Amtrak came through

Well, I'm here in NY, at my brother's. And I'm happy to report that Amtrak is much improved, despite the lack of fancy high-speed Acelas. The milk train doesn't stop anywhere anymore; even the slower train wasn't so very slow, and the seats were actually rather comfortable. The air-conditioning worked, which was extremely important, since summer decided to arrive rather precipitously (as it often does in this part of the country), bypassing spring almost entirely. My only complaint was the cafe car (the less said the better), and the fact that I was on the sunny side of the train and there are no window shades.

Oh, and the train was ten minutes early (that's not a complaint, by the way).