As I am continuing to post about this trip, I decided to break off my rant about being stranded in New Orleans from my actual post about New Orleans.  My New Orleans recap will be the next post.

So for the New Orleans portion of this trip, I worked for a few days and then I had planned to spend Saturday here to have a full day to check out the city.  I lost a portion of that after getting a call from Amtrak.  My next train is to Memphis.  That train is cancelled.

I am told I can go to Jackson, MS to catch the train.  It is not running between NOLA and Jackson, but continues on my route from Jackson.  How do I get to Jackson?  The woman on the phone said I had to get myself there.  Wait, what?  There is no way this is a real fucking phone call.   You are doing NOTHING to get me to Jackson?

I have never heard of Jackson in my life.

So Google it is.

I now know that Jackson is under 3 hours if you drive.  I do not drive.  It is TWELVE FUCKING HOURS on a Greyhound bus.   Flights are layover flights and just over 4 hours + see also: cost $200 and then I would have to get from the airport to the Amtrak station.

There is no fucking way this is real.

But it is.

Why the fucking fuck did Amtrak not provide a shuttle bus?!

So now I am screwed because my plans are all fucked up.  I am still working so it is not like I am on vacation and can just easily switch things out.

My next stop is supposed to be Memphis so I try looking into flying to Memphis.  This is doable but honestly, my only reason to be in Memphis is to cross Tennessee off the list of states I have slept in.  My sole plan for Memphis is to walk across the bridge to Arkansas.   Do I want to pay $100 to fly there, just to walk over a bridge?  WHEN I HAVE A FUCKING TRAIN TICKET?

Oh and the most annoying part of all is that my train leaving from Memphis stops in Chicago, where I board the California Zephyr.  This train is 90% full so I booked a sleeper car.  And now I am not going to make it to Memphis on the date I am supposed to be there.  And every other date is sold out.  AND Amtrak will not refund me for not getting on the train I cannot take because they do not care about stranding people in New Orleans.

I am so fucking mad.

So I redo some stuff.  I will skip Memphis, which sucks.  This was the perfect opportunity to stay there.  I also cannot travel from Chicago since the train is full and there are no sleepers on any date that would work.

I have to take an extra day off work which really sucks.  I have a new manager who I don’t know will be okay with the sudden “Oops I have to take off without notice” thing.   Also bonus, she has been out because her kid is sick and in the hospital.  So yes, let me reach out to my new manager who is at the hospital with her kid to take an extra day off without notice.  Because fucking Amtrak doesn’t have a shuttle to replace their cancelled train.

It works out I am now spending an extra day in New Orleans and an extra day in Omaha.  I would have done 2 NOLA and 1 Omaha, but nothing is working out time wise.   NOLA is also completely sold out of hotels and only has apartments left.  Apartments have cleaning fees. I don’t want to pay a cleaning fee for a one night stay.  So I guess I have no choice but to stay at Harrahs!  I had purposely not booked here so I would not be staying in a casino but oh hey, if you are forcing me to gamble…..