The Return
Well, we made it back, dirty and tired but in one piece. So now it's time for an update.
The journey north
Upon arrival at Austin station we learned there are no checked bags. This was very suprising, since you'd think they would tell people that when they buy tickets, and we were worried about our bags being too large. However, there are locations on the bottom of the trains for large bags so we were fine. We were on a superliner, which has two levels, with bathrooms and handicapped seating on the bottom and everyone else on the top. We chose a seat in the back, right behind to kids that were 12 and 13 or so and their father. It was interesting watching people interact. The two mexican boys that sat near us made friends with a 13 year old black kid (I don't know their names, and race is the easiest description right now) The boys alternated the whole trip between tripping over themselves trying to impress the two sets of girls (who also happened to be 11 and 13) and to what equated a pissing contest involving beating the crap out of their respective little brothers. Sometimes it was cute, othertimes it was obnoxious. It was certainly an interesting look into the lives of pre-teens.
We learned quickly that trains induce sleep very very well. There is constant white noise from the air circulating, and the gentle rocking is all you need to pass out. I found I could stay awake better in the sightseeing car since I didn't have to crane my neck to look out, and it had more natural light. We tried to watch the movies, but the sound wasn't high enough to hear easily. The first night we did eat in the dining car since it was a better deal to get a whole dinner for $11 than to spend $7 for a sandwhich and chips at lunch. It was very good food, my half chicken had an interesting buttery type flavor to it that I loved, and Carrie got the alfredo. All in all it was a good meal and only $22, which is how much we would have paid to eat at denny's or something similar.
Sleeping by the way isn't as bad as on a plane. You have a huge amount of space with extra supports for your upper legs and feet. It wasn't as comfortable as a bed, but definately better than a plane. Oh, we also realized that while it seems like a good idea to play cards, they all slide around due to the motion of the train so it's a bit difficult!
The train from Chicago to Milwaukee is very different because it's a commuters train. The seats are like plane seats, but there were power outlets so we could charge our phone. That's the biggest improvement Amtrak could make is including more power outlets throughout the train, especially by the seats or even just in the lounge car. However we slept so much we didn't go through many batteries at all.
At home
My mom and brother picked us up from the train station and we drove the 2 hours back home. Both my parents have been fighting a real bad cough/cold so they weren't the most entertaining, but it's ok. Saturday Nate was allowed to have Brilee so he was lots of fun. That kid's pretty smart, and definately understood opening presents, which amused me. You never know what kids will do at 14 months, but he's making lots of noises, almost sound like words at times. He also has the cutest little singing type thing he does. We took a little video of him so we can make a dvd and send it home. Then when nate's lonely for Brilee he can watch the dvd.
Christmas with the Nollenbergs wasn't bad. I talked to Grandma and Angela and Mark and Barb, who always makes the effort to talk to us even though we rarely see her. I spent a lot of time chasing after Brilee also. But it was fun.
We splurged a bit for Christmas and bought my parents a Terry Redlin print. They really like his work, but really can't afford to spend money on them. But this one was super discounted, I think around 75%. Besides, it can go on the wall and not take up more space, which is important.
Saturday night we hung out with Luanne, which is always fun. We caught up on all the New London drama and got the whole story about her meeting Barry Manilow which was hilarious. She's going to be in San Antonio in February to see Mike in a play so hopefully we'll get a chance to see her again because she's very fun.
The trip south
Sunday we headed back to Milwaukee. It's too bad my parents were so sick because we really didn't get to spend much time together. But it's ok, we're planning a long trip in the summer so we can help fix up the house. Anyway, the train to Chicago was very empty compared to the ride to Milwaukee. In Chicago we only had a short layover, so that wasn't bad, though there were tons of people! We were hoping to get a seat with an outlet but no luck. However this time we sat in the front of the car right in front of a bunch of kids. One woman was travelling alone with 3 kids, one a young toddler, maybe 2 years old, another toddler about 3, and the oldest boy about 5. The kids cried at times which sucked, but otherwise it was fine. I talked to that lady about religion, which was interesting. She got off at Longview, then it was just the woman behind us with her 3 or 4 year old, who was just adorable. He kept saying 'let's go home' and wanting to just get off the train. He didn't understand that home was far away, not just a matter of getting off the train. But we had fun with them all.
I had breakfast monday morning, which was pretty good french toast that filled me up. Carrie was feeling all crampy and sick so she didn't eat until lunch. I spent a lot more time in the sightseeing car because carrie was sleeping so I didn't feel bad leaving her alone. There are so many pretty places. My favorites were any that had a stream or river and big hills. That probably sounds wierd, but I know what I mean!
We arrived back in Austin on time to be picked up by our neighbor who was also nice enough to check on the cats. They weren't very happy with us for leaving, but they're getting back to normal already. All of the presents made it safely home with us, though we'll have to wait for my mom to ship a few others that we didn't have room for. The coolest one is the UConn basketball from last year. It has the men's and women's schedules on it, but the case just has the women's championship information. It's really neat.
Well this is certainly a long post, so I'll cut it off now. Only one week left before classes start...eeek!
The journey north
Upon arrival at Austin station we learned there are no checked bags. This was very suprising, since you'd think they would tell people that when they buy tickets, and we were worried about our bags being too large. However, there are locations on the bottom of the trains for large bags so we were fine. We were on a superliner, which has two levels, with bathrooms and handicapped seating on the bottom and everyone else on the top. We chose a seat in the back, right behind to kids that were 12 and 13 or so and their father. It was interesting watching people interact. The two mexican boys that sat near us made friends with a 13 year old black kid (I don't know their names, and race is the easiest description right now) The boys alternated the whole trip between tripping over themselves trying to impress the two sets of girls (who also happened to be 11 and 13) and to what equated a pissing contest involving beating the crap out of their respective little brothers. Sometimes it was cute, othertimes it was obnoxious. It was certainly an interesting look into the lives of pre-teens.
We learned quickly that trains induce sleep very very well. There is constant white noise from the air circulating, and the gentle rocking is all you need to pass out. I found I could stay awake better in the sightseeing car since I didn't have to crane my neck to look out, and it had more natural light. We tried to watch the movies, but the sound wasn't high enough to hear easily. The first night we did eat in the dining car since it was a better deal to get a whole dinner for $11 than to spend $7 for a sandwhich and chips at lunch. It was very good food, my half chicken had an interesting buttery type flavor to it that I loved, and Carrie got the alfredo. All in all it was a good meal and only $22, which is how much we would have paid to eat at denny's or something similar.
Sleeping by the way isn't as bad as on a plane. You have a huge amount of space with extra supports for your upper legs and feet. It wasn't as comfortable as a bed, but definately better than a plane. Oh, we also realized that while it seems like a good idea to play cards, they all slide around due to the motion of the train so it's a bit difficult!
The train from Chicago to Milwaukee is very different because it's a commuters train. The seats are like plane seats, but there were power outlets so we could charge our phone. That's the biggest improvement Amtrak could make is including more power outlets throughout the train, especially by the seats or even just in the lounge car. However we slept so much we didn't go through many batteries at all.
At home
My mom and brother picked us up from the train station and we drove the 2 hours back home. Both my parents have been fighting a real bad cough/cold so they weren't the most entertaining, but it's ok. Saturday Nate was allowed to have Brilee so he was lots of fun. That kid's pretty smart, and definately understood opening presents, which amused me. You never know what kids will do at 14 months, but he's making lots of noises, almost sound like words at times. He also has the cutest little singing type thing he does. We took a little video of him so we can make a dvd and send it home. Then when nate's lonely for Brilee he can watch the dvd.
Christmas with the Nollenbergs wasn't bad. I talked to Grandma and Angela and Mark and Barb, who always makes the effort to talk to us even though we rarely see her. I spent a lot of time chasing after Brilee also. But it was fun.
We splurged a bit for Christmas and bought my parents a Terry Redlin print. They really like his work, but really can't afford to spend money on them. But this one was super discounted, I think around 75%. Besides, it can go on the wall and not take up more space, which is important.
Saturday night we hung out with Luanne, which is always fun. We caught up on all the New London drama and got the whole story about her meeting Barry Manilow which was hilarious. She's going to be in San Antonio in February to see Mike in a play so hopefully we'll get a chance to see her again because she's very fun.
The trip south
Sunday we headed back to Milwaukee. It's too bad my parents were so sick because we really didn't get to spend much time together. But it's ok, we're planning a long trip in the summer so we can help fix up the house. Anyway, the train to Chicago was very empty compared to the ride to Milwaukee. In Chicago we only had a short layover, so that wasn't bad, though there were tons of people! We were hoping to get a seat with an outlet but no luck. However this time we sat in the front of the car right in front of a bunch of kids. One woman was travelling alone with 3 kids, one a young toddler, maybe 2 years old, another toddler about 3, and the oldest boy about 5. The kids cried at times which sucked, but otherwise it was fine. I talked to that lady about religion, which was interesting. She got off at Longview, then it was just the woman behind us with her 3 or 4 year old, who was just adorable. He kept saying 'let's go home' and wanting to just get off the train. He didn't understand that home was far away, not just a matter of getting off the train. But we had fun with them all.
I had breakfast monday morning, which was pretty good french toast that filled me up. Carrie was feeling all crampy and sick so she didn't eat until lunch. I spent a lot more time in the sightseeing car because carrie was sleeping so I didn't feel bad leaving her alone. There are so many pretty places. My favorites were any that had a stream or river and big hills. That probably sounds wierd, but I know what I mean!
We arrived back in Austin on time to be picked up by our neighbor who was also nice enough to check on the cats. They weren't very happy with us for leaving, but they're getting back to normal already. All of the presents made it safely home with us, though we'll have to wait for my mom to ship a few others that we didn't have room for. The coolest one is the UConn basketball from last year. It has the men's and women's schedules on it, but the case just has the women's championship information. It's really neat.
Well this is certainly a long post, so I'll cut it off now. Only one week left before classes start...eeek!
posted by Jaxson at 09:12
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