Thursday, July 1, 2004
The American Orient Express (AOE) group is enjoying a hot breakfast buffet in the Benson Hotel’s London Grill. On today’s schedule is a short historical lecture and slide presentation by Andrew Gulliford, our Lewis and Clark expert, followed by an all-day bus trip to Astoria to tour Fort Clatsop, where the expedition reached its westernmost point nearly two hundred years ago.
“This is your vacation,” announces our tour directors, “and you don’t have to participate in every sightseeing activities or lecture. If you want to take the day off, just let us know, we don’t require any explanation.”
We attend the lecture, but decide to skip the motorcoach trip (we’ve been to Fort Clatsop) and arrange a late checkout with the Benson Hotel. So we have a day to spare, and spend most of it luxuriating in our elegant room reading newspapers. A wasted day with no plans is a rare indulgence for us!
We arrange to meet the rest of the group at Portland Union Station. The twelve-car train, decked out in shiny royal-blue, ivory, and gold, is causing a sensation with the many Amtrak passengers who are waiting for a Cascade train, or the six-hour-late Coast Starlight #14. The entire on-board crew, including a team of chefs, and car attendants smartly dressed in midnight blue suits and white gloves, is lined up in front to greet the arriving AOE passengers.
With outdoor temperatures in the high 80s, we are relieved to find that all of the carriages, including our sleeper Charleston, are amply air- conditioned. We settle into Deluxe Suite G, which contains an enclosed shower and toilet, a washbasin, a sofa along one side and a large over-stuffed chair opposite. (The latter are transformed into two lower beds at a 90-degree angle at night, with soft caramel-colored blankets.)
A generous-sized table makes a perfect work station. (But, shh! We aren’t letting the other passengers in on the fact that this is a working vacation.) Satin-finished wood paneling and cupboards line the walls, and it is in pristine condition with richly-patterned upholstery and art-deco chrome hardware. A fifth of champagne is chilling in an ice bucket.
Complimentary cocktail snacks, champagne and mixed drinks await the guests in the New York observation car and the Rocky Mountain mid-train lounge, where Bonnie Hackett entertains us at the keyboard of her Steinway baby grand. Dinner is served in the adjacent Jasper dining car between the hours of 6pm and 9pm. This and all meals are open seating. The menu choices are limited to three entrees, but are all excellently prepared and served, their quality exceeding our expectations.
Our beds are turned down while we dine, so after a quick, barely warm shower we prepare to turn in. We bring the temperature of the hot water to the attention of our cabin steward, and within minutes, the problem is corrected and our next shower is hot. We anticipate a smooth and quiet rest, as we will be parked on Track 3 all night until our scheduled departure at 5am.
