Post Vacation Blues

Well, vacation has been over with for a week, and I am totally bummed. I had an AWESOME time with Sis and Hannah, and had a great week in Portland as well. But, it sucks to come home to a completely empty home and a job that totally bites. I miss my family sooooooo much!!! I still don't want to move back to the big city; I just wish they could all come be with me here. Sigh...

OK, well, Sis and Hannah's trip on the train was great. Sis of course wound up with the only seat on the train that wouldn't recline and the foot rest would not come up, but Hannah was a good sport and traded seats with her Mimi when she couldn't stand it any more.

Our Hannah on the train

The train left Portland at about 4pmish on Saturday 8/23 and then went into Vancouver to pick up a few more passengers. Then they headed east along the Columbia River Gorge. Here are a few gorgeous pictures Sis and Hannah took along the way:

The train made it's way to Spokane at about 1:15am where they had a lay over for about an hour and a half. Then a train from Seattle hooked up with them and away they went, further east through the night. In the early hours, the train rolled into Montana and Glacier National Park.

Now, I pride myself on being really good with directions; I can read a map and can tell which way is north, south, east or west; I can go somewhere for the first time in the dark, then find it again three years later in the daytime. So, surely you can imagine my complete surprise when I discovered that I took a wrong turn in Roundup and went 150 miles to the east when I should have been almost to Malta, 200 miles to the north. I could NOT believe it!!!! I had to call Sis on her cell (fortunately she was in range) and tell her that I would be, oh, two hours late picking her up. Hannah said I was fired. Fortunately, Sis and Hannah both were really good sports; especially since the Malta train station is really just a wooden bench with a roof and a bathroom. There was no where for them to go, it was 103 outside and about 110 inside the little station house. Hannah had brought her portable DVD player and they passed the wait by watching a movie and soaking their hair and shirts with water when the heat just got too much. Here is the train station and some pretty sights from the trip home:
All tuckered out and getting ready for adventure!

More about our adventures tomorrow.

TTFN!