I generally try to be a positive person, but I took a figurative beating this weekend. Last night the fun continued. I lost (or had stolen) my wallet in the Amtrak train station on Saturday. Not good news but luckily Christine was with me so I wasn't stranded to go along with being penniless. We spent over an hour retracing my steps, searching the train we had just departed, looking through garbage cans. We reported the loss to the Union Station security office along with filing a claim with Amtrak lost and found. After all that, we gave up and left to the hotel, where I promptly called and cancelled all my credit cards.
We made the best of the situation and tried my best to enjoy the time in Pasadena. Christine had a good event, and we had a great visit to the Huntington Library. I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in town. Beautiful estate, impressive art gallery and amazing botanical gardens.
We also had a nice visit and dinner with my good friend, Karyme on Sunday night before I was to head home. Christine needed to stay in town for work on Monday so after dinner, Karyme dropped me off at the train station. I was rudely surprised to find out that they would not sell me a ticket without a valid photo ID. You can't board an airplane without ID, same with trains. Who knew? Umm, I explained to them that I had had my wallet stolen the day before and consequently wouldn't be able to produce an ID. No go. I miss the 8:30 pm train. The last train leaves after 10 pm. Not good news. Hmm. There was good chance I would be stranded there so I called Karyme on my nearly dead cell phone and she comes back. My phone promptly dies. For added measure, I had forgotten my charger in my rush to catch the train.
I manage to weave such a sad sack story over the next 1/2 hour that they finally allow me to buy a ticket, with only my Amtrack lost and found receipt as a form of ID. They took great pains to let me know how lucky I was that they were bending the rules for me. So, I have to sit around for a couple of hours before boarding the train. I was worried that the porter would ask me for ID on the train when he punched my ticket, so I put in my headphones, popped open my laptop and started a movie. I was generally trying to be as unapproachable as possible and it worked. 2-1/2 hours later, I'm back in San Diego on my way home. Got home after 1am and was still so amped up that I didn't fall asleep until around 2:30 am.
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