedings were questionable too. Louisville was an 8 seed while I thought that they probably should have been on the 5 or 6 line.  North Carolina was an 11 seed and would be playing in the Play in games in Dayton.  In my opinion, they should not have been in the field of 68 under any circumstances.  Vanderbilt was a 10 seed and I had them coming in on the 7 line.

But again my biggest complaint was two #1 seeds were sent to Raleigh.  I have been attending the Tournament since 2001, and I can’t remember the committee send two #1 seeds to the same site. I would be curious about why that happened this year.

Here are my first round matchups in Raleigh:

#1 Duke vs #16 Mount St. Mary’s                                                      #8 Mississippi State vs #9 Baylor

#1 Florida vs #16Norfolk Sate                                                             #8 UCONN vs #9 Oklahoma

To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. For a brief minute I even considered selling my Ticket on one of the secondary ticket sites. But, that was only a brief thought and on Thursday, March 20 I headed out on what I hoped to be a little over 3-hour drive. But every time I have been in the Triangle Area of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill I have hit some heavy traffic. According to Google Maps there are some large areas of Construction all along my route.

On Thursday the drive down was largely uneventful until I got about 5-miles from my Hotel. That last 5-miles ended up taking almost 45 minutes due to heavy traffic and construction.

The Holiday Inn in Cary is located near the Crossroads Shopping center and there were several place to eat nearby. But because traffic on the main highways was still heavy I opted to have dinner at the Olive Garden less than a half a mile away.

After supper, I camped out in my hotel room and watched the evening games of the Tournament. There were a few good games, but it seems to me like there were more crap games than usual on the first day of the tournament.

I was up about 8 a.m. and went down to see if the pancake roller was working and enjoy a nice breakfast before heading out to the games. But I was in for a couple of surprises. Not only did this hotel not have a pancake machine, but they also charged $13 for breakfast that is traditionally free at other hotels.

One of the reasons I like coming to Raleigh for the tournament is that there is paid on site parking for around 10,000 cars. In my two previous visits it has been easy in and easy out and they only charge $20.

The four mile drive from the Holiday Inn to the Lenovo Center only took about 20 minutes. But upon arriving I got a tremendous shock. Parking was $60. I am not sure who owns and operates the arena. I do know that the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL play their home games at the arena as do the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

But whoever owns the arena is really sticking it to those attending events here. But this was just the first of several shocks I was in for once I was inside the arena. A bottle of soda (no cup, no ice) was $7.47. I saw one beer (I don’t drink) listed at $17. And a three-piece chicken strip with fries and a bottled drink set me back more than $27.

It’s amazing that they are gouging people to the extent they are. In the future I will have to think twice before returning for future tournaments.

I was really pleased with my seat. It was on the floor, just behind the band and a few rows off the floor. It was at one of the tunnel where the teams entered and exited the floor. Even though I was behind the band I still had a clear view of the floor.

We were the first game of the day and had CBS #1 broadcast crew of Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson. The first game of the day tipped at 12:09 and featured Baylor against Mississippi State. 

This was a good game that saw Baylor come out on top 75-72. The second game of the afternoon session saw the Duke Blue Devils demolish Mount St. Mary’s 93-48.

As usual they clear the arena between the afternoon and evening sessions. The arena staff did an excellent job cleaning and getting the place ready. Unlike some arena’s the staff did a quick turn around and about 45-minutes later the doors opened, and we were readmitted for the evening session.

The first game of the evening session pitted Florida against Norfolk State. And as expected the Gators cruised to victory 95-69.  The last game of the first day featured the UCONN Huskies against the Oklahoma Sonner’s.

For the most part this was a competitive game. I am not a Dan Hurley Fan. I don’t like all of his sideline antics, and I really don’t like the way that he rides the officials.  I was really hoping the Oklahoma would send them packing. But it wasn’t to be as UCONN defeated the Sooner’s 67-59.

The days games went about like I expected when I first saw the bracket last Sunday Night. Two crappy 1 vs 16 games and two relatively close 8 vs 9 game. Like I said before, the tournament committee didn’t do the Raleigh venue any favors by putting two #1 seeds here.

But maybe we will have two competitive games on Sunday. Tomorrow is an off day here in Raleigh, so I plan on using it to do a little sightseeing.

PLANNING FOR THE FIRST TRIP OF 2025

 

Well, the first little adventure of the 2025 Season is in the Books. As is the case most years, I start my travel season with a trip to the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Every year since attending my first tournament in 2001 in Greensboro, North Carolina, I have made it a point to attend the tournament. Some years I turn it into a one or two-week vacation by traveling to places like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Orlando or Tulsa. Other years I stay close to home by traveling to sites Greensboro, Charlotte, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Greenville.  I did miss the year that the tournament was cancelled due to COVID and the following when the entire tournament was held in the Indianapolis Area.

This year was one of the stay close to home years as I traveled just a little over 3-hours from home to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. I have attended the tournament here in Raleigh on two other occasions when the Arena was known as PNC Arena.

For the past 15 years I have been receiving a code that allows me to purchase my ticket before they go on sale to the general public. This allows me to more often than not buy tickets on the end line or in the corner of the lower bowl. Before I was receiving the early buy codes, I had to wait for tickets to go on sale to the general public which just about ensured that I would be in the upper bowl or at best the mezzanine level.

I received my early buy code in my e-mail back in October about 2 hours before tickets went on sale at 12-noon. I logged into my ticket account and was 247th in line. Which wasn’t too bad. They limit the number of people in the buy area to keep the site from crashing. At 12:15 p.m. my number came up and I was admitted to the buy area where I was able to select my ticket.  After looking at the available seats I selected a seat in Section 125, Floor Row 10, seat 3. 

Immediately selecting and paying for my ticket I received an e-mail with a link to my tickets. By clicking on the link, I was able to download my ticket directly to my phone. It should be noted that most NCAA Venues require a digital ticket and no longer accept paper or printed tickets.

After purchasing my ticket, I started the process of finding a hotel for my time in Raleigh. I am a reward member for several major hotel brands including Drury Inns, Choice Hotels (Sleep Inn, Comfort Inn), Hilton Honor (Hilton, Hampton Inn) and Holiday Inn.

For many Years I stayed almost exclusively at Comfort Inn or Sleep Inn. But after COVID I noticed that the cleanliness or the quality of service had gone drastically downhill. Since COVID, Comfort Inn – Sleep Inn has become a last resort choice.

Drury Has become my favorite Hotel for a number of reasons. First, all the Drury Hotels are Company owned. There are no franchises. Second, they feature something called an evening Kick-Back. This is basically a limited buffet that like breakfast is included in the price of your room. The food is good, and it rotates depending on the day of the week.

But There are only about 150 Drury Inn’s nationwide, so they are not available in every city. That was the case in Raleigh, so I searched for a Hilton or Holiday Inn.  One thing that I quickly found out was it appeared that special event rates were already applied to the Hilton/Hampton Inn’s reservation system.

It appeared that Holiday Inn still had their regular rates on their reservation site so after checking several I settled on the Holiday Inn in Cary which is only about 4-miles from the Arena. The average nightly rate including taxes ended up being $141. Compare that to the Hampton Inn’s $188 nightly average.

A week later, just for kicks, I checked the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn reservation sites and found that both Hilton and the Holiday Inn had substantially raised their rates. The Hilton/Hampton Inn average daily rate for a 4-night stay was $205 and the Holiday Inn – Cary was $176.

So, now all I had to do was sit back enjoy the season and wait for Selection Sunday which was still over 5 months away.

REMEMBERING SPECIAL AGENT CLINT HILL

November 22, 1963, seems like a long, long time ago. But some of the images from that day are still etched into many of our memories.

One of those images is that of President Kennedy’s open Limo traveling down Elm Street in Dallas. As shots rang out, the image of Jackie Kennedy in a pink suit climbing out on the rear oi the car while a secret service agent is stepping onto the rear bumper of the moving car in an attempt to get to the President and Mrs. Kennedy as the car picked up speed and headed toward the triple under pass.

That agent was successful and ended up pushing Mrs. Kennedy back into the backseat and covering both Mrs. Kennedy and the fatally wounded president with his own body as the car sped to Parkland Hospital.

Clint Hill

While I am sure that there are a number of people who still remember watching that grainy image which occurred some 60+ years ago, I doubt that many will remember the name of that Secret Service Agents Name.

Well, he was Clint Hill who Joined the Secret Service in 1958 and was assigned to President Eisenhower Protection Detail. When President Eisenhower left office in 1960, Agent Hill continued in the Protective Service and assigned to President Kennedy. 

On that day in Dallas, Agent Hill was actually assigned to the Detail protecting Mrs. Kennedy. As the motorcade made its way down Elm Street, Agent Hill was riding on the running boards of the Follow-up car directly behind the Presidential Limo. He immediately recognized the sound of gunfire and jumped sprinted toward the Presidential Limo, as Mrs. Kennedy was scrambling onto the trunk of the car. 

Agent Hill grabbed the handle that was mounted on the trunk and stepped onto the limo's bumper, Just as Special Agent Will Greer who was driving the Lino began to accelerate. Agent Hill managed to push Mrs. Kennedy back into the back seat where President Kennedy lay in a pool of blood. 

Agent Hill covered the President and Mrs. Kennedy with his own body as the car sped toward Parkland Hospital.  A short time later, the Limo arrived at Parkland Hospital. The mortally wounded President was wheeled into Trauma Room 1. Agent Hill accompanied Mrs. Kennedy to a near by waiting room. 

Agent Hill remained with Mrs. Kennedy throughout the Funeral and for the Next Several Weeks. He was eventually reassigned to the Protective Detail for Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon

Agent Hill remained with the Secret Service until he retired in 1975. After leaving the service, he wrote several books about the events in Dallas and the days following the Assassination. 

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, Clint Hill Passed away a few days ago at the age of 93. He was, I believe that Last person with a direct connection to the Assassination. His passing was largely ignored by the News Media.