What I like about Train Trips

Here's my quick thoughts on what I like about the train trips.....

1. Most of the crowd is still not "virtually" connected or at least if they are they don't talk incesstantly on their phone. Or even more annoying is the text messaging absolute nonsense. They still know how to get to know their neighbor. I guess you are also trapped on a moving train and forced to get to know your neighbor. It's too easy for me to get to know someone via email/phone but the train provides a good ol' fashioned venue for just talking.

2. The train is similar to being snowed in in a snowstorm. Of course with global warming and plows, getting snowed in seldom happens anymore either. One of my best Christmas eve memories is getting snowed in. While the snowstorm raged outside, my mom, sista, bro, and I played cards into the wee hours with the neighbor visiting at our house. It was a partner card game and my sista and I kept making outrageous bets, bringing us further into the hole and preventing anyone else from bidding. At some point I decided to use my brother's buck grunter as our call to victory. I kept commenting on the awful smell but both my sister and I were too intoxicated on our silliness and spiked egg nog to realize the smell was doe pee that was sprayed on the buck grunter (too hide the human scent while bow hunting). By the time the game was finally over, even though our neighbor lived less than 1 mile down the road, she had to spend the night. So being on the train is similar to being in a snowstorm; you can play cards, read a book or just watch views of heartland and all without feeling guilty because what else is there you can do. It's forced time to be selfish. If you were trapped on a tropical island, you'd have to hunt and gather and try to figure out how to get off. So yeah sitting on a train can get old but for the most part it's just forced relaxation.

3. How nice is it to have to anticipate your destination? Almost anything we want these days can be instant, where as train travel is slow and you have time to think about who you are visiting or contemplate the time spent with them.

4. Easy to eaves drop and hear the political views of multiple people without becoming involved in conversation. It can also get annoying so ear plugs are a good thing to have with.

TIP: The train if cold. I thought I would reduce the crap I brought with me and just wear warm clothes. Well I had on a 2 long sleep shirts, a polar fleece jacket, wool socks and I was still eyeing the train curtains enviously, trying to figure out how I could take them down and wrap them around me. I also considered asking the conductors for a bag of pillows so I could create a cocoon of warmth for myself with them. On the way I snagged a fleece blanket from my parents and wished that I had brought a down sleeping bag with to escape the fridge.