Tag Archives: Chicago

Shelter In Place

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Shelter In Place

Ominous words that are becoming all too common in our world today. It doesn’t matter where you live, you’ll probably hear the warning at some point.

January 2023. I delayed my trip to Culiacan due to Cartel activity and a shelter in place order. March 2023 less than a week after I returned to Washington, there was a shelter in place up the Chumstick. No Cartel here but apparently guns and shooters around.

This weekend in Chicago a different type of shelter in place. O’Hare and Midway are closed as tornados and other inclement weather plague the central USA. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of people sought shelter in the terminals. Hundreds were directed to the Tunnel of Lights.

Here in East Wenatchee the sky is clear and the sun is shining down as I write this. Granted the temperature isn’t what it was in Aguascalientes a week ago but there are no funnel clouds. And the white stuff has stayed far enough away on the mountaintops.

I’m sure if I were to check out other world news there would be other shelter in place warnings. But I think I’ve seen enough for one week. I’m going to focus on spending time with friends and maybe do a little more shopping. And I definitely need to get that American phone chip done this week at AT&T as well. Telcel switched me over to T Mobile, a carrier I dislike immensely.

Have A Great Sunday!

This One’s Really Real

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This One’s Really Real

When I’m in Mexico, the movies I watch are all in Spanish. The other day I watched a movie about a plane that crashed into the Hudson River. I also watched another movie where a family survived a tsunami in Thailand. Both of these were based on real life experiences.

On Sunday I was scrolling through the news and an article about an Amtrak derailment caught my eye. The Empire Builder had derailed in Montana. Three deaths and several people injured.

The Empire Builder runs regularly between Chicago and Seattle. It’s how we all commute from Leavenworth to Seattle. I know several people who have taken it out east as well. And it’s also been on my agenda for a trip next summer.

For the above mentioned reasons, this disaster really hits close to home for me. It’s not just a news item about another train derailment. This is the train I see every day when I’m in Leavenworth. And I’ve been on that train.

Eight of the ten cars derailed, with three completely tipped over. There were 141 passengers aboard as well as 16 crew. Only the two locomotives and the first two cars safely switched tracks.

An investigation is underway and Amtrak hopes to resume service in the near future.

Despite this horrific tragedy, I still plan to ride The Empire Builder out east next year.