Vacation Idea #1 - Trains

WISH i was on HOLIDAY

- Vacation Idea #1 -

Trains

Every Monday from January to September.

Trains

My  first trip aboard a train was from Washington State to California in the middle of winter for a relatives wedding. On the way to California my children and I rode coach. We were given seats which resembled airplane seats. They were small without much room to move around and absolutely no room to sleep. And because we did not know to take blankets and pillows, we had a very sleepless night in the cold train cab. But, on that sleepless night I witnessed one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. The moon shone down on trees heavily burdened with snow as we passed through the mountains and there were sparkles on the snow that was piled high on either side of the tracks. The sights from my window were not always beautiful however, we also saw a lot of the backs of buildings, run down homes, and Industrial areas. Perhaps the most amusing site (at least for me) was at street crossings where we watched people sitting in their cars waiting for the train to pass. For them it must have been terribly boring, but from inside the train it was quite a perspective change. And when we left cities for the wilder areas the views were breath taking. My husband unable to take off too much time from work took a plane down to California and then rode the train back up to Washington with us. When we boarded for the trip home he disappeared for over an hour without a word. And just as I began to worry that we might have left him behind he returned looking like a little kid as he explained how he went all the way up to the front of the train, down below to the food car, and up to the observation deck, he was thrilled. I however, had become train sick. I do not get sea sick, hardly get car sick, but OH do I get train sick! Luckily an attendant saw my plight and had some medicine that helped. For our return trip we stayed in a little cabin on the train with pull down beds. And when I say little I mean LITTLE. The cabins on trains are amusingly small. If you want to see efficiency of space this is one of the best examples I have ever seen. The price on the cabins was not as little as the rooms unfortunately. But because my husband was with us, we splurged so he would have the full experience. After his reaction to the train, I am glad we did. Sleep was a bit better in the cabins. But between coach and cabins I almost liked coach better. That may have been because I did not get train sick going coach. The train ran on schedule down to California, but was about 8 hours late on the way back. And I have since learned that trains are almost always delayed. The Train Station in Seattle was beautiful. There were large historical photos of the station in black and white which showed its former glory. The Station in California was smaller but had a similar beauty. Many train stations (in operation, or not) have now been turned into art museums, or historical museums or restaurants and are in themselves a wonder to visit. 

This photo is of Union Station in New York.

For me riding on a train was like reaching though time as all of the references I have ever read or watched surfaced in my mind to make history now feel vividly real. It was after this first trip that I became fascinated with their history. In America trains have been around since the 1800's. At that time the Oregon trail was replaced by  trains as the preferred method of traveling from east to west. They were still quite popular up through the 1950's. Where after they suffered a drastic decline in ridership due to the advances in technology and popularity of automobiles and air planes. But nothing will ever replace the adventure of  trains.