Gambling highlights and lowlights:

• Have hit two of three jump races which is weird because I never hit jump races
• Bad news: not cashing in many races; lots of seconds (no, i don’t bet to place)
• Good news: have hit some very good long shots
• Net: I am well ahead for the seven days so far; five days to go
• Best hit:  liked both an 11-1 shot and a 13-1 shot; bet them both to win and boxed the exacta.  It came in, the winner paying $25.80 and the exacta paying $319.
• Longest shot: had a 21-1 shot come from last at the top of the stretch to win and pay $44.20.

But the weirdest win came on day three when I hit the big exacta.  Late in the day I thought I bet $25 on a horse in the 10th race.  That horse lost.  But when I came back the next day, my account (I bet using a NYRA account card) had $425 more than when I left the day before.  So I reviewed my bets from the previous day on the terminal.  See, when you bet on the self service machines, the first thing you do is select the track.  There are lots of tracks as NYRA takes simulcast bets on tracks all over the country and even in Australia.  Right below Saratoga, which is naturally on the top of the list, is Australia.  When I bet the last race at Saratoga, I must have accidentally hit the “Australia” button.  And weirdly enough the horse that I thought I bet at Saratoga won in Australia and returned $425 for my $25 bet.  Talk about blind luck!  I am good at those “down under” races!

Tuesday is a dark day at Saratoga – no racing.  Bob from Arlington was staying with me through Wednesday, so we considered our options for the day.  A movie at Saratoga’s new Criterion movie house?  Bob doesn’t go to the movies.  A trip to the harness track and casino to bet other tracks?  Only the worst race tracks run on Tuesday.  A 2.5 hour (one way) trip to Cooperstown to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame?  I’ve been there, and Bob is not a big baseball fan.  A 2.0 hour trip to Hyde Park to visit the home and library of FDR?  Not a bad option, but four hours in the car was not appealing.

Instead we hung around, took a ride to Lake George (boring), skipped the numerous outlet stores there, drove up Prospect Mountain Veteran’s Parkway, took the slow route back to Saratoga, and visited the Saratoga National Historical Park that I stopped at on the way into town on day one.  We had an ice cream for lunch.  It killed the day.

On Monday Bob and I ate at Pennell’s, a Saratoga institution for 93 years.  It was as good as ever although Bob wasn’t overly happy with his steak.  On Tuesday we ate at the Wishing Well.  Everything was excellent as usual.  Bob loved his steak and I had the triple cut lamb chops.  The corn on the cob was superb.

No pictures this post.  I promise some next time.

The new King’s Tavern is terrific.  It’s being run by three brothers in their 30’s.  They also own the five-floor Saratoga City Tavern with a rooftop deck downtown.  They keep King’s open all year.  I met Adam, one of the brothers, and we talked about the history of King’s.  Heh, he learned a lot from me.  They leased King’s for three years with an option to buy (this is their second year), so I asked him if they planned to buy.  He said they certaimly did.  Patty is asking $2.0 million for the bar, so it’s a steep price.  She says the price is firm, but I’m sure they will try to haggle the price down.  The terms of the lease sate that any improvements they make stay with the bar if they choose not to buy.  They have made a lot of improvements.

I have seen lots of friends at the track and in Saratoga so far:

• Patty Bendon and daughter Misty and son Jimmy
• Bob Paroyan (retired Boston Garden usher, retired Arlington Fireman, & my old barber)
• John and Linda Toomey (from Boston)
• Michael Alshuk (from NYC) – He’ll be back next weekend with wife Nicole
• Carole Reardon and her lovely daughters Chrissie (14) and Michaela (12)
• Anthony and Rose (from Ballston Spa) – they own horses now
• Miles (an ex-track maintenance man) better known as “Zoom” or “ZoomZoom”
• Bill, John, and Neil (locals from Saratoga)  Neil is now the track mailman.
• Joanne from Saratoga with her delicious chocolate chip cookies
• Milton with his mother (96!), granddaughter, and brother Jerry (from Auburn, NY)
• Milton’s daughter Nikki with her family entourtage
• John and Frank (from Montreal) – saw them with wives at the Brook Tavern
• Dennis (An old Suffolk Downs reprobate)
• Michael Geraghty, an artist who sells his stuff at the track
• Poughkeepsie Joe Brenner, roofer and former crazy drinker & gambler – dry 13 years
• Ron and Pam Evans, fellow Derby goers
• Ed the Pharmacist from Connecticut, also an occasional Derby attendee
• The Three Old Boys from Baltimore, annual weekend attendees at the Spa
• Museum “Stinky” Steve, former maintenance man from the Racing Hall of Fame
• Jean Cruguet, retired jockey, now staying at my hotel
• A collection of folks from Marshfield visiting the Toomeys

Too many of the people I have known here over the years are dead.

• Dick Bendon (King’s Owner and Proprietor)
• Bill Carrig from Connecticut
• Jim Ellsion from Connecticut
• Tommy Pascuma (an old Saratoga trainer and King’s habitué)
• Oliver Cutshaw (an old jockey and King’s habitué)
• Mike Geoghegan (really!) from Ireland and Staten Island

Unseen so far:

• John from North Adams
• Captain Mike, lobsterman from the Cape
• Mike and Steve, alcoholic gamblers from Hartford
• Jamaica Man, a street musician who started his Saratoga run in King’s
• Mut Mutansky, the red Sox pre-game host & Jeff Plummer.  Jeff got married here last week before I arrived.
• Mike and Rosemary – Mike is Alice’s brother.  Alice’s legacy lives on in Saratoga.

Dinners (in order):

• The Wishing Well with Patty and Misty was as good as ever.  Great steak.
• Hattie’s take out friend chicken for eating in the room was grand
• Home cooked spaghetti in the room – hey, one can’t always eat out
• The Brook Tavern (owned by the Wishing Well) with John & Lino – great veal chop
• Take out pizza with Bob from the new Gennaro’s to eat in the room – delicious – good pizza in Saratoga has been hard to find

 

Wednesday

Click to enlarge photos in a new tab/window

Google maps said my drive from Alton to Saratoga would take four hours.  My GPS for the same route said five hours.  Anyway, I was awake at 4:30 Am after an early night at Sue & Jeff’s, so rather than pretend to sleep for another hour or so, I got up and showered and hit the road.  Knowing I would be leaving early, we had all said our good-byes the night before.  I was on the road at 5 AM.

[Sue commented and told me what I said was the front of the log was actually the side.  The front is where the porch is and from where I took the pictures of the three of us.  It faces Mt Major, which Sue aptly pointed out did not appear in nay pictures.  Bad photographer.]

The drive was all on state roads, no interstates, and there was almost no traffic anywhere.  And Google won the time prediction competition.  The ride took four hours to the minute.  The route (for those who care) was on routes NH 28, US 202, NH 9, VT 9, and some other various and sundry numbers.  I went through or near Concord (NH), Keene (NH), Bennington (VT), Schuylerville (NY), and finally arrived at Saratoga Springs.

Just before arriving in Saratoga proper I decided to make a very brief stop at the Saratoga National Historic Park.  Alas, it is only open and manned on Friday through Sunday, but I saw what I needed to see (nothing?).  “Here in the autumn of 1777, American forces met, defeated and forced a major British army to surrender.  This crucial American victory in the Battle of Saratoga renewed patriots’ hopes for independence, secured essential foreign recognition and support, and forever changed the face of the world.”.

In Saratoga I went to Patty’s house and picked my cooler and chair left there two years prior.  Patty had an appointment but left the stuff by the front door.  I bought some beer for the cooler and visited the Saratoga Public Library where I renewed my library card and did a couple of quick printouts of racing information.  Then it was off to the track for my first day at the races.  Sunny and hot (low 90’s) and very humid  No winners.  Just not a good start.

I left before the last race and proceeded to the Marriott Residence Inn, my home for the next 13 nights, and checked in.. A quick shower and I was off to pick up Patty and her daughter Misty for our annual dinner (missed last year) at the Wishing Well, my favorite Saratoga restaurant.  It’s a great steak house, and we all enjoyed cocktails, huge shrimp cocktails and NY strip steaks.  There was much talk of the “good old days”.  Alice was fondly remembered.  She was great friends with both Patty & Misty.

Thursday

Still hot and humid in the morning, but a front was going to be coming through with cooler air behind it.  Alas, a front usually means rain, and in Saratoga rain usually means a deluge.  I set up at the track, watched a few workouts, and then visited Hannaford’s, my grocery store of choice in Saratoga, and stocked up on essentials for the room.

The front arrive when I was at the track awaiting the first race, a steeplechase over hurdles.  And a deluge it was!  The steeplechase was actually cancelled, and all the grass races for the day were moved to the main track.  Bummer.  Still, I had a good day with two nice winners to win back a bit of what I lost yesterday. The rain was gone by 2 PM, and sunny and less humid weather prevailed for the rest of the day.  The forecast through Sunday is excellent.

Until next time, . . .

If you didn’t see the pictures of me in the glass booth at the Willis Tower, go here and see them now.

Drove up to Sue & Jeff’s house in Alton, NH at exactly 10:00 AM as planned.  We sat around and reminisced, snacked, drank, and ate dinner.  I won’t bore you with family stories and gossip.  Here are the pictures for the day (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

The following post tells the story, but the photos weren’t ready.  Here they are!

Definitely, CLICK TO ENLARGE!

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In answer to some comments:

About toilet facilities on the Southwest Chief:  there are sleeper bedrooms that do have en suite toilets; the roomettes do not..  If you have to go in the middle of the night, then you leave your little nest to visit one of the community toilets in your sleeper car.  (You learn to hold it or perhaps concoct your own chamber pot scenario)

No, I didn’t research what might be best side of train for scenery.  I know when you reserve on line, there is no opportunity to choose a particular roomette.  Perhaps you can if you call customer (dis)service.

We did not cross the mighty Mississippi at La Crosse, WI.  Wisconsin is not on the itinerary.  We crossed from Fort Madison, Iowa to a pretty uninhabited part of Illinois (near Nauvoo)

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Breakfast Sunday morning on the train was OK.  I sat with a couple from Wisconsin.  She promptly spilled a full cup of scalding coffee all over the table, but mostly on her husband.  Amazingly, she missed me totally.

After arriving at Union Station just a few minutes late, I went to Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge that is reserved for first class and sleeper passengers.  There I was able to check my bags, keeping just my nifty new Tom Bihn Ristretto messenger bag with my Surface Pro 3 and my camera safely tucked inside.

With six hours to kill between trains in Chicago, I had planned a little adventure for myself.  I decided to go up the Willis Tower (born the Sears Tower) and visit the Sky Deck and the little glass (top to bottom) cubicle located 104 stories up.  I booked in advance and splurged on a Fast Pass admission ticket (which puts you right to the front of the elevator line).  The Willis Tower is just two blocks from Union Station.

The Fast Pass purchase proved wise – the wait to go up was 90 minutes without it.  It costs $20 for normal admission.  The Fast Pass was $45.  Well worth the extra to me.  I entered the Sky Deck lobby and within two minutes was on the elevator going up to floor 104.  At the top they will graciously take your picture in the little glass cube and then, of course, charge you a minimum of $15 for a single print and digital image.  I bought several.  Again, worth it.  I took a few pics of my own, and, fully satisfied with my little adventure, I headed down again to search out sustenance.

Picture Update:  Well, to get the digital images of the pictures they took, I am following their arcane (i.e., stupid) procedure.  The process is underway, and they will email me the links to the files within 72 hours.  so, maybe you will get to see them next time.

Having skipped lunch on the train, I was hungry.  Union Station has a food court with a wide range of fast food choices, but it was crowded and hectic.  So I walked around the neighborhood searching for a place with food and wi-fi.  Not so easy – everything seemed to be closed on Sunday.  But I found Beggar’s Pizzeria & Bar that was open and had wi-fi.  I hate Chicago deep dish pizza, so I ordered a small thin crust with pepperoni and a pint of Green Line pale ale.  The pizza was going to take a half hour – no worries as I used the time to paste the previous blog entry that I had written on the train.  The ale was delicious, and I ordered a second.  And the pizza hit the spot.

Then it was back to Metropolitan Lounge to await the departure of the Lake Shore Limited at 9:30 pm.  Incidentally, the Amtrak sleepers in the eastern US are single level – the taller cars of the West cannot fit through some eastern tunnels.  And the roomettes DO have toilets, rather disgustingly located right next to one of the two seats in the room.  Not a good design choice!

I boarded the Lake Shore Limited at 9:00 pm and met Eugene, my new sleeping car attendant.  I had him convert my room for bed and promptly went to sleep shortly after departing Chicago at 9:30.  Just 50 miles down the track, we entered the Eastern time zone.  I slept well but was awake at 5:00 just as the train pulled into Cleveland.  So I got up and was the first one in the shower down the hall.

At 6:30 I had breakfast in what was quickly a full dining car.  I sat with a guy who as best I could tell has lived everywhere, been everywhere, and done everything.  The other guy at my table was from Pasadena heading to Boston for two weeks with old college friends.  Mostly we listened to Mr. Expert.  The rest of the train ride to Albany passed quickly under clear blue skies.  I skipped lunch on the train – just was not hungry – go figure.

In Albany I disembarked and quickly picked up my Enterprise rental car right in the station.  I drove about an hour and found a Marriott Fairfield Inn for the night. Dinner was next door at Wendy’s.  At dawn I will be on the road north to Alton, NH to visit my sister Sue and her husband Jeff.  I will spend Tuesday night with them, and then early Wednesday morning I will be on the road to Saratoga, arriving well in time for the 1:00 PM post time.

Next likely post here will be on Thursday morning and will have pictures from my mini family reunion in Alton (and maybe the much anticipated “Joe over Chicago” pictures).

It was a brisk 58° at 4:00 am Saturday morning in Flagstaff.  Against all odds, the Southwest Chief was running exactly on schedule, and I boarded car 430 and found my roomette, #4.  Lucy, the sleeping car attendant for my journey to Chicago, greeted me and explained the minimal technical details of the room – lights and air conditioning controls.  Everything worked.  The seats are wide and comfortable, recline nicely, and the seat opposite fits my feet perfectly.

The roomettes are for two, but you don’t have to share if you are traveling alone.  You pay a hefty fee for the roomette and a very reasonable coach fare for the transportation.  If someone traveled with you and shared the room, that person would only have to pay the coach fare.  The roomette is perfect for one, tight for two.  The two seats convert into a pretty comfortable bed (long enough, even for me) at night.  And there is an upper bunk that drops from above.  I brought my old portable GPS with me (for use in my rental car in NY), and I hooked it up to the window where it remained for the entire journey to Chicago.  I also turned my cell phone to GPS mode and got a wider view of where we were with that.  There is a single socket for plugging things in the room, but I had my trusty little traveling extension cord so I could have three things plugged in at the same time.  The GPS shows the train speed.  Our best speed between Flag and Chicago was 92 mph.

Breakfast on the train starts at 6:30 and is first come first served.  I had scrambled eggs and bacon with tea, sharing the table with a young girl (30ish) and an older gentleman both of whom were riding in coach.  They weren’t traveling together, but sharing is the norm in the dining car.  She was so hung over, she was shaking, and the only thing she wanted was a Bloody Mary.  He could have passed for homeless just about anywhere, bedraggled and scruffy to a fault.  She couldn’t form words, let alone sentences, and he immediately stared into his food and never said a word.  It was a quiet breakfast.

Lunch was a much more pleasant affair.  For lunch and dinner you reserve a time slot with sleeper passengers getting preference.  An attendant winds through the train before each meal time taking reservations.  Once you arrive in the diner, the matron, who rules with an iron hand, seats you where she thinks best.  I sat with three women, all traveling alone.  One was a hospice worker on her way home to Taos after a San Diego vacation.  One was a high school English teacher headed home to St Louis to get ready for a new school year.  And one was an office worker from LA heading to Pittsburgh to visit family.  We had good conversation, highlighted by the English teacher confirming my long-held belief that Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native is boring and incomprehensible.  She, like me, hates the book!

I spent the day napping, reading, and taking pictures out the window.  America is a fascinating place from a train.

I had dinner with two old guys on the way home to Philadelphia from a California family reunion. They were real characters.  My Amtrak Angus Steak Special was decent enough, possibly because I had indulged in a large gimlet in my room before dinner.  I brought a small thermos of gimlets with me and Lucy kindly fetched me some ice.  After dinner, Lucy converted my roomette to the nighttime bed and I was soon in dreamland.  I slept surprisingly well and woke at about 5 am – still dark as night.  I reconverted the bed to seats myself – there is barely room to stand when the bed is down.  Then I gathered what I needed and trudged downstairs (it’s a double decker) to the single shower in the car.  The shower is just big enough and the water was as hot as you would want it.

By that time it was breakfast again followed by more America viewing with an anticipated arrival in Chicago at about 4:00 PM.  By this time the train was running about thirty minutes behind schedule.

Tune in on Monday night (late) to hear about my adventure in Chicago and the train ride from Chicago to Albany, NY.

PICTURES FROM A DAY ON THE TRAIN (click to enlarge in new window)

 

 

Saratoga – The Summer Place to Be

By way of Flagstaff, Chicago, Albany, and Alton (NH)

Saratoga used to be the August Place to Be, but the racing season has gradually been extended from four weeks (24 racing days) to over seven weeks, starting in late July and ending on Labor Day (40 racing days).  So now it’s the Summer Place to Be.  My solo adventure to Saratoga began today.

Elaine drove me to Avis on Northsight Blvd where I picked up a rental Ford Edge that I will drop in Flagstaff.  When I was through packing up the car at home, Elaine noticed oil on the driveway.  So, packed up and ready to go, I drove back to Avis.  Fortunately they had an identical Ford Edge SUV that they swapped out for me.  I transferred my bags to the new car and I was off.

The two-hour drive to Flag was uneventful.  No traffic at all.  Flagstaff, on the other hand, is a bustling town with lots of traffic.  I checked in at the Drury Inn, unloaded my luggage, and then drove all of two minutes to turn in my car.  It was a ten minute walk back to the hotel.  From the hotel I will have to walk, schlepping my bags, to the Amtrak station at the ungodly hour of 4:15 am (10 minute walk).  The Amtrak Southwest Chief  comes from LA and is due at Flagstaff at 4:37 am.  I have been monitoring regularly, and it is NEVER on time.  It runs thirty minutes to two hours late.  Timeliness is not Amtrak’s forte.

For dinner tonight I went to Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar in downtown Flagstaff, not far from the Amtrak Station.  I started with a  Don Juan cocktail (Plymouth Gin, Muddled Cucumber and Mint, Habanero Tincture, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup).  For an appetizer I had Tomato and Basil Soup.  Sounds basic but it was delicious.  For my main I had Steak Frites.  No desert.  A delicious glass of Pinot Noir with the main.

After dinner I strolled back to the hotel and hit the sack after setting alarms for 4 am.

There  is no wi-fi on the train.  I have a five hour layover in Chicago (depending on how late the Southwest Chief arrives – normally they are way behind early but catch up some as they approach Chicago).  I have a little adventure planned for Chicago – more about that later.  I may also find some wi-fi in Chicago to do an blog update.  If not, then I will post next on Monday night after disembarking from the train in Albany, NY.