We had a pit stop at the Cheesecake Factory in Buffalo before I caught my next train. The corn tomales were delicious and the restaurant interiors quite impressive. Funnily enough, none of us had room for cheesecake! John and Mark dropped me at the Amtrak station. Pretty good facility where they were streaming music (Super Tramp, Beach Boys, Elton). Like me, other people seem to arrive early. Our train was 50 minutes late and was all iced up in the vestibules be...

Some stats. Passed through ten states so far. Met up with two sets of friends and stayed in four places so far, one scuzzy hotel, one beautiful hotel, and one night sleeping coach (sleeping used in loosest sense as it was rather uncomfortable). Favourite place so far is Washington DC. Favourite moment/s so far are staying with Rachael & John, and seeing Rob after 24 years!

We followed the banks of the Hudson for 2.5 hours. Love some of the town names like Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, etc. Lots of people alighted at Hudson for lunch. The train has now just left Albany and we're following a river again. Think it still must be the Hudson. Stunning in certain sections, such as Amsterdam NY.

Phew made my connection at New York Penn. Very busy this weekend. So I'm on the Empire Service bound for Niagara Falls. Canada here we come! No view of New York skyline as the train weaves underground, then suddenly the Hudson River is revealed. The train rides along the banks.