Riding the train

So the first and last part of our trip was riding the train. If we ever ride the train, the only options are daily trips leaving MSP at 7:50am arriving at the dells at 12:05pm. Coming back we leave the dells at 5:50pm and get into MSP at 10:30pm.

Going down, Trevor was excited about the fact of being on a train for the first half hour or so of the train. He then realized that it was pretty similar to riding on an airplane. He was able to run up and down the aisles, sit and watch a movie...I guess there were a few differences - a dining car and an observatory car. Those held his interest for a few minutes. So did the conductor. He has watched a movie called "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" that has a few conductors in it. And they kind of look like the ones we saw.

But the main reason we rode the train was because of Gwen. She needed to be walked around, held, let out of her carseat to kick around, etc. He also learned a new card game called "Golf" through Kevin and Kelsey. Of course he had to chime in and offer his own rules and comments to what was going on. Kevin or Kelsey was often "not in the lead" because one of them "Lied the game." He is learning about lying via Pinocchio so he likes to use that word.

On the way back from the Dells, Trevor was obviously very tired. He was able to nap on Saturday, but we kept him up on Sunday. The train got in at 6:00pm. We were able to upgrade to a sleeper car. But the train conductor didn't know before the train had left for the day, so they were informed just before we got on the train. Throughout both of the trips, the workers on the train seemed very protective of their train. I felt the evil eye more than once. We had planned on going to the dining car to eat dinner right when we got on, but it was pretty packed. We got our name on the waiting list, but it wasn't called until almost 8:00. By that time, we had scrounged for snacks in their little cafe area.

By 7:30 Trevor was asleep in his bunk bed. Gwen took a short nap a little before then. But Trevor slept all the way until we woke him up a few minutes before 10:30. Just as Gwen was going to sleep. It was completely dark, so not much to see outside and not much to do either. But it was also nice to have someone else be responsible for getting us home.

Anyway, the train was the train. Russ doesn't think we will be doing it again due to the riff raff we saw on the train. Although it is nice to know that it is an option as a last resort. Hopefully Gwen will get a little older and take to the car in a few months. Otherwise we'll be making a lot of our trips overnight.