Day 45 - *sigh*

Once again I will share yesterday's musings the following morning. ("today" is Thursday the 10th; "Day 45" is Wednesday the 9th) Each time zone I pass through and each milestone met leaves me a little more entrenched in a vacation schedule. While at the same time those moments get me closer to my professional life that awaits me back in New York. : } Eventually this reality will be a memory and the memory of the school year will become the reality once again. And, I am sure, that is how it should be.

Therefore, my thoughts have been moving toward revamping my Government curriculum and I have to pick a play to direct in the Fall. While it is mostly happening in my brain so far, the hours in front of me on the train will offer a focused space and time to sort through some of that.

Meanwhile, I am here. And, today, "here" is in Minnesota for one more day. Well, not quite a full day. I hope to be on the Empire Builder this evening around 10pm, to pick up where I left off on Sunday. Only, this time, I will spend 2 nights on the train (tonight and tomorrow night), arriving in Spokane, Washington around 2am local time.

Steve asked yesterday, "What do you do for sleep and food when you're on the train for 2 days?!"

"Grab it when I can!" : )

For the benefit of those of you who are also curious, I'll share what I know. The reality is, sleeping and eating on a train is much simpler than doing so on an airplane (although I am speaking of coach class in both, so you can keep it all in perspective). My height is just ever so slightly too tall to stretch myself out straight in the reclined seats. But if I have a window seat, I can curl up quite comfortably in a corner and get a few hours of sleep at a time. I've even seen some passengers find an empty luggage rack (no, not above our heads, but at the end of the cars) to use as a bunk bed through the night. As far as food goes, there are regular meals prepared on sight for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can show up as in a restaurant, sit down and be served. Or you can visit the Café car and enjoy some snacks more similar to the food cart options an airline serves. Often I will see parents with small children walk the length of the train through the isles, just to give them room to roam. I am sure I will do some of that myself over the length of the trek. : )

But, all of that is tomorrow and the next days. What did I do yesterday? Not much. And that was fine.

The tall blue skies of the last two days gave way to the rain system which passed through the area yesterday. I wanted to get a short ride over to the Arboretum before the rain came. When I woke at about 6:30 the weather app suggested I had until noon for that window. By the time I was eating breakfast, the window had closed to 10:30. I left the house around 8 and enjoyed the 3-mile route through the green space. However, by 9:30 it was raining. So, the trip home was a little damp, but the experience was worth it.

We were lucky that Julie did not get called out on a flight yesterday, so she was here for another day. We had some lunch, went shopping, watched a movie, went out for dinner, went shopping and went to bed... A real "chill" day.

Today offers more of the same. However, I'll be "chilling" alone. The whole of the family will be at work today while I pack, pay some bills, organize the next leg of the trip and, of course, listen to the Tiger Baseball game this afternoon!

As far as anything else goes... I keep updating my pictures and mileage. If you haven't checked recently, see for yourself what's new. All of the background pictures now are what I've seen and done on the trip so far. As always, feel free to say hello through the contact page; its always fun to hear from you! Praying that your days are offering the proper balance of rest and productivity.

#PeopleVisited #Lessonslearned