For nearly the 100th time since July 24, 2008, multi-platformed journalist Mark Williams made an appearance Monday night on the Nancy Grace Show on CNN Headline News.On the Road With MrNews – The “Git-A-Job Tour ‘09″
Mark Williams
Wednesday/July 15th – We hit the road for a little trip up and down the East Coast of this great nation.
The first stop is Boulogne in northeast Florida… four miles south of Folkston, Georgia. Specifically… I’m at the Railroad Ranch where the CSX freight trains run fast… and where hospitality is top notch.
After leaving an undisclosed location on Florida’s Space Coast…. I motored up the 95 to Jacksonville to get to The first stop was in Folkston where I made an appearance at Whistlin’ Dixie’s on Main Street. http://www.whistlin-dixie.com/
Owner Dixie McGurn was a bit taken back to see me… since I was to see her on Friday.
When I walked into the store she thought she lost two days of her life. Not the case here.
Finally to the Ranch where Tom was mowing the lawn in nearly 90 degree weather.
Luckily, I had stopped by Harvey’s Supermarket… where I picked up some “Silver Bullets” as a part of my saying thanks for letting me set up shop at the Ranch.
Plenty of CSX freight trains running on Wednesday… the culmination of which was Amtrak’s Auto Train which blew by the ranch at 7 PM / Eastern.
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Thursday/July 16th – Day two of our current road trip up the east coast. Will be staying in the Folkston, Georgia area through Monday.
It was a laid-back day with a coffee starter at Whistlin’ Dixie’s in downtown Folkston followed by a buffet lunch at the Okefenokee Restaurant. Ah… life is good.
Back at the Railroad Ranch… at an undisclosed location… the CSX freight line was busy, but the most unusual thing host Tom and I saw today was a contract rail grinder checking the rails… smoothing them on the northbound side of the two track main. The crew comes thru wetting down the surrounding greenery… the grinder is in the middle of the consist… then on the last car a crew member watching for any fires which may have been caused by sparks. Pretty interesting operation.
Rail grinder from Narsco Track Technologies grinds the CSX Railroad's #2 track at Boulogne
Amtrak was running on time this afternoon… the northbound Silver Meteor coming through at 6:15 PM… followed an hour later by Amtrak’s Auto Train.
Let those trains roll and shake the house!!!
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Friday/July 17th – An interesting day culminating with the passing of a legendary TV anchor.
Remained in Folkston for day three of the “Great American Job Search ’09.”
Was up at 4 AM to tweet my headlines on my Twitter account @ http://twitter.com/MrNews70.
Also wanted to make sure all of you who visit this website have the latest and freshest news of the day.
After that was accomplished… back to the rack. One must keep up on one’s beauty sleep and listen to the trains either go to or come from the Folkston Funnel.
And this was the day MsNurse was to join me as we prepare to take a look at a possible business opportunity here in “The Promised Land.”
I’m becoming a regular at Whistlin’ Dixie’s where she know how to make a mean cup of coffee.
Back to the “Railroad Ranch” when owner Tom came home and a short time later we went to see an HO layout being built by Tom Forman. It’s a work in progress, but it’s a beautiful thing. There are trains running with an NCE DCC system… a small switching yard and a three decker loop to bring the Western Maryland consist up to roughly three feet above the base platform… where it slowly comes down to where it meets the yard.
In all this… MsNurse informed me she wasn’t going to make it since she had too many “things” to do. But, the bags are packed for my extended journey up the east coast… and she’ll be here Saturday morning by 9 AM.
We’ll see what time she finally arrives. Ms. Dixie and I have a bet of a cup of coffee on the deal. I say we won’t see her before 1 PM. Ms. Dixie says it will be at 9 PM.
A quick drive to St. Marys where Tom… Cam… the McGurn family and I dined on seafood at Lang’s.
On the way back… we learned that legenday CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite is no long with us… passing at his home Friday night at the age of 92. You can read about the life and times of America’s Anchor man in the local news section of this website.
Okay… the “Silver Bullets” have been had and it’s time to hit the rack to see what sort of adventures Saturday holds.
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Saturday/July 18th – On the road on Saturday proves to be interesting. Started the day with breakfast at the Okefenokee Restaurant in downtown Folkston with Tom and Cam.
MsNurse finally showed up at midmorning… while Cam went to check trains at BrokeBack Junction.
At mid-afternoon… it was a trip into town and spent some time at Whistlin’ Dixie’s waiting to look at a business opportunity while Nurse and MsDixie meandered around Folkston proper… since dinner was going to be at MsDixie’s and MrJim’s place.
Hey… dinner, Saturday night with good friends.
It’s time to go to the State Line Liquor store for the fixin’s for a round of adult beverages.
Let the fun begin…. and boy did it ever…
For a couple of hours it was fun… adult beverages…. great food… and teasing MsMillie. She is the off-spring of Dixie and Jim and a “hoot” in her own right.
Anywho… spending the night in the McGurn’s guest house
Okay… .good night and 30.
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Sunday / July 19th – We’ve just about worn out our welcome in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia. As in the previous post… MsNurse & I spent till the early afternoon at Dixie & Jim McGurn house.
Then it was out to take a look at a business venture situated in Folkston and close to the CSX Railroad mainline. An interesting proposition, but some questions on my part.
Then MsNurse and I cruised back to the Railroad Ranch where she gave me a suitcase. No… not full of money, just clothing for the next couple of weeks.
Also got an opportunity to watch the retrospective on Walter Cronkite on the CBS Television Network
When you sit back and take a look at his career… in a twenty year period he reported on some of the biggest stories of the Baby Boom generation.
The assassination’s of Jack & Bobby Kennedy… as well as Martin Luther King’s murder in Memphis… the civil rights movement… the Vietnam War… men landing on the moon… Watergate… the fall of Saigon… literally arranging peace talks on the air between Egypt and Israel…. the list is long.
It was also during a time when NBC News was a powerhouse… ABC struggled in the 60’s with 26-year old Peter Jennings… and later when they came into their own.
What really amazes me… there was a Facebook entry directed towards the folks on my group who asked “Who’s Walter Cronkite.” Yes… she’s young and impressionable… but refused to search Google to find the answer.
Let me digress…. I was working in a television in Albany, Georgia back in the 80’s and I’m watching an NBC news feed. Here comes a video clip of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. This young University of Georgia journalism graduate uttered out loud… “who are those guys.”
I went ballistic… latter informing this young person their format is what local television news is based on. Even today… the Ken & Barbie’s of the world need to thank people like Cronkite, Jennings… as well as Huntley – Brinkley for their job and how they made the electronic media a power house. (okay off the soap box.)
Spent part of the night planning to follow US 301 out of Folkston to Jessup… which runs adjacent to CSX rail.
We’ll spend the night somewhere…. but I have not the foggiest idea where.
Time to hit the rack.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Monday / July 20th – Out of Folkston and up the road following the CSX Railroad’s “A-Line.”
It’s been 18 – years since I worked in Georgia… covering news stories and anchoring. The small towns like Nahunta are literally wide spots in the road… plopped in place on the state’s coastal plains by settlers who first called Georgia home in the 17-hundreds. It’s the mom and pop curb stores here… a garage owned by the same person since the mid-60’s there… punctuated by the modern day gas and grabs on a busy street corner.
Oh… I digress…. then it’s off to find the modern day world of Interstate 95 on the outskirts of Richmond Hill.
Now the fun begins….
The 95 is a world of it’s own. I’m headed up the road northbound… the speed limit is 70 or so… and I’m being passed like the Caliber stopped in it’s tracks.
Tourists… locals… people who drive the 95 regularly… and people who are scared of the beast.
Not only did I have to dodge idiots for nearly 3-hundred miles… but three highway patrol officers… two in South Carolina… and one in North Carolina.
Now here I am in S-C running along at a respectable 74 MPH… and some damn yuppie in an SUV decides to blow around me doing much faster than the posted speed limit.
BANG !!!! The guy’s caught on radar by Smokey the Bear behind the keyboard of his Ford Crown Victoria.
He knows he has the grease….. and slips back in line. Too late… Smokey with the radar gun has turn around and blows by me doin’ 90 to pounce on his prey!!! Gottcha you SUV drivin’ yuppie!!!!
That… and a big Ford or Lincoln piled into the trees in Dillon County were the only two major issues of the afternoon… as well as the three well radar guns.
Now… you thought Disney was a tourist trap…. how ‘bout South of the Border on the east side of the 95 and just a smidgen south of the North Carolina border.
Okay… I had to stop to prove to you “I was there….”
Please don’t say I don’t take you folks anywhere.
Those of you who know me must think I have a laptop surgically implanted on my body.
That ain’t the case. (Pardon my English)
For today’s travels it was on my brief case to update any late – breaking news and to make motel reservations.
Although I couldn’t find a wireless system in range at Pedro’s place… I tethered up my BlackJack 11… the official phone of Casey Anthony… got on line quickly and BOOM… made the reservations on the road.
So I’m spending the night at a Hampton Inn in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Hey… you can’t beat it. In room wireless… free breakfast… and in between a hot shower and a comfy bed.
One side bar… so I’m in the hotel room watching the Nancy Grace Show on CNN Headline News and they’re talking about the Anthony case. They come back from a break… they do a set up… and lo and behold…. the voice of MrNews explaining to Ms. Grace how Casey snagged some check’s from her “best friends” car and was passing them around at local department stores.
Who says you can’t take a good voice off the air for good!!!
Plan to head to Richmond on Tuesday where I want to spend a couple of minutes photographing the old train station that is adjacent to I-95… then head up the road to Ashland… where the double – track CSX mainline runs through the center of town.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Tuesday/July 21st – A friend of mine told me in an e-mail that this travel blog is nothing more than a report he had to do in school in kid… “What did you do on your summer vacation?”
I am treating this trip up and down the east coast as the “Find a Job Tour ’09.”
Okay… there is some train watching involved, but since MsNurse isn’t with me on this trip… I’ve had a chance to stop and look around at places I’ve seen… but have never had the opportunity to stop due to time constraints.
Not complaining… but for the most part… it’s the “I got to get somewhere” mode.
After leaving Rocky Mount, North Carolina… it was I-95 northbound.
First stop… .Richmond, Virginia where I took some time to get off the interstate… take a side street and visit the historic Richmond train station on Main Street.
Even back in ’76 the place amazed me since the 95 was built to avoid it’s destruction.
It was refurbished back in ’03… with the first two floors open to the public and the remaining three floors is leased office space.
Amtrak has a couple of trains which stop every day for commuters who work in D-C but prefer the Richmond lifestyle.
All the Jpgs will be posted at a future date on my Facebook account.
Second stop of the day was about 20 miles up the road in Ashland, Virginia’s Amtrak station which doubles as a tourist information center.
Warm, friendly people make up the 6-thousand souls who live in the town. And Randolph – Macon College is there…. and has been so since 1830.
Up to 60 freight trains ply the CSX double track main line which goes through the city.
Eight Amtrak passenger trains make daily stops at the train station.
I caught this northbound train as I came out of the tourist center…
Okay… since I’m in the area… I’ll go seven miles up the road to check out Doswell.
It’s nothing more than a wide spot on US 1, but taking Doswell Road to the east… and you’ll run into a diamond where the CSX crosses over the Buckingham Branch Railroad.
The place has always intrigued me whenever I ride either Auto Train or the Silver Service coming out of Florida.
Here’s some video of Tuesday’s southbound Auto Train as it hits the diamond on it’s way from Lorton, Virginia to Sanford….
Spending the night at the Hampton Inn on Buckeystown Road in Fredrick, Maryland.
Oh yeah… the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association is based at the city’s airport. Been a member of AOPA for the past 25-years.
Notice how this transportation thing seems to weave in and out of these missives….
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Wednesday / July 22nd – Okay folks… after starting out last Wednesday… I finally made my destination on the “Get-a-Job Tour ‘09…. Bloomsburg, Pa. Here’s where I’ll set up a base for the next week or so.
However, staying with friends…. and the lady part of the deal is the town’s Tax Collector.
I understand she does not leave a mint under the pillow, but she may leave a tax bill due at checkout.
Anywho… the drive from Fredrick, Maryland to Pennsylvania was uneventful. The usual idiots up US 15… then they seem to congregate around Camp Hill where construction is King.
Stopped at a wide spot in the road along Rt’s 11 & 15 known as Cove. Great place to watch freight and passenger trains along the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Middle Division.
Right out of the car… Amtrak’s PO-42 which runs daily between Pittsburgh and New York’s Penn Station…
From that point several Norfolk Southern freight trains…. as well as a Maintenance of Way machine cleaning ballast and making a lot of dust.
Slow orders were in effect for the area around.
At 2:53 PM / Eastern…. Amtrak’s PO 43 from New York to Pittsburgh blew through Cove…
After 43… it’s pack up the camera’s and make sure the A/C is on full.
It was the hour – fifteen minute drive to Bloomsburg… detour around the afternoon traffic jam… and arrive at Mimi and Rick’s.
A few “Silver Bullets” and life is good.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Thursday / July 23rd – A full day in Bloomsburg, Pa…. and a full day of pressing the flesh. A day to catch up on a lot of fronts.
Lunched in Catawissa with a high school classmate… then back to the base of operations where we brought the computer up to date.
Off to the Elks on Old Berwick Road with the Ward’s…. where I ran into some old friends… and met some new ones.
This is not my first visit to the Elks… but the one thing that strikes me is how everyone knows everyone and gets along.
As Carol Gerber called the two – dozen or so people there… “iconoclastically family.”
Carol’s hubby, Larry, finally made his appearance. I’ve known Larry for a bunch of years as he worked in radio as a news guy… then switching to the printed media.
No pictures or video’s from today’s event… but we’ll hit the streets Friday morning to see what sort of adventures we can come up with.
A couple of things I’m planning for the next couple of days… how ‘bout doing an engine ride with a fellow broadcaster’s son… as well as putting plans in place to visit the Nancy Grace Show in New York City on Monday…. returning to Bloomsburg on Tuesday.
We’ll grab Amtrak’s Keystoner in Harrisburg on Monday… and shoot up to New York City via Philadelphia… then return Tuesday.
Beth Carey, the producer who works with me, says Nancy will be on vacation… as well as the Executive Producer.
What the heck… New York City… Time – Warner… maybe distribute a resume’ or two and meet some folks who appear on the show, but I’ve never met.
Okay… comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Friday / July 24 – The day started as an uneventful but it ended with a bang.
How often does Danielle Lehman… Dairy Princess of Columbia and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania… come to the courthouse plaza in Bloomsburg to give out ice cream on a beautiful 75 degree day.
Ms. Lehman was really digging the moment…
And to prove I was there…
It’s nice to return home. I always take time to plug the parking meter… and walk up and down Main Street.
Things change when you’ve moved from the area… but for some odd reason they stay the same. Although new businesses have sprung up (at this time of night, I don’t know if it’s the proper English)… you always know what business was originally in that particular place. For example… Woolworth was the center pin of the business district… but now it’s a Dollar General.
Even the local radio station, 930/WHLM, was originally a pizzeria, then a flower shop… now it’s a radio station run by Joe Riley and family. It is literally local radio. They give the school closings in the winter… and talk about a lot of community events.
Even stopped in the Tax Collectors office for a couple of minutes during the lunch hour. This is where we caught my hosts… Rick and Mimi… downing some lunch.
I’ve known Mimi since my mother was her third grade teacher at the Memorial School at 5th and Market Streets. We’ve been friends since the early 60’s…. so the friendship goes back a long way.
On Friday night… ‘twas a hoot.
Next door neighbor Debbie and her friend, Peggy stopped in for a chat. Rick breaks out the bottles of wine… and the rest is history.
The “Git-a-Job Tour ‘09” isn’t all work. There is some play associated with it.
Saturday… off to see an old friend in Clarks Summit, Pa.
Thanks for following the travel blog.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com.
Have a great weekend….
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Saturday / July 25th – A great start to the day… the head was very clear after a restful period of sleep.
No hangover after a group of four consumed five bottles of wine. Don’t know what it was… but it was pretty decent.
Saturday was a day to head up the river to see a long time friend of mine who lives in Scranton. I’ve known Jan Votapka since arriving in Binghamton in 1974. We’re not going to count the years… but he’s been a good friend… and also a second set of eyes for this website.
However… on the way up… I decided to shoot some digital stills of things that have meant something to me.
Now… don’t think I’ve lost it… but back in the day… before big theme parks in California and Florida… there was this amusement park on the San Souci highway between Nanticoke and Wilkes-Barre called… of all things… San Souci Park.
It was big for it’s day with a big wooden roller coaster… a train ride installed in the late 50’s…. the Wild Mouse and a host of really neat rides.
Here is a web site with an aerial view:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jaschr71/SanSouci/index.html
What drew my family there was the fact my father, Cary, worked for Nanticoke radio station WHWL, later changing it’s calls to the present day WNAK. It is a thousand watt station at 730 on the AM dial.
He would broadcast out of a studio in the middle of the park. It was a small wooden building… probably 12 by 12… but park goers would be able to see my dad work.
Take into consideration… there were no computers… no automation…
He spun the records from the booth… and the entire show was sent down Class A phone lines to the studio in Nanticoke.
Alas… San Souci Park is no more… biting the dust in 1970… the land purchased by the Hanover Township School District where a ultra – modern high school was built.
This is what it looks like today: 
San Souci brought joy to hundreds of thousands of people over the year but has gone the way of other great amusement parks in Northeastern Pennsylvania such as Angela Park on US 309 outside of Hazelton… Hanson’s Amusement Park at Harvey’s Lake… and Rocky Glen Park in Moosic.
Anywho… a lot of great fellowship…. dinner at Applebee’s… then shot down Interstate 81 to the base camp.
A great day had by all.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Sunday / July 26th – Okay…. some of you are e-mailing why I’m so late with the latest installment with On the Road with MrNews… or the “Git-a-Job Tour ’09.’ I’ve been on the road for a couple of hours… first from my base of operations in Bloomsburg… to the Harrisburg Amtrak station.
Took the 11 AM Keystone Service into New York City… but more on that later.
Sunday was a super day.
Did my laundry… I know… some of you can’t fathom the thought of me being domesticated.
Aehm…… okay… two loads of laundry… then waited around for a call to take a train ride in the cab of a locomotive belonging to the North Shore Railroad out of Northumberland.
I was invited to take a 56 mile trip from Norry to Newberry Yard in Williamsport by an engineer who’s father I grew up with in Berwick, Pennsylvania.
Got the call to meet Nate at 5 O’clock… which was perfect since I got to see the first hundred laps or so of the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400.
So I meander down the road 20 miles or so… and meet up with Nate. A pair of safety glasses is a must… and he placed a chair in the loco so I could have a place to sit.
Also met his conductor Brady Auknst.
Our loco for today… North Shore’s 2-thousand horsepower General Motors Electro Motive Division GP 35 that, at one time, belonged to the Southern Pacific Railroad… but came to North Shore a couple of years ago via a short line in Maine that went belly up.
The #5510 was out shopped from a Brooksville, Pa. engine rebuilder recently with cosmetic touch-up’s and a fresh paint job in classic Reading Railroad colors… sporting North Shore subsidiary Lycoming Valley.
Our second loco for the 38 freight cars was a similar GP 35 with the same heritage.
At 5:10 PM with Nate behind the throttle… we’re northbound to Williamsport.
A smooth ride on continuous welded rail… but when we got to the sectional iron with joints 39 feet apart… we were rockin’ ‘n’ rollin.
After parking the freight cars in the yard…. Nate maneuvered the loco’s to their parking spot with Brady’s help.
Back at the base of operations by 9:30 PM…. and a good day was had by all.
Up next… Mark’s “Git-a-Job Tour ‘09” in New York City to visit the folks at Time – Warner and CNN Headline News… where the Nancy Grace Show emanates from.
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Monday/ July 27th – Our “Git-A-Job Tour ‘09” took us to the heart of New York City… Times Square.
MrNews is still trying to find that elusive gig.
I was found in Times Square by a simple webcam… and captured for posterity…
But, seriously folks…. I boarded Amtrak’s Keystone Service out of Harrisburg at 11 O’clock… and three-and-a-half hours later… I’m at Penn Station in New York… adjacent to Madison Square Garden.
Uneventful trip… with our top speed of 126 MPH on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
Checked into the Hampton Inn in the 3-hundred block of W. 39th Street and set up a command post on the 10th floor overlooking a parking lot.
The main purpose of the trip was to schmooze with the Nancy Grace staff at CNN Headline News… and finally meet my producer in person.
The only contact I had with Beth Carey over the past year guesting on 94 Grace Shows dealing with Casey Anthony was over the phone during pre-interviews.
Watched the show in the control room… then snapped a couple of pictures after the show was over and the crew left….
On the fifth floor of 1 Time – Warner… there are a dozen people in the control room during the show… a technical director, a director, and two tech-type people are in the front row closest to the many monitors which are stacked a bunch high.
The middle row consists of the audio person… a couple of producers… an editorial producer… and a prompter operator…
The back row is filled with anywhere from four to six people who do graphics… for the fonts you see on the screen.
The show over and the good – byes out of the way… Beth and I made it over to the Landmarc Restaurant at the Time – Warner Center next door.
http://www.landmarc-restaurant.com/
The two of us then hopped the subway… taking us to the Port Authority Terminal at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue.
Beth caught the 10:40 bus back to Jersey…. while I slithered down a couple of blocks and turned right on 39th… and wa-la… the hotel is right in the middle of the block.
As Ms. Beth would say… “easy, peezy…”
Okay… the scanner is cranked up… the pictures are downloaded and this missive is posted…. it’s time to hit the rack.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Tuesday / July 28th – Talk about putting 24 – hours of life into a brown paper bag… especially when one is in New York City on day whatever of the “Git-A-Job Tour ’09.”
Up pounding my hairy chest shortly after 8 AM…. as I slither down ten floors to partake in the Hampton Inn’s free breakfast as the sun came over the East River.
After packing all my electronic goodies and dirty clothing into my backpack… it was off to a place suggested by Bill Hoefer, who I’ve known since my days in Albany.
That suggestion… go to B & H Photo at the corner of 34th and 9th Ave.
This is the place that I like. It’s chock full of pro video & audio goodies… as well as consumer electronics.
Here’s their website:
The place has about a hundred sales people on the two floor of this story mega store.
Spent about 90 minutes wandering thru the joint… checking in my backpack at the front door.
Then a walk down 34th & Eighth Ave. to Penn Station… I had enough of the “Apple” for the time being.
Adjacent to Penn Station is Madison Square Garden…
Madison Square is just a couple of blocks away from another NYC icon..
Kabooz’s Bar & Grill was my next target for lunch. Reasonably priced for NYC… friendly staff… terrific grub. If you go… check out the daily special. Best unsweetened ice tea around.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kaboozs-bar-and-grill-new-york
Okay… time to get out of the “Big Apple…” and even though I had a ticket for Amtrak’s 5:11 PM Keystone Service to Harrisburg via Philadelphia.
Not a problem… plenty of room…. and no additional charge to change the ticket for the 2:11 PM train.
The trains DO run on time on the Northeast Corridor into Philly and Harrisburg. The wheels started turning at 2:11 PM… and stopped in Pennsylvania’s Capitol City at 5:25 PM.
Back at the base of operations shortly before eight… dinner with my hosts… doing computer work and off to the rack.
Thanks for reading the “Git-A-Job Tour ’09” travel blog.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Wednesday / July 29th – Kind of a lazy day around the northeastern Pennsylvania command post.
My hosts had their day planned out. Mimi went to the office at Town Hall… and Rick went to Rochester, New York to pick up a car for a local dealer.
Took step-mama out to lunch at the near-by Cracker Barrel for conversation.
Came back to the base…. updated the website…. then headed off for an hour – long power nap… which turned into several hours.
There is something about the rain and thunder… as well as a scanner close by to hear what’s going on.
Okay…. it isn’t an exciting day. Never even took a picture.
Updated the website… watching a little TV… then it’s off to la-la land again.
Bloomsburg isn’t New York… the traffic jams are five cars long!!!
Whatever the case, the “Git-A-Job Tour ‘09” has made it an interesting two weeks or so.
Planning on heading back to Florida on Friday on the Amtrak Auto Train on Friday out of Lorton, Virginia.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Thursday / July 30th – I can hardly believe the “Git-A-Job Tour ‘09” is slowly coming to an end.
Spent the day wrapping up some loose ends and seeing folks who I haven’t seen in a while.
One of those individuals is Phylis Eifert Holdren. Phylis and I were close during our Jr. and Sr. year in high school. It sounds like the old Harry Chapin song “Taxi.” I took off to find the broadcast biz…. she went off and got married then disappeared for 35 – years… finally resurfacing two years ago at a class picnic.
She’s had some health issues of late… and just this week was in Geisinger Medial Center for a couple of days… but is now up and about.
Delivered some lunch and talked about life.
One of the neat things about Bloomsburg is that in the ‘50’s… the town (the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania) set aside a good portion of land by the Susquehanna River for Town Park.
After the rains they’ve had… it is full of lush, green grass… with the Susquehanna meandering by…
After a great dinner of hot dogs and sweet corn… it was off to see a friend who I’ve known since (fill in the blank).
My buddy Corey Kreischer has been around the horn once or twice… a Berwick native… serving our country during the Vietnam Conflict… as well as living in northern Ohio… until getting smart… returning home and settling down in Columbia County….
Corey now works for the Town of Bloomsburg.
He and his bride have been married nearly 30 years… and it’s hard to believe that much time has passed since I was his best man.
Okay… hope I haven’t bored you with this blog…. or “what I did on my summer vacation.”
Time to hit the rack… the AM and packing comes a little earlier than usual.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
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Friday / July 31st – I’m writing today’s portion of the blog in Roomette 12 aboard Amtrak’s southbound Auto Train.
For you foamers… it’s officially PO53-31. The PO53 is the train number. The 31 is the date of origination.
As the “Git-A-Job Tour ’09” spends it’s last night on the road… or in this case… the rails… nothing much happened today.
I said good-bye and thanks to my hosts Mimi and Rick Ward… telling them MsNurse and I would see them in ten days… and thanking them for their outstanding hospitality.
Ever since my sister moved out of Bloomsburg… the Ward’s have been a very good port in the storm.
They are true friends…
Left Bloomsburg at 9:37 AM…. drove a couple of miles to the Sheetz Gas and Go place… just north of Danville for coffee (breakfast blend) and a few munchies.
Drove about an hour to Cove… on Routes 11 & 15… where a second Sheetz appeared… so it was time for some gas.
BOOM !!!! On the road, by-passing Camp Hill (a traffic nightmare)… continuing down 15 past Gettysburg (can’t get too close to Tommy Gilbert’s hobby shop)… into Maryland where we caught I-270 in Frederick.
Around DC on the outer loop… hitting I-95 south at “malfunction junction.”
That’s were I-95, I-395 and I-495 come together in northern Virginia in a tangled web of concrete and steel. Mostly concrete, however.
On the 95 into Lorton… BOOM!! I’m there.
Greeted warmly at the Auto Train check – in…. get the things I need out of the Caliber and into the terminal.
Greeted warmly there, as well.
The ticket agent called today’s southbound PO 53 the “Romper Room Express.”
Kids and their parents going to Disney and all the other theme parks in the Orlando area.
Thank goodness I have a compartment. I’ve done coach… and it ain’t pleasant.
Crying kids… pissed off parents… pissed off people who thought they could get some sleep.
The extra I paid for the roomette is worth the price of admission.
Speaking of which… there are just over 472 people on board the Auto Train in 15 Superliner passenger cars… and 154 autos tucked away in 20 autorack cars tacked on the rear.
We’re due into Sanford, Florida at 9:30 Saturday morning… but since there are less freight trains these days on the CSX main line…. we could get there by 8 AM. That’s 90 – minutes early.
With me in the compartment is a techno – geek heaven. The scanner to here the communications on board the train from locomotive engineer to conductor… between other crew members… and engineer to passing trains.
Also on hand is the laptop and the GPS.
Thus far our average speed out of Lorton is 61 MPH… and we’re currently doing just about 70 MPH as we roll across the northern portion of North Carolina.
Mike the car attendant will be in around 8:30 to turn down the bed… but I might have him put it off until 9:30 or 10 PM.
I don’t want to go back to the Lounge car and work… since outlets are scarce and there is a movie underway.
Okay enough of the dribble….
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com
— OO —
Saturday / August 1st – The “Git-A-Job Tour ‘09” has come to an end. Officially finishing at 10:30 AM after traveling 1,889 miles during the past two-and-a-half weeks.
The last leg on Amtrak’s Auto Train.
The trip south was uneventful… getting a chance to see America from another prospective.
MsNurse was glad to see the whites of my eyes.
Now… the job is to get things back in shape… update the desktop computer… clean out the e-mail boxes… and make sure all the electronic goodies are in good working order.
However, next Monday, Nurse and I will be back on the road headed for Sanford to get Auto Train northbound.
It will be a return trip to New York City to attend a coming out party for Nancy Grace’s new book, “The Eleventh Victim.” The reception will be held at a midtown grill.
The trip was an opportunity to see family and friend’s I haven’t seen in a long time. Also…. I got to meet in person, the folks at the Grace Show at CNN Headline News who I’ve chatted with over the past year, but I only met during the trip to New York.
In addition… I found where the job opportunities are.
My thanks to everyone who helped make the trip possible…. Tom at the Railroad Ranch in Boulogne… Ms. Dixie in Folkston… Nate and the North Shore Railroad and Mimi & Rick Ward in Bloomsburg where I set up by base for the week or so I was in the northeast.
Also a big tip of the hat for the folks who e-mailed me on the tour. Really enjoyed hearing your feedback.
Once home… it was in the shower… bring some things from the car… some launch and a quick nap… and I’m set for motorsports the rest of the weekend.
Comments: MrNews70@yahoo.com