Always More Room at the Table
One of the joys of riding the train are the people you meet. Because we have a group of five you can’t eat with others or sit a viewing table. However we still got times to hang with others. Everyone minus Amelia were playing games and looking at the river. During that time everyone went to the bathroom and while they were gone I invited two others to join us
The attendant was walking through the car to find a spot for two kids to hang out. Seeing that they were alone I invited them into our family. They got on in St.Paul and were on their way to Lacrosse,WI to see their grandma. They were immediatly included in our family. When our kids got back they didn’t skip a beat. “Of course there will be more kids at our table.”
Once a foster family always a foster family I guess.
Conductors log #5
This was the long day and if we were to break it would have been today. But we didn’t. Oh yes I understand, as you do, that our kids are perfect and can find amusement out of anything. So endless praires and a random rusted out car alongside of the road was childs play for them to produce entertainment.
Elliot and I had a good time dreaming up what it would be like if we lived out in the middle of nowhere and had endless acres to work. We decide it would be too much work but it would be cool to have dirt bikes and atvs.
We did finally break down and pull the computers out to watch a movie. They were dissapointed to have to stop drawing on the Amtrak napkins but they gave into my idea of family bonding. The girls watch an old Survivor episode (exile island for those that care) and us boys settled in for a James Bond classic, the Man With the Golden Gun. Major mistake. I guess I remember Bond being so cool when I was young.
Oh well our first parenting mistake on the trip. So with benadryl in our stomachs and each of us getting two seats each, we say goodnight. Pray that no one gets on until Minneapolis so we can keep our seats.
Lunch on the Empire Express
We had on the plans to do lunch on the train today. We didn’t think it wise to live on carmel corn, bubblegum and pop tarts the whole trip. So when the seating became open we sluggishly took our sugar filled bodies down two cars to eat. We slamed the five of us into the booth for four and took it all in.
People say that you need to eat on the train, because it is part of the experience. By experience they mean the kind of overcooked macaroni, hamburgers that were cooked(check that burnt) last night and reheated this morning and can you eat quicker so we can get more people in type of experience.
It really wasn’t that bad. My sandwhich was delightful and Amelia’s pizza looked great. We just know how to pick them. Now back to our beef jerky.
Leaving on a Jettrain
…and we do know when we will get back again. Feel free to come along with us. This is going to be fun.
