on steel railroads

Oh, the joys of riding public transport! Gives you a feeling you're living in the great metropolis. And the sound of the train wheels rolling on ancient tracks! I havent ridden on a train for so long. Although this morning was only for a 2 stations ride, it brought back the old sentiment. I reminisced my old life when I had to wake at 5AM, drive down to the Sunnyvale station and ride for over an hour to get to work in the city. The top floors on the caltrains are single seaters. The windows were dirty and foggy which only made the outside world as it went by more romantic . I remember hating waking before the sun rose for the long commute but loving the solitary ride. Just love to ride and let the world outside present itself, and the sound of the wheels gliding on the steel tracks. And oh, the subway trains in NYC, London, Boston, and lastly in Santiago. Watching the locals go about their daily lives, the expressions on their faces, and the things they carried. But the premium one was the overnight from Budapest to Bucharest. Now that's ancient tracks, noisy, rocky and full of European flavor. This is the season for reminiscence. I drove down to Cupertino the other day and saw how the City Center changed. Once upon a time, I went in and out of that place daily and now the 2 buildings are obscured by a hotel complex. But the view of the far away hills looked more beautiful than ever. Oh, how I miss the view of mountains! The Sunnyvale Town and Country now has new apartment buildings with shops below, and the Target is enormous, even with its own garage. Hippo, welcome back to the south bay!