I have been working hard on the next book in the Book of Garlander series. In the second book, Avoid Train Full of Pirates and Clowns, our heroes ride a train across the country. Thomas and I realized we haven’t been in a sleeper car, so we decided riding on a train should be our next adventure.
We departed from the Riverside Train Station taking the Southwest Chief at 7:13 PM. It was a little wet on the drive over but the rain had stopped by the time we arrived at the train station. We had to wander around a bit because the station did not have good signs for Amtrak; it is also the main depot for local trains.
While waiting we were amused by the electronic announcement for a local train. The message said, “The 149 I S (instead of is) delayed 5 to 10 minutes due to, due to, stalled vehicle on the track.”
We didn’t know where to go other than somewhere in the front but the sleeper car attendant came out and called for us.
We had what is called a roomette in train speak. The two seats combine to make a bed on the bottom and another bed drops down from the top. Thomas was incredibly happy to be on the train. He chose the top bunk.
I included some pictures of us in the roomette.
The highlight of the train is the dinning car, as much for the people you meet as for the food. We sat with someone different for every meal and everyone was very friendly.
Thomas was excited about his breakfast and wanted me to take a picture. There was also snow on the ground going through northern Arizona.
Our original plan was to take the train to Gallup, spend the day in Gallup, then come back the next night. However, when I was looking at the weather, Gallup was 22 degrees. Way too cold. We decided to go on to Albuquerque. We did get off the train in Gallup to stretch our legs, you get an idea of how cold it was from the pictures.
We made the most of the four hours we spent in Albuquerque. The New Mexico Museum of Natural Science was only a short Uber ride from the train station. Of course, we took the opportunity to get our dinosaur on. I’m not sure what the giant chocolate display was about, but it made for a nice picture.
We were back on the train before nightfall. Another favorite part of the train was the observation room. After diner we hung out in the observation room and enjoyed a random guy playing his guitar and singing hits such as La Bomba. We did not get pictures of the singer, but we did get some fun photos of us in the observation car.
We made it back to Riverside on Thursday. The train was delayed an hour because of flash floods. We took one last chance for pictures.
I hope you enjoyed the description of our journey. We got some ideas for our next book and learned a few things about trains. For instance, when I wrote the second book they encounter pirates and clowns in their room but I will move everything to the hallway. You will have to wait to read all about it in the upcoming book: Avoid Trains full of Pirates and Clowns.
In the meantime, make sure you get a copy of the Lost Island of Pirates, Curses, and Treasures. Already have it? Please leave a review on Amazon!
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