Train Adventure ~ Day 2

day 2

We were the first people sitting in the dining car for breakfast this morning. The food (pancakes and strawberries) was great again. After breakfast we visited the observation car for a little while, but it was a pretty hazy sunrise so we decided to go back to our roomette to enjoy the scenery from there. Corbin’s photography classes are really paying off on this trip so far! We adjusted the shutter speed as high as our dlsr camera will allow. Right now it’s 3:48pm and I’m laying in the top bunk of our roomette downloading the pictures, and typing this etc. There are just too many great pictures to count! We are supposed to go down to the dining car at 5pm for dinner, but I can’t imagine eating another bite right now. We had some really good hamburgers for lunch. It seems like all we do is eat and sit!

We are having so much fun though. It’s indescribably relaxing to just sit and visit while the world rushes past the windows. Today’s highlights were Alpine Texas (Big Bend), and El Paso so far. At this point in our day, our next stop where we are allowed to detrain for a little while will be in Tucson. I’m hoping to find a geocache while we are there since I believe we will be able to get off of the train for an hour.
As we passed through west Texas, we were amazed by the changing geography. We spent quite a bit of time listening to the podcasts and trying to figure out which geological features we were seeing. As we rode along the border between Texas and Mexico, it was amazing to see the stark contrast of the appearance of the Mexico side in Juarez vs. the US side in El Paso. There were so many border patrol trucks! Looking down from the second story of the train we could actually see footprints in the sand where people just routinely walk across the border despite the patrols. I can’t even imagine what this area looks like at night with all of the activity we saw during the day!
One last thing… so far it seems that we have packed everything we need without overpacking. I’m glad I spent so much time reading all of the Amtrak forums for suggestions about what to bring on board. So far everything has been spot on! Time will tell if this feeling will hold up.
To check out Corbin’s perspective of today and yesterday, check out his blog.

Train Adventure ~ Day 1

day 1

Today is the day! We are finally headed to the train station to start our trip.

Feb 22nd – Depart from Houston – We arrived at the Amtrak station in Houston at around 6pm for the Sunset Limited. The train arrived a few minutes early, so we were able to board the train almost immediately! Corbin enjoyed exploring our roomettes, the sleeper car, and the rest of the train before the train ever even left the station! We finally heard the conductor yell, “All Aboard” and the train pulled out of the station on time at 6:55pm. (I love that the conductors actually do yell this. And they even wear the funny little conductor outfits.)

Just after we departed, we were immediately shuffled down to the dining car for dinner. To ensure efficient service, Amtrak requires reservations for dinner, and usually lunch. Since we are a party of four, we all get to sit together. If your group has an odd-number, someone will be sitting with other people. The dining car crew was amazing, and the food was really good.

When we went back to our roomettes for the evening, our sleeper car attendant came around to change our rooms from day-time mode to night-time mode. Corbin found this totally fascinating because he had a whole new set of levers and knobs with which to tinker. He immediately said he was tired, and needed to go to bed. It was only 8pm so he was soon back up and bouncing around again. My grandma and her sister’s roomette was just across the hall from ours, so he alternated between the two. On this first night, they taught him to play spades and some other card games.

On this first night we didn’t sleep much as we were still learning to regulate the temperature in our roomettes, and get used to the noises and movements of the train. One of the things I was most worried about was motion sickness. I get car sick easily, but the train is a whole other story. I didn’t get sick once on this whole trip! As a matter of fact, I found the motions and sounds of the train quite relaxing. It was very quiet and peaceful with the lights out in the roomette watching the night go by outside the train.

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Corbin, Chase, Grandma, and Doris Marie saying goodbye before we boarded the train.

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A view of Grandma & Doris Marie’s room across the hall from ours.

ImageHere’s a (kinda rough) panoramic view from my seat in the roomette.
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Dining Car

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Corbin demonstrating the belts that keep you from falling off the top bunks.

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Corbin “sleeping”. I actually ended up sleeping on the top bunk for several hours because he finally passed out on the bottom bunk at some point during the night when he finished hanging out and playing cards with Grandma and Doris.