Oregon Tour 2014 Days 9-11: Portland Union Station to St. Paul Union Depot

Portland Union Station

Time to check the bikes and panniers, get lunch, and search out one more untried craft brew. Plenty of time to walk over to the 5th Avenue food truck pod for lunch, and then to  our new favorite tap room, Bailey's on broadway for another Oregon or Washington beer. 

I must say, this tour exceeded all expectations, and parts of it were damned hard. Pat and I joked on the train ride home that we should make each subsequent bike tour more difficult than the previous one in the hopes we could die in the saddle, and wouldn't that be a great way to go. We did have rules, however, such as we'd just leave the other where he fell, no use interrupting the tour (of course, call it in to the authorities), take whatever bike kit we'd long admired, and continue on our way. 

Ready to box 'em up.

5th Avenue food truck pod. We need these in Des Moines. They dot most of Portland.

Back at Bailey's for a pint. I asked the bartender if he ever had to buy shirts, or if he just wore the free craft beer t-shirt swag. He said he only wears the swag and thinks he has the best job in the world. I don't blame him.

Back at Bailey's Tap Room to try our 19th and 20th Pacific Northwest labels: Crux, On the Fence (Bend, Oregon), on the left, and Pike, Kilt Lifter (Seattle), on the right. These will be our last Pacific Northwest beers until we drink our carryons on the train.

Whoops. I spoke too soon. As our train is at least an hour late, we were forced into sampling yet another PNW quaff: the very local Seismic IPA, from Pints Brewing Company, two blocks away. At Wilf's (isn't that an acronym for something?) in Union Station.

Union Station greenery.

In case you've ever had that fleeting sense of relief that, hey, we really don't live in a third world country. (Union Station Amtrak restroom)

Leaving Portland and only 1 ½ hours late. Not bad for Amtrak. Oh, and thanks, Republicans, for subsidizing the automobile industry, and underfunding mass transit. But I digress.

They announced when we got on the train that the dining car wouldn't be joining us until Spokane. So, boxed dinners for all the sleeper car passengers. When I asked about the vegetarian option, our car's steward said there was a shrimp salad. When I suggested that shrimp wasn't vegetarian, he said, "well, it's not meat." Then, he said I could get a "gratis" vegan veggie burger from the cafe car. I'm sure it was truly vegan because there were no natural ingredients in it. Oh, and I waited in the cafe car for over an hour because the guy who runs it took his dinner break during dinner. BTW, I did not eat this lab specimen.

First train beer of the trip, brought on board, of course. Flat Tail Seriously Low Budget Double IPA (8.0% ABV—There is a reason we are sharing these carryon beers), from Corvallis, Oregon. (Near Kennewick, Washington, 7:11 PM PST)

Second round: Fire Mountain Brew House Steam Fired Stout (7.6% ABV), Carlton, Oregon. (Near Mesa, Washington, 8:01 PM PST)

Near Connell, Washington

Near Connell, Washington

Fort George Cavatina Stout (8.8% ABV), an American Imperial Stout from Fort George Brewery & Public House in our starting point on our tour, Astoria, Oregon. (Near Lind, Washington, 8:47 PM PST)

Deviant Dale American IPA, Oskar Blue's Grill & Brew, Lyons, Colorado (8% ABV). Ok, not a Pacific Northwest beer, but damn good. (Ritzville, Washington, 10:02PM PST) Beddie-bye after this I'm guessing.

What will they call this park in 5 years when the glaciers are gone? Park? (East Glacier National Park Station, Montana, 9:04 AM MST May 24, 2014) Now we only have the long slog across North Dakota, and the delays of  kowtowing to the fracking freight trains.

Pat and I put this out to the FB crowd whilst killing time in North Dakota, with the following query:
Ok, we feel Amtrak needs a new slogan. Any Ideas out there? So far we have
"Amtrak: Crossing America One Tie at a Time"
"Amtrak: Come for the Adventure; Stay Because You Have No Choice"
"Take Amtrak: It's Not Our fault You Can't Afford to Fly"
"Amtrak: The New Face of the Slow Train Movement" 
“Amtrak: We May be Slow, But Our Service is Bad"

These are the results of our FB brainstorming session:
Glen Wilkins Amtrak: Third world service in a first world country!
Randall Damon Or, since we kind of live in a third world country, Third World Service at First World Prices
Tim Donovan "In Russia trains on time. In Amtrak who cares"
Patrick McClintock Inspired by this morning's diner car service: Amtrak, service with a snarl.
Randall Damon We finally made it to St. Paul. "Amtrak delivers...eventually."
Lana Wood Johnson Amtrak: Pay more, get less.

We arrived in St. Paul some 8 hours late. Thanks, Republicans and Republicrats.