Chloe and the Train

We arrived at the train station just in time to board the train, both carrying more than we could handle. We were having a difficult time going up the stairs with our heavy loads, which was causing the line to backup behind us. I couldn’t help Chloe because I had a big suitcase with all of our clothes, a backpack full of electronic devices along with all of the chargers/batteries that go with them. In addition, I had packed enough food to last a week. Anyway, Chloe fell trying to go up the stairs and immediately announced to the impatient crowd behind us “Everybody, I’m ok. I’m four now so I am tough”. A very nice man asked Chloe if he could carry her suitcase up the stairs. She told him that it would probably be a good idea because she was going to Colorado to play with her friend Alex.



We have now been on the train for three long hours and Chloe asks at each stop if we are in Colorado yet. She has finally come to terms with the fact that this is going to be a long train ride. Now instead of asking if we are there, she keeps asking why Colorado is so far away now. She explained to one of the passengers that this isn’t her first trip to Colorado. She said she went to Colorado on the plane lots of times when she was a little kid and that actually, Colorado isn’t usually this far away.





She has gotten teary eyed a couple of times already. I have found the best way to keep the tears from falling is find an unsuspecting traveler for her to tell her life story to. As soon as she makes a new friend, she forgets how far away Colorado is.





One of her new friends kept calling her “Colorado”. Chloe explained several times to the woman that Colorado is where she is going not her name. She finally figured out that the woman was teasing her and told the woman that she was a silly goose.









I quickly discovered that going to the restaurant for meals was a nice diversion. Yes, we had an ice chest full of food that I had lugged onto the train, but what fun would it have been to eat that. Not to mention the fact that there was always a new set of unsuspecting travelers in the dining car. Once they ordered their food, I knew we had them. Chloe could catch them up on the last four years of her life and there wasn't a thing they could do about it. Actually, she kept them entertained and it was a nice diversion for them as well. The first night we had a pleasant dinner with a very nice couple. After we had eaten the waitress came by and asked if anyone wanted desert, Chloe quickly said “why not, I’m on vacation” and ordered carrot cake. I halfway expected her to order coffee with it.




Three hours and seven minutes to go. Yes, I am counting. Chloe has been very good, but gets restless from time to time. We can only spend so much time in the dining car. She does not like to sit in the observation car, but there is always the snack car and the snack lady can't leave. Chloe told her she has a step sister named Colby that hits her all the time. She of course, makes good choices and does not hit back. While in the snack car, the porter sat down to visit with her for a while. He knew he was in for good conversation when he sat down and asked her how she was her response was “I’m good but my grandma is exhausting me”. They visited for quite a while. She explained that she just turned four on Tuesday and we were from Sacramento and were taking the train to Denver, which is in Colorado. She told him we were now four hours away, then we would be three hours away, then two, then one then we would be there. She also told him if he wanted to get to Colorado faster he should take a plane. As he was leaving, he turned around and asked Chloe if she could help him do his taxes. She of course called him a silly goose.