Let the good times roll! From New Orleans Amtrak station entrance to board the train.
The song "City of New Orleans" may be associated with Arlo Gutherie or Willie Nelson who both made hits of it, or the many other artists who have covered it. But, the writer and original performer was songwriter Steve Goodman of Chicago in 1971.
It has special significance for me because Jimmy Buffet performed it during his historic Wrigley Field concert in 2005 while Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. At the time, we were operating a tour boat on Gun Lake and doing a live Jimmy Buffet concert through Sirius radio.
Needing the get back from the Gulf Coast, I found that this would be a unique way to get home. This train runs twice a day, every day, from the station in downtown NOLA to Union Station in the heart of Chicago.
Captain John drove me over from Mobile on Saturday morning and I spent three hours in the station and 21 more riding the rails back to Union Station. A short cab ride brought me to Millenium Station and I took the South Shore line back to Dune Park in Chesterton, IN where Vickie picked me up.
While I found it hard to get to sleep in the wee hours, the ride was very pleasant and gave me a view of small town America that few others ever get to see.
Here is Steve Goodman performing the song:
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