This morning we were in a place called South Shore and we had another great work sessions. It was a happy group of guys
We had a long drive to the next place, Cincinnati. On the way we were down like back roads for a good bit of the way and we saw a live beaver crossing the road! I don’t think I have seen one in the wild before so I was very excited My coworkers were making fun of me, but they knew it was cool!!
We waited until we got here to have lunch which might have been a bad idea because dinner is supposed to be at a Brazilian Steak House. We ate at Chipotle which I have only been once and didn’t love it. Well, today it was pretty good! I got the bowl and that seems to be what everyone raves about.
The hotel here is very nice. It was good that it was freezing when I got there so I laid down for a nap Then I haven’t been feeling well like all week so I knew what dinner was going to be like so I have decided to skip and stay here. I hate doing that because I like being with the group, but I just can’t do it. I know I am not going to feel good.
Today we were in Louisa, Kentucky. This is a nice little town, seems to be in the valley of some “hills” We had a good day of training today and we saw the fanciest gas station building EVER! The training was in the morning and then we drove to the next location which was in Portsmouth. The whole trip we were in and out of Kentucky and Ohio. I think it was as simple as Kentucky on one side of the river and Ohio on the other
We are staying in a nice Holiday Inn here in like the middle of this old town. It’s nice in that the buildings are old and pretty, but there isn’t much around. I wanted to get some pictures of the town, but didn’t manage to get back outside to do it because we were going to dinner at a Japanese Steak House a good ways away.
We ate in Ashland at this place called Fuji something. It was good and the cook spoke very little english so he wasn’t quite as funny as they usually are. The waiter had a happy attitude though and made up for it
Paul got his new car today!! I am so very happy for him. I think this is his first brand new car and he was persistent and got exactly what he wanted. Good for him
This is posting late because the power was out at the house yesterday and the server was shut down.
Today I leave for work again. Another week of 1 night hotels We are starting in Huntington, WV and ending in Dayton, OH, with lots of stops in between. Will post them as I go
I have to pack today and then I think I am going to get Paul to take me to the airport tonight instead of leaving my car at the airport. Luckily I don’t have much to do today except pack.
The dogs were going crazy all morning. For some reason Dime is being so so mean and deciding to take Nickel’s spot on the bed. Now they are back to normal where Nickel is on the bed and Dime is on the floor. But the normal part of that is they are sleeping 😉 This is what they do, sleep all day long and then want to go out all late afternoon. Only problem is that tonight I am not going to be here to play with them. I think when I am gone they do still go play, they just play together.
I cleaned my bedroom yesterday so I don’t need to do that and hopefully I will come home to a clean room Not likely because the dogs will just shed so much in the week.
I don’t remember if I mentioned this but my Apple Watch needs to be replaced. The back has become separated from the body. Apparently that is a defect that a lot of people have experienced. But the hardest part is finding a store to make an appointment with to look at it so I can get the replacement. Will need to look at places where we will be this week, but I doubt we will be near one
In the afternoons it is so freaking hot outside and inside. Our house has concrete walls which means it is insulated very good, and the thermostat is ALWAYS set to 76, but it still gets hot by the windows. Ugh – Florida life
Got to Huntington, and I have never flown into here before but this is a tiny airport. The plane from Charleston to Huntington was also a bit tiny, but the worst thing was there was no AC on it while we were there on the tarmac. The hotel was pretty close to the airport so we didn’t have to drive too far. Alright, time for bed!
Last night I went to sleep with a horrible headache and it is still very bad this morning. I ran out of medicine last night and didn’t think much of it, well – bad idea
I called in the prescriptions this morning at like 04:00.
I went to the store before going to work, it was like 15 minutes the other way so I didn’t get to F Tower until like 09:30. My headache is still very bad. I hope it clears up soon!
Alright, now I am at the Detroit airport and I still have a headache… This is horrible.
So, I decided yesterday that I was going to leave my current employer because I feel very unappreciated. I don’t ask for much and when I do it must be important and they just refused to work with me so here we go on a new adventure Not sure where I am going yet, but all I know is that I am going to be better off and happier!! Let’s GO!!!!
First, something I forgot to mention that happened the other day, I spilled an entire cup of water on my Macbook! Luckily everything is fine, but I had a slight heart attack as I watched the water covering my keyboard. Oh yeah, my phone was soaked too, but it is NOTHING compared to the computer!
Now, for the rest of the story
F Tower. I walk up to this old brick building in the middle of no less than 4 sets of tracks (not sure the exact count). I see in the upper left corner a simple monogram in stone weathered from all the years of service F. We go into the door and you can smell the age of wires and equipment that has been running for so many years. I am there no more than 5 minutes and the amazement and terror of this location is realized, a huge freight train blows by the building at maximum track speed. The entire building shakes and you realize that you are at the absolute mercy of the railroad!!!
Ok, that’s my shot at a dramatic writing style But seriously, I have been scared – legitimately frightened over only two things in my career and I have experienced BOTH in the last 2 years. The first is high railing over a bridge and the second is being inside F Tower. High railing for those who don’t know is when you ride in a vehicle, truck, on the tracks. The thing about the railroads is that a train isn’t like a car and it doesn’t need guardrails for bridges. It can’t accidentally veer off to the right and need a guardrail to keep it above the water. It is very scary to ride over a bridge – especially one of any height
Now for the second, F Tower. You may not have ever heard of Fostoria, Ohio, but “railroad” people have. it is a very busy area for trains and there are multiple railroads crossing each other and while it is not the fastest speeds, it is fast enough for such tight spaces. There is a place you can see from F Tower that is called The Iron Triangle where railroad watchers go to take train pictures and just watch the trains go by. It is kinda a big deal
Anyway, this place is actually one of the first projects I worked on when I started in the business. I started in 1996 and we did this job in 1998. It is nice because I am a month away from my 20 year anniversary being a railroader. I think it is kinda cool
This morning on the way to the office, we had a little bit of extra time so we had breakfast at this diner in town called Dell’s. It’s been here for 75 years!! It was probably the best biscuit and gravy I have ever had, and I have a recipe y’all!!!
Then I worked all day helping get this location all right. It’s not that it was wrong, but because it is so big and complicated it needed to have some special attention to organize it a little better.
We had lunch in town at a Chinese place, not great, and back to work I got back to the hotel, grabbed me some Subway and watched all my YouTube people and now I am in bed doing this
I am going to wrap it up though because I haven’t managed to find a new book yet and I have a long flight tomorrow.
Enjoy the pics and see you tomorrow 😉
Looking from the tower.Another set of tracks.The F stands for Fostoria (dirty minds)This is an old set of plans!I drew this whole sketch.
Today is the last day for training here in Indianapolis. I am finished with the morning class and as soon as I finish the afternoon one I will be off on the road trip
I got me some coffee this morning, they do pretty good here – almost like a real Starbucks. I am about to grab me another muffin!!!
I have like a 3.5 hour drive this afternoon so I am hoping to get out of here before 14:00. I really don’t wanna be on the road in the dark, but it has actually been very light here until like 21:00. Must be a Yankee thing ha ha ha.
Just after I get done raving about the food here and lunch was a real miss… It was just not great. oh well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad
I have just one more demo to give and then hitting the road. Gonna meet one of the managers at the hotel and then we will go get this location straightened out. I will talk more about it tomorrow, but where I am going today is one of the first real big projects I ever worked on in the railroad. Memories
Made it to Findlay!! Going to go out to dinner with the manager here and then going to go to bed! I am still feeling a bit bad, nowhere near as bad as the beginning of the week, but the drive did feel very long.
Alright, we had some seafood which was very good. I have had crab cakes more in these last couple months then ever! Very good though. Going to bed – goodnight
Cool church by where we ate.Bobby photo bomb!Where we ate, Bru Burger – very good.
Dancing girl – should have done video very random.
So the website has been down for a while now. I am writing this on Wednesday so it’s a bit of a recap
Yesterday the classes went well. I am still not feeling great – very snotty. I think I am going to grab some over the counter stuff tonight to help dry out.
This hotel has good food – probably the best from any like buffet that I have had. We had meatloaf, yummy.
We went to a place called Bru Burger Pub – really good burger. It was so good I was so stuffed, but I wanted to finish it! It was downtown and Indy has a nice downtown
Paul and Samantha went to the house today so that is nice. The parents lost the remote and Samantha found it. I was just happy that Nickel didn’t get it again
This morning was a bit hard to get moving. I have wrecked my lips by being a mouth breather and my nose is killing me with these harsh tissues! I am in the class now, they are working on something else. The talk went well this morning, have another one this afternoon. I don’t suspect I will have very many questions but we will see.
They have really good muffins here I had 2
I did my expenses from the beginning of the year – we will see if I can get paid for them. I can see them being upset with me for not turning them in during the month they were for.
I am kinda just waiting on lunch
Lunch was really good. This hotel, the Crown Plaza at the airport, really does good work on the food offered – snacks and meals. I guess CSX does a lot of business here and I can see why.
I finished my afternoon session and it went really well. Had a bit more interest with this group
My co-workers are going out for dinner, I am so unsure if I want to go. I feel bad and want to go to sleep – ugh! I just don’t know. I was able to make my flight changes to come home on Friday and so I will be leaving here and driving to Fostoria Wednesday and then leaving out of Detroit that night. Lots of travel, but the flight home is direct and I am so happy I just can’t stand it
Today is a travel day to Indianapolis, IN. My flight leaves at like 11:45 so I am off to the airport!!
Well, the first flight went alright. My ears didn’t really wanna pop, but I was able to airplane sleep so that was nice. I am sitting in Atlanta now and just waiting for my next flight. I have a bit of time so I am just relaxing.
Sitting in my hotel now – whew, that was a long day of traveling. Not really but being sick has drained me. I stopped at a Subway on the way here and got me a sandwich and I am going to finish it up and go to sleep!
So, I fell asleep last night before I could post this I didn’t get any pics from yesterday so I will make a point to do it today!
