Andy's Journeys Through America's Backyard Welcome to Andy's Journeys. In the coming months (years?) I'll be sharing with you my travels aboard some of Amtrak's finest long-distance trains. Many of these travelogues have been taken from the articles I've written for travel magazines and expanded upon. If you've never had a chance to see this great country of ours from the window of an Amtrak train, then I sincerely hope that these travelogues will help you to make that move... |
Something about the authorAndy Anderson is a professional writer, and photo-journalist, whose articles have appeared in travel magazines both here and abroad. His expertise is in the fields of graphics art, photography and design. In the past 10 years, Andy has been the author of over 17 books, and been the talent on instructional DVD's and CD's from a company called Infinite Skills. In addition, He is a trained chef, and his first cookbook was released in 2008: Cooking with a Plan. His second cookbook is scheduled to be released later this year, and deals with seasonal recipes for the Fall and Winter. In addition to all the books that Andy has written, he managed to squeeze in a science fiction book titled, The Phoenix Project, which all his family says is just the most fantastic book they've ever read... don't you just love family. That may seem like a lot of things to put on your plate (pun intended); however, there is one more passion that Andy has... and I think that you just might share it with him.. Andy is an avid train fan. He love riding the rails, and to that end, attempts a major trip once a year. A Few Thoughts from the authorBefore digging into this blog there are a few notes to the readers. After traveling the rails for many years; I've identified several types of train travelers: One type are what Amtrak employees call foamers. These are the train buffs that foam at the mouth when they see a new train engine (Is that an Amtrak P-42 Diesel? WOW!). This type of person demands detailed train logs that give all the facts of the train consist; like the number of cars in the train, the specific names and/or car codes, information about each stop... in other words, a compete logical detailed journal. Another type of train traveler likes to read all about the scenery and weather, and another group likes to know about the actual trip inside the train: the bedrooms, what you had for dinner, and the interesting people that you met. In truth, I don't consider myself any single type; however, I try to incorporate parts of all of them in my travelogues. So, don't expect explicit mechanical details of the trip every second. I will, when it's available talk about the consist; however, it might take me a bit of time to run up and down the train; counting the cars and getting their specific numbers. In addition, I don't really do a train trip just to see the scenery, or write about what I had for lunch, and I don't travel on the train to get to a specific destination... I do it for the sheer joy of travel by rail. In other words for me, The Journey is the Reward. I think these travelogues are a combination of all those views of train travel. At one point I might talk about the scenery and skip the food. I might mention who I ate lunch with, and what I had... or not. I might even talk about the train, the cars, and what engine is pulling us down the track. What I talk about and what I discuss on day one, may be slightly different to what I talk about on day two. As a professional writer, I want to give you, a very real sense of being with me on the journey. If I can do that, then I feel that I have accomplished my goal. With that said... welcome to my journeys. andy anderson Travelogues, Tips, & Tricks |