Making new friends on the train
(photo by me, Nov 9, 2018. A view of the tower at Union Station in Portland, with a light up sign reading "Go by train" above a clock, and a brigde in the foreground.)
I had a few hours between check-out at the hotel and the train departure, so I spent the time having coffee and playing pinball at Ground Kontrol. If you like video games and old school arcades, I highly recommend visiting Ground Kontrol! I played some older pinball machines plus a few newer ones like Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool machines.
During this time, my bags were stored at the train station. It took me until Portland to realize I had access to Amtrak's metropolitan lounges, which are reserved for sleeper passengers and first- and business-class ticket holders. I took advtange of this so I didn't have to explore Portland lugging around my bags. (Although I still grateful that I used a backpack instead of my roller luggage!
(photo by me, Nov 10, 2018. An animated landscape view from the train, showing snow-covered trees and mountainside.)
I slept through all of Iowa and woke up to a snow-filled Montana! The mountains were beautiful and I loved watching the scenery go by. I had a lazy morning and skipped breakfast, but opted to step off the train in Shelby just so I could say that I've been in Montana.
I'm glad I did! A lovely woman stopped me to say she loved my hat and we chatted for a few minutes. Later, on my way to lunch, she asked to join me. We got along marvelously and I invited her along for dinner later that night. I told her about my birthday adventures, and she told me how she was taking the train to move to a new place because she'd fallen in love with someone. (How adorable!) I'd met other people on the trains but this is the first time I really hit it off with someone and made a new friend. We exchanged info and Facebook profiles so we could stay in touch when our adventures were over.