6.30 and there's a strange noise disturbing my sleep, damn, it's that bloody alarm clock.  Do I really have to wake up right now?  More sleep is required, but, I have to check in at the station by 8.  Dressed and packed by 7.30 I double check the check again that I haven't left anything behind in the bathroom, on the desk, on the bed, nope, nothing here now that belongs to me so get downstairs and check out.

The train pulls out of Union Station on time at 8.30.  I am sat next to Mike, who is heading home to Florida.  He helps me with my customs card that needs to be filled in before we get to Niagara Falls, New York side where customes officers will board the train and no one is allowed to move out of their seat until they give the all clear.

It's like watching Stormtroopers or some such movie, men and women in uniform, big boots etc, board the train as if we are all criminals waiting to be apprehended.  Not a smile to be seen on any of their faces.  They do the customs card check, a notice goes up above my head, she is coming back for me later.  Once all passengers have been checked, those of us with a notice leave the train and head into the customs office.  Mine was dead easy, all I needed was an entry visa attached to my passport, at a huge cost of $6.00.  It was interesting though to hear the questions being asked of the other passengers that had left the train with me. It was like watching Border Security or whatever  tv version of that you get in your home town.

After an hour the train is given the all clear and we are now on our way through the United States.  Mike leaves the train at the 2nd stop, Buffalo Exchange St to catch a bus to New Jersey then a flight to Florida.  Another couple I met on here are getting off at Buffalo NY station and are heading off on a 3 week journey across to Vegas, LA and then a cruise out of LA to Alaska.  I have really enjoyed my time on these train trips, there's always a friendly face and a good chat to be had.  4.,30pm and we're in Rome, NY.  I have access to 2 unsecured net connections if I want to risk it, one of them is UMASS, which I would assume is the University of Massachusetts but I wouldn't take my word for it, I've got no idea about the networks here.  I'm still not game to risk an unsecured site though, so even if it is a Uni one, you're going to have to wait until I get to the hotel, much later tonight, and hope they have a decent net connection.

The view out of the train window hasn't really changed much at all, it's very similar to the view going to Montreal, or to our South West, but there's still a fair bit of snow on the ground.  Some blue sky is visible and a bit of sunshine but that won't last long as the sun is setting.  I hope I can still see some nice views after dark, maybe some cities will start cropping up the closer we get to NY city.  The country side is very nice but I'm sure you don't want to see 1000s of miles of snow covered bush again.

Sorry but there were no photo's after dark, the reflection of the interior of  the train caused too many problems.  At least I'm finally in my room at the Pennsylvania Hotel, and if all you want is a bed, a phone and a tv at a cheap price then this is the place to be.  There are no tea making facilities in the room, and I have a desk lamp but no power point to plug it in to.  At least there is a spare point on the other side of the room to plug the laptop into.  The rooms are not as plush as I have had so far, the fabric on the desk chair is just about threadbare, not quite as bad as the one I had at work though, that one had lost the material completely, the paint on the doors is peeling off and there is no bath, but I'll survive for a couple of nights like this.

No high speed net connection either so back to slow download time, again, I'm sure I'll survive.

At least the train ride was comfortable, plenty of leg room, the seats were all the same as a reclining chair, leg rest, seat lay back a lot further than the ones on planes and there was an adjustable foot rest on the back of the seat in front, so a very comfy trip, which was good considering I was on the train for 13 and a half hours.  They sure do move  though, at one stage we were 40 minutes ahead of time, which came in handy as the air conditioning system was playing up and we could have all sat in our bathers very comfortably.  During the 40 minute break at Albany (Awlbany as they say here) the maintenance guys had time to work on it and got it back to a comfortable temp.

We arrived on time though at Penn station New York at 9.40pm.  There are a hell of a lot of escalators and stairs around the place but there must be a lift for those in wheelchairs.  I find the information stand and the guy in there directs me to the lift and how to get to the hotel from the street level.  Having no sense of direction I end up at the wrong end of the street.  It's not a long distance away though so pushing MM and dragging Mack I set off on my mission.  Now, you've all seen the movies of New York where you see nothing but yellow cabs on the street and a lot of horn honking, well, I'm here to tell you first hand, that is not a set up for the movie, it's actually true.  I'm actually pursued by taxi's asking "you need a ride ma'am?"  The hotel is now in sight and that is where I am now, writing this and hoping to get a net connection so I can upload it.