Traveling to and from the Alibi via the Rail Runner has, thus far, been a fantastic experience. I've met tourists from Albuquerque traveling to Santa Fe for the first time, have heard more than one break up conversation and, just this morning, caught up with an old acquaintance as he traveled to the airport. I've even heard a few urban myths that I'll be debunking in the next few weeks.
I figured this ride would be either boring, a good way to waste my time on the internet or a fascinating social experiment. So far, it's been all three.
Since I spent the morning chatting it up I didn't get a chance to blog. No fear, I thought, I'll have the ride home. But then, the worst happened. Not only was a family loudly playing dice right next to me, making reading, or even thinking, impossible, the internet wasn't working.
"Oh no!" I gasped to myself. Week two and I've already failed!
The first thing that popped into my mind was a recent blog post published by the New Mexico Independent, by my pal Trip Jennings. Jennings had the same problem I, and the laptoppers around me, were having. A clear signal coming through, but no WiFi.
What to do? Well, I wanted to get away from the gambling family anyway, so I packed up my goodies and headed to the next car. Immediately, upon passing into the quiet lower section of car 1013 I saw two diligent computer-users. One logged onto Facebook!
This section of the car, an area with only four sets of four seats, widely ignored b those hoping to get to the top level, may be my favorite section of the train yet. The air conditioning here is stronger, strong enough that I needed the sweater stashed in my bag, quiet and with the tables and power outlets that make the top level so appealing.
I suppose if I'm going to spend my time staring at the screen, rather than out the window, there's no point being all the way up top anyway.
