Happy Easter...

...on The City Of New Orleans...Praise God, He is risen.  Our sins have been paid for; all that remains is for us to put our faith in God's Son who died for us, and rose again.

I love overnights on the train, but I'll be honest...I don't sleep all that much...more like doze off and on...but it's great waking up and feeling the rhythm of the rails, hearing the sound of the train horn, the wind rushing by as we cross this great country...then doze again for a while.

Up at 5 am central time to shower, but there's too much motion to attempt shaving...I'm not that brave to risk the effects of a sudden lurch with a straight razor on my throat...by 5:30 we were ahead of schedule and approaching Memphis, Tennessee...

...arrived a few minutes later as the new day dawned...

a chilly morning in Memphis

Did my usual "check on work" routine from the observation car, then sat down to a good scrambled eggs breakfast with three friendly strangers...they seat you 4 to a booth for meals whenever possible.

The rest of the day was rolling through Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana...

tired travelers, somewhere in Mississippi...

...we did pass a sobering sight...there were large work crews with heavy equipment working in muddy conditions, cleaning up the after effects of a train derailment...by the time we realized what it was and I could pull out my camera, we were almost completely by the scene...

to the far left is the last of several damaged train cars from the derailment...

We rolled into the New Orleans station a little ahead of schedule...I really like NOL (the station letters in the Amtrak system)...new, wide open spaces, marble floors, and cool pics and murals on the walls:

From there we took a cab to the Omni Royal Orleans hotel...

palm trees...cool...

...and settled in to our rooms...Marcellus and I in one, Karen and Sarah in the other.

Marcellus and I got a workout done in the 7th floor fitness center, then all of us enjoyed the view from the top of the hotel, overlooking the French Quarter...

this is a panographic view of the harbor and bridge in the distance

the view at night...

We were all tired from our travels, so we just hoofed across the street and enjoyed a good but overpriced meal at...

...crowded and noisy, exactly as you'd expect in the French Quarter, I suppose...

More to come, mcm fans...