My train ride out here was so-so. I mean, I am grateful that someone else was driving, and that I arrived in Colorado with minimal fuss and full safety, but I’ve had better rides.
The first issue is that the trains are running late. I was prepared for that, and arrived at the station two hours later than if it had been on time, and the station was filled with people in various stages of disgruntledness. One lady was very vocal about her opinion, and I silently thought, “please don’t let me sit by her”.
Guess what?
That’s ok, because I had been up for 22 hours and immediately crashed. When I awoke, she was somewhere else on the train. It gave me the chance to observe the dozens of Amish people on board. What the what? Isn’t this against their religion? Nope, they were all on their way to the mountains for vacation. Good for you, Amish people.
My seat mare found me. I heard her talking to the porter that she was a little disoriented. Apparently she had been walking four times through the train trying to find her seat after breakfast. We had a lovely, non-crazy chat, and then I dozed off again.
At Denver she left, and I switched seats to that a young couple who had just boarded could sit together. We had 300 passengers at this point, so the train was packed, My new seat mate was Cute College Boy Who was on his was to Sacremento to do some big three-week hike. We chatted a little, then I took a series of naps to make the time pass more quickly.
The lessons learned? (For next time): bring a blanket AND a pillow. I had switched out the travel blanket in my backpack in favor of more tissues (my allergies are acting up), and was a little chilly even in pants and a jacket. Bring lots of food. I had enough for me, and even ate breakfast at the snack bar, but I felt bad for the college student and wished I could have left him more than the granola bars and pop tarts. Also? Don’t travel on a Saturday. I think that’s why it was so crowded.
That’s all for now. Happy Monday!