All Aboard, Part 2

Continued from last week's Eagle…

Early in September, at the end of our train experience, we spent a wonderful week in Medford, Ore., with our daughter Jan, grand-daughters Jami, Janal, their spouses and two adorable great grandsons, 5-year-old Ben and Max, who celebrated his train-themed third birthday.

Sal and Hubby's two days of fishing for salmon on the Rouge River; totaled five. They were happy and had tales to tell.

At Jami and Eric's country abode, Hubby cooked and served baked ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and red eye gravy to our gathering of 11, the evening of the birthday party.

Afterward, grand-daughter Jami lit a fire outside in her round, red brick fire pit. We all gathered around to watch an old-tattered American flag end its days of use. While the flag burned we recited The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. It was very moving and impressive.

Seated around two long tables joined together, Jami and Eric hosted a Sweet Sixteen birthday party for his daughter Danielle at the Red Lobster Restaurant. A lovely evening for all of the families.

Our chauffeurs to Eugene where we would take the train to Tacoma via Portland the next morning were Jami and Janal. Throughout the picturesque journey, Ben and Max entertained themselves in the back seat. A needed leg stretch break at the Seven Feathers Casino reaped Janal and I $2.50 each on a 25-cent machine while Jami took the boys to a Children's game room. Wow! What a noisy, glittery place.

We settled in our very clean, quaint hotel rooms reminiscent of the Sixties and found a nice restaurant in the college area for dinner. Max, hungry as a bear, ate three hot cakes the size of dinner plates.

We checked in early for our 9:15 a.m. departure at the train station. The boys selected a bay window seat with a view of the awaiting train on the track. We walked to the last carriage where the porter told the boys they could go aboard to see where their great grandparents would sit. They were thrilled and to extend that thrill he told them that when they heard the conductor call "all aboard" that they could call it, too. Their first try was weak. He said, "Call louder." If they did, their voices were overshadowed by the rumbling of the train in motion.

We are always sad to leave any one of our immediate family and by their wet eyes Jami and Janal felt the same. Our great grandsons waved both arms for as long as we could see them through the window.

Having young people take the reins of our travel arrangements is a blessing and they are fun to be with. Though there was a little for we two Golden Oldies to do other than window-watch the passing of sun-drenched countryside while we relaxed in our seats. Daughter Jil and John rode the train from Tacoma to Portland and boarded the Tacoma train with us that waited across the platform from the one we rode. The pleasant ride afforded us some great chat time. John gave us a tour through Tacoma's main thoroughfare where old, long-standing buildings had been refurbished to modern-day standards. It's a beautiful city.

Daylight still with us when we arrived in Enumclaw where Jil and John live in their three-story house which has just gone through an exterior face-lift, which also calls for their expertise with finishing touches.

We settled in our motel room and ate dinner in a restaurant where we always go when we are in Enumclaw. Again, we rested well knowing that all plans for the next day were in capable hands.

John cooked a mid-morning brunch which we ate on their newly installed deck with a fantastic view of Mount Hood which is magnificent. I "oohed and ahh-ed" as I walked, and walked, about Jil's fantastic garden that has wide rock steps covered with Corsican moss and are flanked with lavender bushes in bloom, twice the height of mine, hydrangea's clusters of huge mauve, pink and white flower balls, and soft, wispy bushes of whirling butterfly that has sprays of pink flowers, all backed with a row of their neighbor's soccer ball-sized dahlias in hues of pink, yellow, red and multi-colors and white. It makes me wish I lived where the flowering season is longer than that of Montana.

Mid-afternoon, John took us to Seattle for our 4:45 p.m. departure and there was time to drive past the new Safeco and Quest Field stadiums and Pioneer Square.

He tagged and checked our luggage with time to spare before we boarded to tell us about the Seattle train station which was built in the early 1900s and has had a face-lift recently.

Once aboard and acting like seasoned train travelers we bumped seats and stumbled with the train's movement to the dining car for dinner and again for breakfast. Both were very tasty and served in elegance.

In the sleeper we opted to rest in the two corner seats and not the bunks. At home we sleep or nap comfortably in a laid-back sitting position so we felt we could rest easily for our last night on the train.

Dark, heavy clouds hung over the mountains and lower valleys of Montana the morning of our arrival in Whitefish at 7:26 a.m. Cold winds whipped along the platform, a drastic change from the mid-80s in Oregon and Washington, to 46-degrees here.

The "all aboard" came loud and clear for passengers that would ride Amtrak's Empire Builder across Montana's Highline, east to Chicago.

Hubby fetched the car for the last 45 miles of our trip to Bigfork. At home we slept on and off for the next two days. Glad to be home and reflect on our first train venture in 60 years.

And in reflection we admitted that it had been sometimes humorous yet not a stressful and a relaxed learning experience. The cleanliness of the trains and stations, pleasant attendants and the lack of hustle and bustle throughout the journey added to our enjoyment with our family.

Would I travel by rail again to hear that "all aboard?" Yes.

Hubby?