“Ladies and gentlemen, you might all want to look to the left because we often see dolphins from the train,” a voice says over a slightly crackling public address system. “Why don’t you all come and tell me the cafe car is open now, how many of you have found?”
As fine advertising goes, it’s a solid eight out of 10 from Cafe Car Attendant. I’m 30 minutes into the nearly four-hour ride along the Gulf Coast, the sun has just risen, and the railway is hugging the coast. On the other side, I see a large swashes of a swamp and a lake in the distance.
I’m traveling on Amtrak’s new route, the Mardi Gras service. I say ‘new’ as if it’s a brand new route: in fact, it’s the resumption of a train that previously ran 20 years ago before suddenly stopping. Hurricane Katrina hit the area. In addition to destroying towns and cities along the coast, the storm wiped out 100-odd miles of the 145-mile-long (233 km) path that connects the Louisiana city of New Orleans on the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast port city of Mobile, Alabama.
I’ve already spent a few days in New Orleans, aka the ‘Big Easy’, so called for its laid-back lifestyle, the world’s oldest continuously operating streetcar line, the St. Charles Line, a favorite of both depot staff and locals, a po’ boy sandwich (usually filled with fries, lettuce, fries). A New Orleans lunch staple but originally developed to cater to streetcar drives. I learned about Orléans’ French history, exploring its narrow streets and European-inspired architecture in contrast to America’s signature wide highways and towering skyscrapers.
But now I’m moving on, sitting in the cafe car, anticipating what’s to come as we cruise along the coast toward the final destination: Mobile, Alabama.