rivka | (no subject)

Entry tags:

alex,
health

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I worked a half day today. First couple of hours went fine (except for the coughing), but by 12:30 I was having noticeable trouble breathing. Fortunately, I (a) had my inhaler with me, and (b) had already arranged to have Michael pick me up at 1:00.

I don't seem to be able to nap, but I'm resting. Spent a couple of hours reading in bed, went down to say hi to Alex (her nanny is here today), and am now sitting up drinking tea and trying to let my upright posture clear my sinuses.

Alex is downstairs, literally shouting with excitement. "Alex's train tracks! This one go here! Through the TUNNEL! Excuse me, engine! Boxcar go up the HILL! Alex's TRAIN TRACKS!"

Man, that was the best $13 we Santa ever spent.

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That type of train set is an oldie but goodie. Very cute!

And definitely a bargain compared to the Brio original!

Yeah, no kidding. There are a bunch of people making inexpensive wooden train sets that are fully compatible with Brio, these days. It's really nice.

Brio-compatible? I think that goes on my IKEA list for a nibling-gift.

I wasn't sure how well Alex would do at putting them together. I thought maybe we'd have to set them up for her each time, and then she would play by moving the trains along the track.

Unsurprisingly, she in fact can't figure out how to put it together in any of the potential closed configurations (figure-8 or a few variations on a strange rippling oval). But she also doesn't have the slightest expectation that it should be in a closed configuration. She loves to make one really long winding track that goes all the way across the room, and she can do that without any trouble at all.

(I mention this because I figure you're thinking of your nibling who is fairly close in age to Alex.)

I love that her trains have such good manners.

My very thought!

I know, isn't that great? I don't even think we've done much to promote the use of "excuse me" when someone is in your way. But she came right out with it, the first day she had the train set. I guess trains are just naturally polite.

When I was on the train back from Montreal the other day, my ear was caught by a mum-toddler conversation in which the small one was complaining about waiting for the train to start and the mum said "Waiting is a learned skill."

"Oh. I don't like learning."

Later, the small person was attempting to convince his/her mother that "No, mummy, the captain wants me to go up there and blow the whistle for the train."

Later, the small person was attempting to convince his/her mother that "No, mummy, the captain wants me to go up there and blow the whistle for the train."

Hee! It could have been true, I'm sure, if the captain - is that the right terminology, for a Canadian train? - had only known what a good job the small person would have done.

That's great about Alex and her train tracks.

Not so good about you and the cough, but it obviously could be a whole lot worse. I hope things continue to improve.

Has Alex been on a train yet? With her newfound enthusiasm, sounds like an Amtrak trip might be just the thing (well, when cold and flu season passes)!

She's been on the light-rail and on the subway, but not on a full-scale train. We're just a few blocks from Penn Station, and some day when it's warm, I'm going to carry her up there. We might take the commuter train to *somewhere*, or we might just look at the trains. There's also the B&O Railroad Museum about a mile from our house; it's a little too far to walk in January, but an easy, easy drive.

Oooh, lucky girl!

Keep it up; US passenger rail service needs all the friends it can get.

(Proud NARP (http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php) member since 2003)

Hmm, since rail needs all the friends it can get, I thought I'd ask - what's the time/price comparison between a train or a flight from Seattle to Portland for if I don't feel like driving but want to visit my parents? :)

If you take one of the two Cascade runs each day, it takes 3-4 hours. The 508 leaves Portland around 6 pm and gets in to King Street Station a little after 10, and it's usually on time. The base price is $49 each way but there are lots of ways to get discounts - AAA membership, for instance, gets you 10 percent off.

I take that train at least once a month - it's a really nice ride, and so much less hassle than flying. No security check, for instance, and the seats are much, much more comfortable and have plug-ins for your laptop.

Whoops - you meant the other direction. Same duration, same cost, different arrival and departure times. Here's the scoop (http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1080842092705&ssid=135). They've recently added new trains between Seattle and Portland - I think there are four a day in each direction now.

I see you live in Renton; you could do what I do and catch it at the Tukwila transit station and avoid the whole driving-into-downtown-Seattle hassle. The only drawback is that you need to order your tickets far enough in advance to get them by mail, 'cause there's no actual station or station personnel there.

There's steam excursions (http://www.wmsr.com/) from Cumberland. I've never been on that one, but I've been on a half-dozen others and they're always lots of fun. There's usually plenty of little kids and the "conductors" know how to make it interesting for them as well as the grups.

Ooh, that does look like fun. Maybe in a year or two.

I think you're not reckoning with the short attention span of the toddler - even the enthusiastic toddler. The B&O Railroad Museum, which Michael linked to, offers short local train rides as part of the admission; that's probably more her speed for now. But I have my eye on the steam excursion train in western Maryland, and of course Amtrak for future inter-city travel. We're in a good part of the country for rail travel.

Is that a Brio knockoff? Does it interlock with Brio?

B

Yes, and yes. There are about five different companies producing inexpensive "Brio-compatible" train sets and accessories, and they're all interchangable with each other. It's very convenient. Alex's set came from Ikea - you can't beat their price for a basic set, but they don't offer many accessories. I was able to buy her an extra tunnel from another manufacturer for just a few bucks, and when she's ready to expand the set we can buy extra tracks from anyone.

I love Brio. Never had it is a kid, though....

B

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