(no subject)

[rivka]

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.

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

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)!

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

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.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

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)

[lerryn.livejournal.com]

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? :)

[kightp.livejournal.com]

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.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

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.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

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.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

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

[rivka.livejournal.com]

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.