Day 95: The Lord Protects Fools

---

I spent a pleasant night at the La Quinta, did laundry in the morning, checked out, and prepared to spend three hours or so in La Quinta's lobby. But I still didn't have a sling, and I wanted a few other items from CVS.
So, on impulse, I stored my luggage with the front desk and caught the Ocean Express to Manhattan Beach.

I walked down the steep slope to the boardwalk and said goodbye to the Pacific. I thought about going to the aquarium again, but a group of kids were there on a field trip, so I didn't.

That only took ten minutes or so, but then I had to wait twenty minutes for the next bus. I went on to the shopping mall, bought my CVS items, and argued over the price of a couple of them. One was really wrong, and that made me overanxious about it so I challenged another that turned out to be right.

I bought a California Pizza for lunch, since I couldn't find any other fast-food places I recognized at the mall.
I ate two slices for lunch and put the rest into my suitcase -- the first time the pizza bag has actually contained a pizza!

That all took longer than it should have, so I just missed the trolley I'd planned to catch. Suddenly, to my consternation, I realized that the next one wouldn't come for half an hour, which would put me much later than I'd planned to be.

I burst into the La Quinta, explained that I was running late, and begged them to get my suitcases from the storage area quickly. They did; they got them at once and I ran for the door. The courtesy shuttle to LAX showed up almost at once; the driver gave me clear directions to the Flyaway bus stop, and just as I got to the stop the Flyaway bus came.

And that was when I found out how lucky I was, and I was
really horrified by my narrow escape. I had forgotten to allow for L.A.'s rush hour! I had caught the very last Flyaway Bus that would have gotten me there on time.

I got there on time. I had about fifteen minutes' wait in the lobby before they gave the boarding call for the Southwest Chief. I sat next to a friendly woman named Nicole who was also staying in a sleeping car on the Chief. She got a great deal on a real bedroom (as distinct from my roomette), so she planned a trip to Albuquerque accordingly. I can understand that. I could see myself doing the same thing.

Nicole and I both misheard the track number as "seven." We were nonplussed when we got to seven and found no train there. I asked a couple of people for directions, but drew a blank. We went back downstairs and Nicole soon outdistanced me. I stopped a passing redcap and asked him if he could take me to the Southwest Chief, and indeed there was space, though some baggage would have had to have been moved to the seat from the floor, but the woman whose baggage it was threw a fit and refused to have it moved. She begged the redcap to make me wait, in so many words. The redcap promised to come right back for me and left. I wasn't too happy about that because I had already wasted quite a lot of time going to the wrong track.

Fortunately, Nicole came running up to me. She'd found out that it was really Track Eleven. I explained, dolefully, that I was now waiting for a redcap. She said, "I could carry it." I said, "It's really heavy." She tested it, and then popped it over the handle of her own rolling suitcase. She pulled it along that way, all the way to Track 11 and the train.

I guess people are nice everywhere; not just in New Zealand.

My roomette was rather nice, and in much better order than the roomette I had in December. I think I must have a better sleeping-car attendant. There was also a package of toiletries -- shampoo, soap, etc., which there wasn't last time. This time I knew not to lug my duffel up there.

The attendants showed up; they're a tag team; Vincent and Greg. They showed me how to work everything and pointed out the closet -- if I had a closet last time, I completely overlooked it.

I hadn't been sure we'd be given supper, so I'd saved the pizza. Unfortunately, we were, which made things difficult. I hated to waste the pizza, so I ate it at once -- it was after six and I was hungry -- and chose the latest seating in the dining room, 8:15. I managed to eat my steak, a salad, and the mixed vegetables, but I had to leave the rice, and of course I had no interest in dessert.

I have definitely lost weight; I fit into the restrooms and the shower a lot better now, not to mention the tables in the dining car.

---