Smartphone eTicket & Amtrak

7:46am: Out of breathe, having speed walked to Hollywood MAX Station. On the platform, sign says, "Green Line - Center City - 3min.", and hoping that time is correct. It's my 1st time using a smartphone eTicket for the train.

Will it work? Should I have gotten a paper printout? Will this be the one time the conductor Doesn't have a working machine to check my ticket? Seen these issues happen many times traveling through the airport. "Think too damn much," my though as the train crosses the Steel Bridge, 7:59a, but calmed down, knowing I'd make the 8:30 train to Olympia, WA.

Got to Union Station, walk up to the conductor, phone in hand as I say Good Morning. Pleasant guy, scans my smartphone, assigns me a seat, no issue. All that excitement, wondering, and the thing was simple as ever.

This was also my first time on Amtrak Cascades. Train seats were clean, comfortable. the travel time between Portland Union Station and Vancouver, Wa was surprisingly fast. Vancouver, Washington Station has a few issues, least in my mind.

For the Ton a people that got on the northbound Cascades train, early Saturday morning, it makes no sense, to me, there's no C-Tran bus service to/from the Vancouver, Wa. Amtrak Station. Reasoning given: there was to/from the station, but it got cancelled due to delays the bus had with freight trains crossing. My answer, "fly overs are in airports like a bowl a spagetti; what, they can't do one here?" I could write a whole other blog about transit in Vancouver, Wa, but another time; back to inside Amtrak Cascades.

Amtrak Cascades is a nice line, could definitely use a few more trains (given its crowds and growing usage), and AmtrakConnect (it's wifi service), needs help too. Heard complaints about this before, but experienced the signal cutting out for myself. Hard to even keep my own 3G phone signal, until we got close to an Amtrak station. 

3:40pm: Got back on the train home, this time using the barcode saved over to Apple Passbook application; scanned with no issue. Both the QR Code from the Amtrak application and barcode in the Passbook application worked well for me.

I finish this blog, more comfortable buying a ticket through the Amtrak iPhone application, taking a trip up to Seattle, or maybe south somewhere.  

Putting my loves out here

Into making artwork, traveling around, food & passionate (at times opinionated) about public transit. Putting my loves out here, see where it goes.

I've always been into repurposing stuff, got into beadwork, then mosaics. Website is published, but will post the link when I am fully happy with it, (building a website, to the point one is happy with it, is on going process). 

Tak a lot of pictures as I travel and upload them to Twitpic. Be nice to find a travel buddy, see the Northwest and maybe further with. Send me a note if looking too.

With transit, my interest is more about where it takes people, or could in future. Enjoy discussions about transit. Joined a regional rail advocacy group, AORTA since moving to PDX; like this group a lot. Knowledgeable bunch, points things out without being condescending about it. Make that statement, having been to groups where acronyms, titles, information was tossed out, more to brag than inform, found that off-putting; still feel that in attending national events.

You don't realize how important good transit is, until you leave areas with it. My family moved from an apartment, by main subway station in Brooklyn, NYC, to a house, (which meant a bus ride, 40 blocks to a end of a subway line). Late 1990s, found it quicker, cheaper & freeing to ride my bike. NYCs bike lanes made it easy/fun biking in the city. I moved to Jersey City, NJ in 2005, closer to Manhattan than where I lived in Brooklyn, but a very different from NYC. One takes a chance bicycling on Jersey City roads, along with some angry, ignorant drivers. I learned a lot as a bicyclist there. 

Looking back at Jersey City, NJ makes me appreciate the things Portland, OR has. It also makes it hard for me, hearing some complaints out of others bicyclist in this town. Things could be better, but it's a lot better than other places, all I'm saying. Might join a local bike (advocacy) group, voice my thoughts there, time will tell.

Food, Glorious Food! Butter, Beer & Bacon must be on site at all times :). I'll follow the cookbooks but throw down and sauté on my own when ready too. I Yelp!, and not ashamed of it :). Be nice to find some food buddies, to hang 1on1, or make a little group a 3 or 4. Can send me a note if your looking for company while eating too.

So this is a little about me, in blog form. Feel free to say hello, comment, all good and thanks for reading through.