Train Ride to California

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long. Friday we had a birthday party for Jilly Moose at Nonno's; Richard Bonomo, Luxuli, and OK Cap came too. Travalon and I gave her a book about British royalty. Saturday morning we met the Rosary Ladies again, this time for coffee, then we had to run some errands to prepare for our big trip, taking a little time to visit the Willy Street Fair, going to Mass, and taking one last boat trip in our little Megan Jaye before we headed out.

Early Sunday morning we hit the road, driving to Milwaukee where we caught the train to Chicago. Once there we got to go to the First Class Lounge because for the first time ever we had a sleeping room. When I first saw it, I thought it was so tiny that we would have been better off in seats in the coach area, but it grew on me and seemed really cozy. Of course I slept on the top bunk, which was sort of a weird feeling for someone afraid of heights. That first day we went through Illinois and Iowa, and we did see a lot of beautiful churches and something called "Royal Toilets - the regal portable toilet experience!" The most fun thing about taking the train is that everyone is so friendly. We met people from all over the country, from England, China, and Germany. They have you sit with another pair of people during meals so you are forced to get to know each other, and everyone seems happy to talk to strangers. I think people who don't like to interact just fly to wherever they are going.

Yesterday we were very disappointed to learn that they were rerouting the train through Wyoming, so we didn't get to go through the Colorado Rockies. I had hoped to meet my uncle in Denver, but we only had 20 minutes there, and it wasn't anywhere near his work. He said on Tuesdays he goes right by the train station. In Wyoming we did see lots of weird rock formations, some beautiful rivers, and tons of bison and pronghorn antelopes. Somehow by the time we got on the dinner reservation list, the only slot they had was five, which is way too early. Fortunately our car attendant said he could bring us dinner in our room, so we had one romantic meal alone.

Today we went through the Sierra Nevadas, and it was so beautiful. The Donner Pass, overlooking scenic Donner Lake, was particularly spectacular... and yes, it is named after the Donner Party, a true story involving desperation leading to cannibalism. We spent a lot of time going along the Truckee River, then the mountains gave way to scenery that looked a lot like Tuscany but with palm trees, just outside of Sacramento. We descended so quickly that my ears almost hurt as much as when I fly. Then the train went along a beautiful bay that empties into the San Francisco Bay. Wow, was that gorgeous! Once we got to Oakland and checked into our hotel, we walked to the pier and took the ferry over to San Francisco. We rode a cable car up Nob Hill and a trolley thing (there are like fifteen types of mass transit going on in that city) over to Fisherman's Wharf, where we had clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. When we took the ferry back over to Oakland, I couldn't get over how beautiful the lights of San Francisco are. The bridge that goes to Oakland has some sort of light show going on - I made a video and will post it soon.

Famous Hat