Thursday, February 14, 2008

People at the Dells


This is most of the group that went. We are here, waiting for the train to take us back to St. Paul. One family was from northern Illinois, so they drove - and thus are not in the station photo.

The train ride home was smooth and easy. The train ride there, however, was anything but. The train was scheduled to depart St. Paul at 7:50 AM, but the day before we heard that snowstorms out west had delayed its departure from Seattle, so we knew it was going to be a couple of hours late. We were not too disappointed with the thought of sleeping an hour or so later, so all was good.


We arrived at the station at 9:30 for the 9:55 departure ... at 9:54 they announced the train would be delayed another half hour. OK.


At 10:25 the train rolled in and the passengers leaving it were allowed off. We were not allowed on.


At 10:45 they announced a half-hour delay due to mechanical isssues. At 11:15 they announced another half-hour delay. At 11:20 one of our group volunteered to run to Subway, 2 blocks away, to get sandwiches for all us starving people. At 11:25 they announced immediate and rushed boarding for all passengers so that we could depart. At 11:26 we called the sandwich gopher and he rushed back, with 2 of the sandwiches in hand. Lucky Ben & Ty won the jackpot and got to eat.


At 11:45 we were still sitting at the station. At 12:00 the train moved. About 3 blocks. Then stopped again. We sat there for another 45 minutes. At 12:45 the train moved again. Backwards. Back to the station.


At 2:00 we finally departed for real. We SHOULD have arrived in the Dells around noon. Instead we got there about 7:30 PM. Tired. Hungry. BORED.


But once there, we checked in and hit the waterpark, and all was good.


Come back tomorrow for more pictures and stories!

1 comment:

Mama Ava said...

Hey, I've got news for you...that's your typical Amtrak experience, babe. I've told you, I've been on the train for almost 30 hours with no food. I've been over 24 hours late. I've been stuck for 30 minutes in a forest fire. I'm convinced the workers are selected primarily based on their surly attitudes.

At the same time, despite all of that, it is strangely fun to do. If you spring for a sleeper car on a long trip and can get a good night's sleep.

At least it was on the way there, so you still had the anticipation of the Dells. Homeward it would've been much worse.

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