Originally Posted by
injian
First I see a new TR from Seat 2A, then I see the first post and it just keeps on GOING! I haven’t even started reading the actual TR and I know this is going to be epic. 😀 Time to bunker down. *opens up a Costco sized popcorn bag*
Here's hoping you were able to get through this trip report more easily than that Costco sized bag of popcorn. I should imagine all that popcorn would definitely require some tasty liquid refreshment along the way as well. But above all - Thanks for reading,
injian! Cheers!
Originally Posted by jlemon
Well, you've done it once again,
Seat 2A I just finished reading your latest epic (with our lil pup Miss Bella perched on my lap whilst enjoying several cups of Community coffee with Baileys) and all I can say is....
Very Well Done and Bravo, Sir 
Glad you enjoyed it,
JL It would've been nice to have accompanied my literary efforts with a glass or three of your famous Cajun Bloody Mary's, but perhaps one of these days I'll show up on the platform at LFT aboard the westbound
Sunset Limited and we can either do another hand-off or enjoy a couple over lunch with
Lady K and the gang. Stand by for a listing of new - and heavy - reading material.
Originally Posted by srt3ns
So, several days ago this post led me on a journey. I couldn't stop reading through this and then also previous TRs. When I continued clicking through your history, leading to "Trains, planes, boats and more trains around north america" it felt like I was reading things I had written myself. I've now read (I believe) all of your trip reports on this website. As a 34 year old, it's sometimes hard to put into words why I might identify with people's experiences or memories that predate my birth, but when the aforementioned TR spoke about your grateful dead albums it all made sense. Thank you for all the words, and cheers to the future trips.
Thanks for your kind words,
srt3ns, and, as I see this is only your second post - it looks like a welcome to FlyerTalk is due
. Seriously - you read all eighty-one of my trip reports? By my count that's 1,504,561 words and one heck of an effort! On one of my reports, I've created an index with short descriptions of each report followed by a link to that report. Perhaps it's time to update it and add it to this report's responses. Same goes for the link to the train reports. But again - THANKS for reading!
As to the Dead, I was blessed to catch over 100 shows with them spanning the 1970s through the 1990s. Much like the rail excursions I described in this report, so much of the fun was traveling from show to show and the good times shared with friends new and old all over the country. I used to fly from Alaska down to Oakland for shows at the Kaiser or the Colosseum and it was not at all uncommon to run into friends from New York, Virginia, Colorado, wherever. Mainstream America never quite understood it, but as the saying goes - There is nothing like a Grateful Dead Concert!
Two old friends and myself (r) at Hampton Roads, VA ~ March 1985
Originally Posted by somebol
Over the years I've spent countless hours reading through your trip reports and vicariously travelling along with you. Like you I prefer verbose written reports than a photo TR, I find that when reading your mind is visualising the scenes being described and you enjoy it much more than just looking at a photo.
I hear ya, somebol. I always felt this quote from the poet Mary Karr summed it up perfectly -
"Reading is socially accepted disassociation. You flip a switch and you're not there anymore. It's better than heroin."
I have actually re-read your reports multiple times, they are like a good book that can be read multiple times (also eightblack's TRs).
It would appear my estimate of twenty readers here may have been a bit conservative. And eightblack - OMG! His is some seriously lofty company. Whatever became of eightblack, anyway? I miss the genius of his writing.
If you ever find yourself in the land down under, please let me know. I'd love to shout you a few drinks and hear your stores in person. You will always have a willing reader in me looking forward to to your future reports.
Thank you so much, somebol I look forward to the day I can return to Australia - especially Tasmania. Hard to believe it's been six years considering that I used to go every couple of years back in the eighties. A nice cold Australian lager would taste mighty nice about now...