Amtrak Trip to Glennwood Springs, Colorado

 Roberta and I took our first post-lockdown trip on Amtrak last week to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. We took our Brompton folding bikes on the Cardinal from Indianapolis to Chicago and the incredibly scenic Zephyr from Chicago to Glennwood Springs. As usual, we sketched in our journals during the trip. We enjoyed hiking and biking. We visited Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park which we enjoyed. Lots of great places to eat. We soaked in the hot springs. We biked and sketched. Here’s some sketches from our journals starting with Roberta’s watercolors:

Here’s my sketches:

Save the Amtrak Hoosier State!

Last week, Roberta and I rode the Amtrak Hoosier State for the last time.  The Hoosier State  connected Indianapolis and Chicago. Chicago is a rail hub, which Roberta and I use frequently to travel and sketch nationwide with our Brompton folding bikes. This vital rail link is no more.  But, I don't want to complain about our inconvenience. Roberta and I will find alternatives. However, there is a group of people, a people with no online voice for which this cancellation is a far greater inconvenience, the Amish.

Friday night, while riding the Hoosier State, I spoke with some Amish passengers. They asked me why the Indiana Legislature cancelled the Hoosier State. The Amish have religious restrictions regarding computers, email and social media where public debate happens these days so, I feel obligated to relay their concerns. I want readers to know how Governor Holcomb and the Indiana Legislature acted to restrict the religious freedom of fellow citizens by canceling passenger rail service to and from Chicago to Indianapolis. 

Many Amtrak passengers are Amish. Orthodox Amish have religious restrictions about transportation technology. They do not drive or fly on planes. Passenger trains are a vital service for them. Cutting the Hoosier State while spending lavishly on highways and airports is a restriction of their religious freedom. 

The Amish have a Constitutional right to practice their religion in a way that does not impinge on the rights of others. Most non-Amish people like Roberta and I can choose to fly in an airplane or drive a car and not violate their religious beliefs. Protection of the rights of religious minorities is why we have the First Amendment.

The annual cost in the Indiana budget to maintain the Hoosier State was $3 million. That’s peanuts. The entire budget approved by the Indiana Legislature and Governor Holcomb was upwards of $30 billion (and the Amish pay taxes too).

$3 million a year is a small price to pay to safeguard the religious freedom of our fellow citizens. Governor Holcomb ‏needs to restore funding for the Hoosier State. Failure to do so is religious intolerance bordering on persecution.

This is an issue that bridges the rural/urban divide. This is an important matter for Indianapolis  residents like my wife and I who are car-free, but also rural people who travel to Indianapolis for the train.

On our last trip on the Hoosier State I sketched (after asking permission) these Amish young women singing hymns in German and English. It was one of those incredibly beautiful, convivial,  spontaneous experiences that happen frequently on passenger trains. If you live in Indiana, please contact Governor Holcomb and your state representative about this matter. Thank you.

Sketches of the Awesome Crews of Amtrak

When I ride Amtrak, I like sketching the scenery outside and my fellow passengers. I sometimes sketch the awesome, hard-working Amtrak crews. Some of the sketches are in my journals, which I keep. I have also sketched in spiral-bound sketchbooks and even paper table coverings, which the crew members get to keep. When I give away a sketch, I usually take a photo for my social media. Here's some photos of Amtrak crew members and their sketches.

Amtrak Trip to California and Back

Roberta and I too a big Amtrak trip to California this month. We took the Hoosier State from Indianapolis to Chicago, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles, the Coast Starlight to San Jose, the Capitol Corridor to Emeryville, the California Zephyr to Chicago and the Hoosier State back home to Indiana. We travelled over 5,550 miles by train through some of the most scenic parts of America. Here's some of our sketches:

Roberta sketching on the Hoosier State,

Roberta's sketch of the desert landscape on the Southwest Chief.

Roberta and I sketching in the observation car on the Southwest Chief.

Plains and mountains of Colorado on the Southwest Chief.

Roberta painted the farms outside Salinas on the Coast Starlight.

I sketched the stunning scenery in Nevada on the California Zephyr.

Roberta painted the towering cliffs in the Rockies on the California Zephyr.

Roberta sketching in the observation car of the 

on the California Zephyr.

Another sketch by Roberta 

on the California Zephyr.

At dinner, I sketched some of my fellow passengers.

Bicycling & Sketching in Chicago and Indianapolis

Roberta and I took our folding bikes on Amtrak's Empire Builder to Indianapolis with a short stop in Chicago. We love these two cities and look forward to returning for more bicycling and sketching.

The "Bean" by Roberta.

Buckingham Fountain by Roberta

The Surgery Museum from my journal.

General Logan, my sketch

Union Station & Indy, from my journal

Union Station, sketch by Roberta

Amtrak conductor, sketch by me

Soldiers & Sailors Monument, sketch by me

Lion, Indy War Memorial, sketch by me

Canal Walk, sketch by Roberta

White River Park trail, sketch by Roberta

Roberta & I biking the Indy Cultural Trail

UPDATE: Roberta and I were so impressed with Indianapolis, we moved there! 

Sketching in Cuba

Roberta and I just returned from a sketching trip to Cuba. Cuba is a beautiful island with a proud, heroic history and architecture of many styles spanning centuries.  The Cuban people were very friendly and showed a lot of interest in our sketches.

Havana and Viñales are wonderful places to sketch. We brought our Brompton folding bikes with us and the Bromptons were very handy for getting us around the narrow streets of the old city. Cuba is still emerging from the "Special Period". Many buildings in Havana are in dire need of repair and some have collapsed.  The good news is a lot of those buildings are being repaired. If you are considering a sketching trip to Cuba we suggest getting the assistance of an travel expert. We recommend Cuba Production Services. For more sketches of Cuba, check out Urban Sketcher Jim Richard's wonderful Cuba sketches on his blog.

The following are a sample of our Cuba sketches. Click on the images to make them larger. We will post more sketches on Instagram (@avidorart & @robertaavidor )

Horses tethered to a banyan tree in Viñales (Ken).

The musicians at a Cabaña, a good restaurant (Ken).

The statue of José Marti in the Parque Central (Ken).

There's music everywhere in Havana. 

Motorized cannon in front of the Museo de la Revolución (Ken)

Our favorite musician in one of our favorite paladars (Roberta).

José Marti in Parque Central (Roberta).

Lots of annoying exhaust comes out of these old Russian cars (Roberta).

A street scene in Habana Vieja (Roberta).

Another street scene in Habana Vieja (Roberta).

The lovely, serene Viñales valley (Roberta).

Us in front of the "Granma" depicted by Cuban artist José Fuster.