On the Hudson Bay Rail line

Friday, October 24, 2008

7:30 am On the train at last

Well I am on the train...and lovin' it!  Yesterday I finally finished 5 days worth of long lists of jobs to do, and then finally was packed and ready to go.  Packed and eager I went downtown with Stephen, did some final errands, and then went to Sheila's office so she could drop me off at the train station after work.

At the train station I was ready for the "airline travel" experience... but it was no where to be found.  A pleasant young lady took my ticket, weighed my baggage, and sent us to the waiting area.  Even Sheila was allowed into the area to wait with me.  From there onto the train and into my palatial room (upper berth), no luggage check, no scanner, no need to show identification (even though I had it all ready), and no one even checking my ticket until this morning.  This was all rather refreshing.

My upper berth is wonderful.  Fortunately for me the train is not very full, so in a berth area for 6 people there is only me.  Wow!!! I have my upper berth to sleep on, and full use of the sitting area across from it.  I was just told that there is no need to even put the bed away today, so I can have an afternoon nap if I wish.  I think I have more room than anyone else on the train.

My first place to explore was the dome car.  Its a fun place to go, but not much to see in the dark.  It did not take long for the others to leave and I had it all to myself, for a minute or two at least.  Then a fellow arrived who is a writer collecting information for a story on polar bears for the Washington Post, as well as a book on the bears.  We had a great chat.

I finally went to bed at about 10:45.   It is a pretty wierd place to sleep as not only does the train rock, but it shakes, rattles, makes painful sounds, and tries very hard to keep you awake, or at least awaken you on a regular basis.

I woke up many times, and finally got out of bed at 6:30, had a shower, went for breakfast, and now will head for, you guessed it, the dome car... and watch the sunrise.

So I am a little low on sleep this morning.  But who cares!  I am on my first train adventure since I was 20 years old, and lovin' it!

Doug