Refueling

I took a quick break at work today and sat down in the empty cafeteria to eat my hard boiled egg on toast.  I felt transported for a few minutes as I sat in complete silence and read an article in a recycled magazine, one I've never seen until a couple issues just showed up in the cafeteria - WSJ Magazine, (Wall Street Journal).  The article I read was in July/August 2011, "Adventure on the Rails" by David Netto.  I was hoping to link the article, but after a quick search that didn't turn it up, I will have to wait. 

This quick two-page story took me on the rails of Amtrak with the author David, his wife, and two kids:

But when you and I began this conversation about traveling by train, we were never talking about luxury.  Better than that, this is adventure.  For upon leaving the station you will have entered a little-documented and exciting subculture that not many people, other than the Amish and pot dealers, know much about.  Admittedly I'm the kind of guy who takes a rickshaw just because I see one.  If you think like that, wait until you see the reaction of an 8-year-old.

Be sure to get a private car, not a shared roomette.  This entitles you to twin bunk beds (seats by day, convertible at night), your own bathroom, a whole lot of tiny folded towels - Amtrak doesn't give you much but they love to give you towels - a fold-down table with a checkerboard on the surface and an incomparable feeling of coziness and well-being.  If you are not alone, get two adjoining rooms and suite them up.  When I travel with my wife and two young daughters, we do this and giggle the whole time, visiting through the sliding door from one room to another.

Instead of losing a day to get to where we're going, our vacation starts the minute we board.  Here's what you will get on Amtrak: a feeling of unparalleled excitement when the train starts to move and gathers speed.  Snug in your sleeper car, you can look forward to all those hours of contemplation, reading, working, backgammon, whatever.

I was so grateful for the 5-minute escape and the enjoyable read, but also realized how that mental getaway and the excitement of a possibility refueled me. I stood up, stretched, and felt as though my mental tank was back on full.  I had the realization (yes, another one) that to live my happiness, I need to keep filling myself up with these inspirational moments; that elusive happiness from within, but that I feel like with each entry here, I get closer and closer to, word by word.

The end of David's article made me catch my breath at the thought of adventure, so I decided maybe I should start a list of things I want to start so I can pull from that when the time is right.  I think I'll call it Starts in Waiting (now on blog), *subject to change without notice, just like life:)