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| The Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, CA |
Over the years, I have met a lot of people as they travel
from place to place. Some people are only traveling for a short period of time,
while others spend a week or more on a train exploring the United States for
vacation. No matter how long passengers are on the train, I enjoy getting to
know as many of them as I can and have learned a variety of new things from the
people I talk to, which has become the favorite part of my job. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start rattling
off a bunch of “life lessons” passengers have taught me. Although I do enjoy
listening to the lessons people pass on, it isn’t what I have learned most from
passengers.
Generally, passengers are not from the large popular cities
we stop at along our train tours so when I talk to them, I get to learn about
cities in the United States that aren’t as well-known as well as unique facts
that individuals share with me! Honestly, who would have guessed that Montana
has more cows than people? I had no idea until a passenger told me!
After a while, I started writing a lot of what I learned on
trips down so I could keep a record of all the bizarre things people told me.
Like the last train trip I worked on, I spoke with a lady from South Carolina
that worked for a company that created custom-made lanterns. She showed me a
variety of fixtures that were very beautiful and described the creative process
they go through for each project which I found interesting to learn about, but
it wasn’t what I wrote down. Until I met her, I didn’t know that there was such
thing as gingko farms let alone that the world’s largest gingko farm was in
Sumter, South Carolina. It is crazy what one person can teach you during a
short conversation.
Between the cities we stop in during train tours and the
people I meet, I really believe the phrase, “You learn something new every day.”
And I look forward to what fun fact I will learn each day.
About the Author
This post was provided by a contributor from America by Rail, a leader in fully-escorted train trips.
