Now, for my Thanksgiving. It was wonderful. I have been having some minor car problems lately, so I investigated taking a trip from St. Louis to Jefferson City (where my best friend and her family live) via train and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was relatively inexpensive, and wouldn't take any longer than it would for me to drive there, with the added bonus of lots of free time to knit.
The accomodations were swell. Seats were similar to those on an aircraft, but much larger, and I got a whole two seats to myself. The aisles were wide, and there's a lot more room above for luggage. Plus, as you can see in the second photo, every seat had two 120V electrical outlets. If I had to take a trip longer than two hours, I could bring along my computer and watch a movie without fear of my batteries dying.
Naturally the depots haven't been upgraded for many years, and it's so nostalgic. I felt like I should have had an old-fashioned hat box, and well...a hat. Upon arriving in Jefferson City, I got to meet this sweety-pie:
She's two months old, but was pre-mature, so her adjusted age is about 8 days old, and she's just a perfect little newborn; I guess she's had more practice at it by now than most 8-day-olds. Look at that big yawn!
Her four year old sister took the following pictures:
I think it's pretty funny that while she had her fingers directly in front of the lens for the picture of her sister, she still got her in the picture. I guess that's the benefit of the LCD screen for little ones - you can ruin the picture without ruining the picture.
As always, the children made it all an entertaining adventure. Because of their extra passenger, the four-year-old had to sit in the very back back of the Mountaineer, and she kept saying "I can't believe I get to ride in this cool trunk!" She can now spell two colors, red and blue, and makes a noble effort to count to 100.
On the trip over, I got through the second of three skeins for my Clapotis, and you can see above how far I got on that sock on the way back. I wasn't feeling so well on the way back, so I tried to sleep, which was difficult. The train is much quieter than a jet, which is nice, except it doesn't drown out as many conversations. And the train is a little bumpy. I took The City of New Orleans to New Orleans, and I don't remember it being so bumpy, but it was much larger, I think.
At any rate, I highly recommend travel by train if you have access to it. It's really fun and a much slower pace than air-travel. No jerk businessmen will regale you with one end of a conference call, and you won't be elbowed by an inconsiderate seat-mate. Oh yeah, and you can bring your own food and beverage! It's fantastic.
5 comments:
I love train travel, and would much prefer to use it constantly, but the only train I have access to now runs from OKC to Ft. Worth.
Sounds like you had a great time.
The Knitorious sock looks great!
I just wish we had train access! I hate flying. At least when we drive I am in the passenger seat, so I do get to knit.
What a cutie!
I love train travel, too! I've gone from Chicago to Denver and back twice. So relaxing and you meet such interesting people!
My mom and I have both taken Amtrak between St. Louis and Sedalia. Love it! It's especially great for traveling with a little one. The only problem is the schedules can be wonky. But if you're not on a tight schedule, it's great.
Ooo I loooove trains. If I have to get to Berlin I always go by train.
Sounds like your Thanksgiving was blessed. And what an adorable baby!
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