Today was our last day in sunny California! It took us all morning, but we packed up all SIX suitcases and headed out. Poppy had one final stop to make… In and Out Burger! We all had a double-double with fries and a
drink. It was ok… I really wanted the
Chick-fil-a that was next door but Poppy said I had to eat at the burger
place.
After lunch, we headed back to the airport to return the car. We then had a driver shuttle us to Union Station.
That’s right…we are getting on a train!
In case you didn’t know, Poppy planned this trip for my 40th
birthday. My favorite show is I Love
Lucy and some of my favorite episodes are their trip to California. When they come home, they take the
train. So here we are… going home on a
train. Actually, we are not going home
but headed to Chicago. We got to Union
Station around 4:30 pm. The entry area
is massive!
We had no idea where to go
or what to do. We finally found the
check in area which was upstairs in what seemed like a lawyer’s office. It was the strangest thing. Anyways, the girls and I had the bright idea to
pack all of our things that we would need on the train and in Chicago all in
one suitcase. Sounds like a great idea
right? Well, it was until they weighed
the suitcase and it was 13 pounds over the limit. So, in the middle of the room we were unpacking
and rearranging everything! Nice! Once we had all of that taken care of the
lady told us we had time to explore the station before leaving. We went back downstairs, took some pictures
and got some coffee. When we went back
upstairs, we noticed their were very few people left waiting. Come to find out, we just about missed our
train! Good grief! They put us on a golf cart and shuttled us
quickly to the train. Thankfully we made
it with no further incidents!
The four
of us climbed aboard a VERY narrow staircase and proceeded to our cabins. We have 2 rooms right next to each
other. Each room has a VERY TEENY TINY
bathroom (might be smaller than the airplane bathroom BUT includes the shower),
a small little sink, a chair, a couch/bottom bunk, top bunk, and a folding
table.
By 6:40pm, the train was pulling away. All four of us watched out the window as we
headed out! Before long, the head waiter
came around making dinner reservations.
We chose, or should I say Julianna chose for us to eat at 7:30pm. The girls
and I played Racko until dinner time.
At
7:30pm, we walked one car over to the dinning car. The four of us sat in a both
together. We had several menu selections
to choose from and we all picked steak. Even
though there are prices on the menu, our meals are included in our trip. Our
meal came with dinner rolls, a salad, the meat, mixed veggies, a choice of
baked potato or mashed potatoes, and a dessert.
Everything was very tasty! Just
in case your wondering, you are supposed to tip your waiter on a a train.
After dinner, we went back to our cabins and
started to blog about todays adventures.
It is dark now on the train and we are all piled in one room for the
moment. The train has made a number of
stops already-Fullerton CA, Riverside CA, San Bernardino CA, Victorville CA,
and we are currently stopped in Barstow CA. Our ears are all popping as we
climb through mountains to the high desert.
We go through the Grand Canyon around 3am. Hate that we won’t get to see that!
Until tomorrow…
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