road trip silliness and fun

The Indian battlegrounds were so interesting and gave us much to discuss as we traveled. 

And then places like this one, which was next door to a gas station in the middle of Wyoming, gave us a lot of silliness wherein we laughed together. We never did figure out why they had a giant Bugs Bunny, (pictured here) the shark from Jaws, Daffy Duck, and numerous dinosaurs on site. We simply enjoyed them.

We got a big kick out of the alligators in this truck, and also from the dinosaur peeking around the fence corner. Struck our sense of whimsy and silly, and we make up stories and jokes about this scene for many miles.

Colorado. Gloriously gorgeous country. Since railways were a big part of this adventure, of course we needed to ride the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. This thing is an amazing piece of workmanship. It really should not have been accomplished, but they did it and we rode it. 

At the bottom, before the ride.

During the ride up, about a third of the way, they pulled over on the way down to let us go up. 

We saw bighorn sheep! I swear the lead sheep posed for us.

From the summit, it really feels like the top of the world and that the "down" goes on forever.

 a nice stranger took our picture, then we returned the favor for her.

Could not resist this shot halfway down the mountain and totally got lucky that the flamingo came out at all. Cracked me up that it was put in a nest way up there! I'm slightly in love with the person who did this.

From Pike's Peak, we headed to Durango on Independence Day. The train was adorned with flags, and there was a small town parade just about suppertime.

This man and his little one were totally flirting with every female they saw. The other gentleman was singing America the Beautiful.

 I absolutely wanted to join this biker club. Of course, that would mean I'd need to learn how to ride. They were the Hardly Angels, with a mixed age group that looked to range from about 25 - 75. They were having a ball!

They had a calliope!

At the tail end of the parade, pun intended, was the steam cleaners who gently blasted the crowd with their hoses. The guys in these getups were having a gloriously fun time and made everyone laugh.

After the parade, we headed down to a local brewpub for dinner and a beer. Lots of fun just watching people having fun together. We continued to make up stories, and we talked with lots of folks to get their stories. The street remained closed so that a couple bands could take over. Dancing in the streets took on a literal meaning as people did just that. And the fireworks! Oh, the fireworks. Did not get pictures of them, just enjoyed.

Our country, which will always have problems, was celebrated in a grand fashion on the 4th of July in Durango.

Up next, steam trains and cliff dwellings.

grand adventure, part 3

Sleeping on a train. While the rooms are fairly small, it actually works.

It's kind of amazing to me that they can fit a sofa that converts to a bed, a chair, a pull out table, walkway, a sink, and bathroom stall with shower, all into a 7x7 room. Oh, don't forget that top bunk. :-) Well, you can because we did. The converted lower bunk was actually just big enough for us to share.

Christmas Eve morning came early because we wanted to be up and seeing life on the train as much as possible. We actually set an alarm so that we could get a quick shower before early breakfast at 6:30 when the dining car opened up for the day. It's a good thing we did. Right after we got served, the dining car lost power! Anyone who came even a few minutes later didn't get to have a hot breakfast. Cold cereal and fruit was it. Thankfully, at a stop just before lunch, a mechanic came on board and was able to get power restored to the cheering of the passengers.

We spent the day much like the previous day, me knitting while we hung out in the parlour car, chatting with Erica and Ron and other folks. Lunchtime brought another nice meal with a couple guys who had just met each other. One worked for a trucking company. A former driver, he now works in the office. The other guy is the Brewmaster and owner of Santa Barbara Brewing Company. When asked what got him started on brewing beer, his reply of "I was thirsty" amused us to no end. Conversation ranged into space exploration and science, wine and beer, work and home lives.

Another afternoon wine tasting, this time with all California wines. We joined Kimberly and Phil for this event. She is a Radiation Therapist, he is an IT guy with a very large company. They have 5 kids ranging in age from 7-15. On alternate years, they take a vacation alone, leaving the kids with grandparents to spoil them while the folks get spoiled. They laughed and played card games the entire trip. It was great fun to see their level of enjoyment in one another.

After the winetasting, we sat chatting so long that Phil went looking for champagne for us all. More laughter and it was time for dinner. Since we had the same meal time scheduled, we just continued the conversation and laughter over our glazed salmon and a nice glass of wine.

Toward the end of dinner, an announcement was made requesting anyone with a medical background to please see Amtrak staff. Kimberly jumped up to help. Apparently a 2 year old boy had fallen and cut his forehead open. She was able to get the bleeding stopped, butterfly it together and return to our meal. Later she re-checked the little punkin and he was doing well.

A return to the parlour car found Erica, sitting alone, relaxing and ready for more chatting. Apparently after the winetasting, Chip, the parlour car attendant didn't have any takers to buy single glasses of the wine served. Since it was the 2nd day on the train, and we would be ending this leg of the journey soon, after an appropriate amount of time, he either has to sell it or throw it out. Instead, he gave the half bottle to Erica to enjoy. She had been waiting for us to enjoy it with her. A little later, Chip popped over to us again, with another bottle that had barely been opened. He told us to take it with us to our hotel. Cool!

As we pulled into Los Angeles, we went to get our luggage from the room and were wondering where the taxi stand would be at Union Station. Erica let us know that they would drop us at the hotel, no taxi needed. What a kindness. Outside, we met her husband, Paul, who is as nice as Erica. A quick 5 minute drive, unload their car outside the hotel, hug our new friends and discover they had purchased a bottle of wine for us as a celebration of our anniversary. We were so blown away by their sweetness and open offer of friendship.

And in we go, the LA Hotel Downtown on Christmas Eve.

...may there be mercy in the sharing of memories.

grand adventure, part 2

Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, sitting in the parlour car, knitting and enjoying the people and view.

It surprised me how quickly folks started talking with one another. Several folks stopped to ask me what I was knitting. An adorable little girl, who told me that she was 7 now, came to watch me knit. She confided that she had been trying to learn, but just couldn't get the hang of it yet. I assured her that, if I could learn after age 50, soon she would learn. We talked a bit, then her family moved off to play games.

Soon, lunch was being served in the dining car. Linens, real plates, silver and glassware, nicely served all while traveling 70-80 mph down the track. Since all our food was included in the 1st class ticket, we ate what we wanted to eat, including dessert at most meals. Not something we do on a regular basis at home, but on vacation like this? Oh yeah!

Amtrak practices community seating, so we were joined by a couple of single folks from vastly different backgrounds. Mahta lives in Canada. She's a tutor for kids with learning disabilities, most of whom fall into the autism spectrum. Her family fled Iran when she was 10. They traveled in Europe and the U.S. until they were accepted as permanent residents in Canada. Stephen lives south of Seattle. He loves trains and photography, has competed in ballroom dance and plays guitar, with a passion for math along with his music. It was interesting that he was seated with Mahta, as it was evident that his is autistic. Clearly high functioning. He reminded me of a friend's son who also loves music and trains. He was traveling to spend Christmas with his dad in Northern California. The conversations with Mahta and Stephen were really fun.

After lunch, we found ourselves back in the parlour car, chatting with folks. Eventually, things were set up for cheese and wine tasting. Fun! Amtrak does the wine tasting each day, featuring wines from the areas where the train is currently passing. That day was Washington and Oregon wines.

As we found a place to sit and got settled in, a young woman came up to ask if she could join us. We gladly invited her to sit, introducing ourselves. Erica is 28, active duty in the Army Reserves, married to an active duty Marine. She had been in Seattle to visit her parents for a couple weeks, riding the train to return home in time for Christmas with her husband. Flying wasn't an option as she had a 2-week heart monitor test going. We really clicked with Erica, spending much of the remainder of the trip chatting with her.

Right after Erica sat down, Ron joined us for wine tasting. He works in the movie industry, doing special effects. Really fun chatting with him about train travel and what he has worked on that we might know. Even more fun to discover that he had done work on Battlestar Galactica, which we really enjoyed. Ron and the Man had a really great series of conversations about the movies, special effects, trains, politics, etc. After the wine tasting was over, the 4 of us found a spot to sit and continue our conversations.

Eventually, dinner was called. Both Ron and Erica had opted to eat in the parlour car, where there are only 2 selections and you can have a table to yourself. We opted to eat in the dining car, with community seating and a larger selection on the menu. Seated with an older couple, we began new conversations over a lovely steak dinner followed by brownie pie for dessert.

Lingering for a bit longer in the parlour car after dinner, we picked up conversations with Erica and Ron, then decided to turn in for the night.

...may there be mercy in sharing the memories.

grand adventure, part 1

Home. It is good.

Over the next several days, I'll be writing some long posts about our grand adventure celebrating 25 years of being married to the Man. Our actual anniversary isn't until January 9th, but this is when we both had opportunity to have vacation together. A little extended celebrating of a big event never hurt anyone, eh?

Planning this trip over the last year has been such fun for us. When it all came down to it, all we really wanted was to spend the time together, taking a cool train trip.

Our original plan was to take the Amtrak Cascades train down to Seattle, but with over 30 mudslides in a very short time, all in one section of track, service was disrupted. While Amtrak would have used a bus to get us there, I really didn't want to start our big trip on a bus instead of a train.

My friend, Kim, gladly offered to drive us down to our hotel that Saturday morning. Gotta say how much I love her! We picked her up and, after a drive through to get peppermint mochas, were on off!

Laughing and talking all the way, the hour drive into Seattle flew. I think Kim was as excited for us as we were to be going.

Hugging and kissing goodbye, we got our luggage and walked into the Mayflower Park Hotel. If you are ever in Seattle, stay here. Just trust me on this one and do it. They have amazing customer service, not to mention an all around lovely hotel.

Earlier in the week, I'd talked with the Reservations Manager, Craig. Letting him know that our stay would mark the beginning of this celebratory trip, we talked about the room the travel agent had booked for us. Just a room, no fun package with martinis or breakfast or a show or dinner or something, which is what I'd really wanted for the first night. Just something a little fun to make it special. I was clear that we were perfectly willing to pay for the extras, but they had not been set up. Craig's response was, "I love surprises. See you Saturday."

Walking up to the front desk, we wondered what might be our surprise. We never expected to be knocked off our feet with the level of "wow!" that we received!

• upgraded room
• a gift package that included the most adorable little cocktail shaker and the award winning recipe for their classic martini
• a lovely congratulations card from Craig, which included a voucher for martinis in their bar, Oliver's, and breakfast in their restaurant, Andaluca.

Being a bit early to arrive, our room was not quite ready. So we spent the afternoon enjoying the sights and sounds of Christmas in Downtown Seattle. People watching, wandering through stores, listening to carolers and checking out the annual Holiday Carousel. Simple fun, holding hands, laughing together.

When we got tired, we decided to sit in the beautiful upper lobby of the hotel and watch folks from there. Maybe get a coffee in the bar while we waited. Instead, the staff had just put out freshly made cookies and hot chocolate for us. After helping ourselves to this treat, we watched folks and just enjoyed the quiet corner we had found.

Once we actually checked into our room and got things settled, we decided that we didn't feel the need to wander around anymore, so we set up a reservation for dinner at Andaluca and spent a couple hours just reading in our room, enjoying the place.

Dinner... oh, added loveliness to our day. The waiter, Tim, recognized us from a previous visit wherein we had only had dessert late in an evening. He welcomed us back, asking if we were there for Christmas. When we told him how wonderful the hotel was already being about our anniversary, he stepped away saying, "let me add some wonderful here." In seconds, he was back with a complimentary glass of champagne for us. So nice!

After perusing the menu, and deciding that I'd order something interesting to me that was not on my regular rotation - Roasted Beet Risotto for me and Grilled Mahi Mahi for the Man. Delicious! Topped off with their Liquid Chocolate Cake for dessert and our tummies had started the celebration quite well.

Of course we topped off the evening with martinis at Oliver's. The place was packed, but we found an empty table in what seemed to be a quiet corner. Just as we ordered, a couple guys sat at the next table, blowing any sense of quiet out the proverbial window. They were drunk and pretending to be foreign, but the so-called accents they had kept reverting to a solid midwest American sound. Watching them was somewhat amusing, but lost any appeal when they began to work on getting a free drink by telling the waitress she had not brought the correct first round. Which they had half drunk already. And which was exactly what they had ordered. Enough people watching for one day. We finished our martinis, heading up to the quiet of our lovely room.

Once there, I noticed on the desk was a new envelope with our names on it, and a small box. Another lovely card, this time signed by all the front desk staff and the box was candy from them, for us to enjoy.

At breakfast, both of the waitstaff recognized us from our previous stay. This was not as surprising since we had eaten breakfast there each day, chatting with them over our coffee, but pleasing nonetheless.

Oh, yes, I am so writing a letter to the General Manager of the Mayflower Park, congratulating him on a team who gives spectacular service and knows how to make guests feel like royalty.

Next... a quick taxi ride to King Street Station to board the Coast Starlight!

King Street Station is currently undergoing a major renovation. So it isn't very pretty with all the construction stuff, but they do have a large waiting room. They also have separate lines for Coach vs. Sleeper Car passengers. Sleeper Cars are the first class tickets... and for this big of an event, we certainly were going first class!

As they called for boarding the train, we headed toward the front where the sleeper cars were. Passing the coach section, the cars looked nice. Then we see the cafe car, the dining car, the parlour car and finally, the sleeper cars. Baggage and crew cars are right behind the engine, giving a buffer for the loudest of the noise from the sleeper cars.

At the door of our sleeper car, we are met by Gregory, the car attendant. His job is to make sure that we have a wonderful time on the train. He takes care of turning down the beds and making them up after use, but he also provides beverages and snacks for us, not to mention a welcome gift of toiletries in an Amtrak bag and champagne. Anything else we need, he does his best to ensure we get. He was very good at his job!

As the train got underway and we got settled, announcements about the train were made, making sure everyone knew where they could get food, what additional events happen for sleeper car passengers, etc. Immediately the dining car attendant came by our room to get lunch reservations for us set up. Once that was handled, I grabbed my knitting and we headed to the parlour car.

The disappointment of a real parlour car being unavailable to this train due to repairs was bigger for the Man than for me. Instead of the normal parlour car, we had a lounge car that is normally only used in the coach section. (they had their own lounge car separate from 1st class)  It was a nice enough place to hang out, but the Man was disappointed as the normal parlour car is so much nicer and richer feeling. We decided to enjoy it and hope for the return trip train to have the actual parlour car.

Knitting, chatting with other passengers, and enjoying a glass of iced tea, we watched the scenery pass by. So much beauty that one simply can't see when driving down Interstate 5! Yes, we passed through some very depressed areas of cities and towns along the way. But there were areas that took our breath away with the loveliness.

Time is running out today, so I will stop for now. Next post soon.

...may there be mercy and joy in the memories of our journey.