UMTravels

Sleeping in, no Christmas rush to appease the children… and still, it was 8:30 when I drug my ass to get coffee in the kitchen. Just for the record, I believe Aunt Nancy slept in until about 11 this morning across the way.

Breakfast: Slabs of beef from yesterday.

Lunch: Slabs of beef between two pieces of my mother’s favorite Rustica loaf.

Next up, the train….

No, I’m not taking the chair with me (thank you Jill for pointing that out), but the box is filled with booze and presents. Gotta love the train, just hoping I don’t forget it in the morning since it’s downstairs in the luggage rack. And I almost left my camera on the table after taking this shot – luckily one of the station guys noticed it and tracked me down.

I actually turned down the offer of lunch on the train, and was amazed that at 2:30 they were still serving… maybe not such a good idea, for cocktails in the quiet of my roomette. I love my parents, but as my sis-in-law suggested multiple short visits during the year would be a great way to go. Let’s see…. Two days in Santa Fe proper, then three with the parents, and three on the train. I think that qualifies.

Got a good 3G connection in Albuquerque so I could catch up on email and that “facebook” thing. A change since my last trip was the First Peoples vendors on the platform (I noticed they were all parked by the Sleeping Cars).

And before I knew it, we were pulling out into the sunset:

This bizarre photo has contrails and a flock of birds in this other worldly image. Hopefully I’ll remember to post the rest of the pictures, though for an Album named “Christmas 2010” there aren’t really any shots of the family opening presents.

Laptop on table, drink in hand, GPS unit stuck t the window (tracking the train – and it only worked once the sun went down for some reason). Doing about 80 at the moment, which is damn fast for Amtrak. I love my own cubicle.

Screen shot:

Yep, that’s how spend my time on the train. Playing solitaire and watching the little blip move along.

A 7pm dinner reservation in the dining car with strangers… and a bottle of Bonny Doon wine. Tonight’s selection is a 2009 Contra Old Vine Field Blend. To go with the wine I ordered the steak, medium rare, which it actually came, and the mashed potatoes – after the salad, and with the not so warm sting beans – I’d rather have them cool, and overcooked. Good dinner table conversation but couldn’t entice anyone to join me in the wine… ½ bottle for tomorrow night. Oh well. Was hoping to off-load some glass.

I’m having breakfast delivered to the room in the morning since breakfast is 5-6am. Ick. Not my pretty time.

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