Day 6 - Lots of Museums

I had an early morning zoom call so I got up early and headed to the lobby to get my work done.  Once the Zoom call was finished, I went back to the room but ended up on our balcony to finish my quiet time.  It was a great view. 

We grabbed breakfast from the buffet in the hotel lobby and then headed out for the day.  We have selected three museums to visit.  The first, at Tyler's request, is a railroad museum.  The tour started in the lobby / gift shop, set up to look like an old time train depot with white statues on display wearing clothes from the 20s-30s. Then we headed into a building of train displays and models and watched a documentary on the Freedom Train that toured the US for the bicentennial.  Then it was outdoors to check out the real trains with various cars - sleeper, mail, kitchen, dining, etc.  Tyler was so excited!

 

Next, we headed to the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum.  When we arrived, they were closed for a private event, so we headed to lunch at Chick-Fil-A to kill some time.

When we returned, we toured three levels including the outdoor platform to learn more about the oil industry and drilling itself.  It was very interesting.

A funny note, on the final floor and end of the tour, is a safety zone and one exhibit highlights the different alarms and what they mean on an oil rig.  My sweet girl thought it hilarious to pretend to curse and then use the sirens to BLEEP out the words.  We could hear her all over the exhibit floor (luckily we were alone). She had such a good time at that one simple exhibit - literally made her day!

At this point, we decided to head back to the room for a quick rest.  The next museum is the Galveston Naval Museum, which includes touring a battleship and submarine.  Sammy decided she could sit this one out, so she and I stayed at the hotel while the guys headed out.

Sammy and I relaxed in our room a while.  She worked on a LEGO set while I finished my Bible study.  Then we put on our suits and headed out to by the ocean.  We walked the beach, and sat on the piers watching one particularly skilled bird dive for fish.  We had a great conversation and it was just what we needed to wrap up the day.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Naval Museum and appreciated the uncrowded access and lowkey atmosphere.

Speaking of battleships, one of our past times on this trip has been to play board games together on our phones, primarily Battleship.  Ironically, Sammy has honed in her skills and now consistantly spanks all the rest of us every time she plays.  Its equal parts infuriating and laughable to us 80s kids who grew up playing the game thinking we were pretty good.

On their way back to the hotel, they picked up Papa's Pizza, rated best pizza on the island for 8 years straight!  Tyler had to work at 6:00 pm tonight so the kids enjoyed a meal in the hotel while Scott and I headed out on a date night.  We ate at Landry's Steak and Seafood, just 0.3 miles down the road from the hotel.  It was a great meal.  Afterwards we took a drive to check out the southern end of the island and then grabbed a coffee on the way home.  

Sammy was awaiting our return and met us at the door with her swimsuit on!  We quick got changed and headed down to the hottub.  It was a great and relaxing end to the night.

After showers, Sammy joined us in our room to snuggle up and read me more of her latest novel.  By the time we finished, Scott was done in the shower and Tyler wrapped up work and came over as well.

Then we all hung out on our bed and talked, teased and laughed together.  It'll probably last as my best memory of the entire trip.  It was getting late and I was starting to drift off so we made a plan for morning and sent the kids back to their rooms.  Good night Galveston, its been fun!

The Plan - Boat Trip 2023

 OK.  So the fact that it is now day 4 of our trip and I am just posting about our plan should tell you something.  Ugh.  Here's the quick recap:

Friday, June 30 (Day 1) - arrived out at the boat in late morning and headed right out to get under way.  Weather and winds look fairly good.  When we approached the State Park, we could not see the end of the pier.  A Coast Guard warning came over the radio for a dense fog advisory requesting boaters use caution.  So given the forecast for possible showers, plus this crazy thick fog, plus the distance we needed to travel (at higher speeds) we decided to call it and head in for the day.  Oh the way in, we did get to see the railroad bridge swing closed to let a train through - that was a first for us!  Back in our slip, we decided to drive back home and relax / rest one more night in our own beds before the trip.

Saturday, July 1 (Day 2) - Drove out to the lake again late morning.  We grabbed lunch early so we were ready to go for the afternoon.  Hoping to leave our slip right away.  We made it almost to the lake before seeing the dense fog again.  Turned around again (feeling defeated).  Took a trip through Spring Lake and then headed back to our slip tp make supper.  Grilled on the back of the boat and then decided to find a place to watch the fireworks (Grand Haven is lighting them tonight instead of the holiday).  Anchored in the channel across from the municipal marina.  Ran into two boats that we knew (Priesner, Fisher) and enjoyed a beautiful fireworks display.  Grateful we could see them after missing last year with Covid quarantines.  Stayed in our spot a bit longer to avoid the crazy traffic then took our time getting back to the slip.  Slept aboard overnight but planned to go home the next morning due to bad weather Sunday.

Sunday, July 2 (Day 3) - the family slept in today.  At 10a I finally called down to wake them and at 11a I went to check on Scott.  He was in rough shape with a migraine.  I gave the kids 10 mins to pack up and then we headed home.  Scott spent the day in bed while the kids and I took the afternoon to work on projects and relax.

So here we are - a late start and a whole new plan.  With boating, you need to make reservations like a campground; however, delays and cancellations are frequent.  By missing one day, it cancels the entire week of plans.  Given that we are looking for spaces in highly coveted areas on a holiday weekend, its extra tough.  

So I spent some time yesterday calling marinas and making new tentative plans to get us through the holiday... hoping after that it will be easier to find a spot.  Monday in Ludington, Tuesday in Frankfort.

At this point, we are significantly pressed for time so the chances of us making it to Mackinac are pretty unlikely... but we will get north and explore some places that the kids definitely wouldn't remember from our last trip up here.

Tomorrow is a new day!  And hopefully Day 4 will be the start of our adventure!

Day 2 - Into the Mountains

If I’m honest, it wasn’t a great night sleep.  It was a bit bumpier than I was expecting.  A few times, I felt like I might roll out of bed.  LOL.  

We woke up in Denver with the mountains in the distance.  I was up pretty early so I went out on the platform for a short walk during our longer than usual stop.  

Once back on board, Tyler and I headed to breakfast and enjoyed a nice warm meal. 

We were just leaving Denver as we finished up, so we headed to the observation car for the ride up into the mountains.  So glad we did!  Lots to see as we zigzagged up the mountain… animals, tunnels, cliffs, etc.  It was beautiful.

After quite a while, we headed back to our room to give someone else a chance at the coveted seats.  We settled in to watch a movie but within 30 mins I was struggling to keep my eyes open.  So, I took a nap… at 10 am.  (Love this train living).  Tyler hung out quietly while I slept for 2 hours!  

It was lunchtime when I woke up so we headed back to the dining car for a burger and loaded baked potato.  

The train engineer for this leg was pretty chatty which made it kinda fun.  He’d point out wildlife and share details about the area when we’d stop.  At one point we slowed down for a stretch and he came on to let us know there was a moose running ahead of us on the tracks and as she moved off to the side told us where to look to spot her.  Very cool!

We finished the movie that afternoon and enjoyed the changing scenery as we reached the plateaus of western Colorado and then into the beautiful terrain of Utah.

In Grand Junction, CO we had a little longer stop and the engineer recommended we visit the gift shop.  We took advantage of the time to take a picture on the platform with the train.  However, without our knowing the train conductors stepped back on board and closed all the doors.  We literally ran to our car and pounded on the door… no luck.  But thankfully another conductor saw us in before the train pulled away.  Phew!

For supper, I chose the steak again and Tyler had another burger.  The train is NOT very full.  So the staff is giving us very personalized service.  Its been fun to use first names with people onboard.

Once the sun set, we packed up our bags and just relaxed for the last few hours on the train.  

We pulled into Salt Lake City around 10:45 pm.  Exited the train and waited just 10 mins for our Uber driver who took us the 10 min drive to our hotel.  Check in was smooth and I was in bed shortly after 11:30pm.  I know we will sleep well tonight!

Day 1 - All Aboard!

We woke up early for our driver to take us to the Grand Rapids train station.  The train was waiting as we pulled up to the curb.  We grabbed our luggage and walked right on.  The train departed right at 5:00 am.  This train is a bit different than what we’ve seen previously… there aren’t any double-decker cars like usual.  

Its a pretty easy ride down to Chicago.  Both of us took a short nap to pass the time.  We arrived at Union Station a little after 9:00 Central Time.  We found the Metropolitan Lounge and checked in to store our bags.  Our next train doesn’t leave until 2:00 pm so we had ideas to go find a coffee and snack since neither of us had much for breakfast.  However, when we checked in, the attendant told us that there was a change needed in our reservation.  

Apparently there was a large snow storm over the Sierra Mountains, dropping almost 4’ of snow in just 2 days.  Two Amtrak trains had gotten stuck and needed to back out of the mountains leaving over 300 passengers stuck.  So, until further notice, Amtrak will not proceed past Salt Lake City, UT.  The only option that Amtrak had was to put us on their northern route to Washington and then take a second train down the west coast.  We decided to think it over while we looked for some food.

A short walk across the street to Dunkin’ Donuts and then a search for a Starbucks is all we needed to decide.

Honestly we considered longer train trip but it was 4-nights in total and would leave us no time in San Francisco.  Ultimately we decided that wouldn’t work for us and instead I looked for a hotel in Salt Lake City for Monday night and a flight to San Francisco on Tuesday morning.  We found a great nonstop option for a reasonable price and it actually will get us into our final destination 4 hours earlier than we had planned with Amtrak.  

We spent the remainder of our time in the lounge, watching shows, and grabbing some lunch.  Then it was time to board.

We met Robert our conductor and got settled into our room.  Its tight but it will definitely work! 

We pulled out right on time and it wasn’t long before we were ready to explore… so we headed upstairs and toward the back of the train to see the dining car, the cafe, and the observation car.  After getting our bearings, we headed back to our room to enjoy the views.

We opted for the earlier dinner seating.  Both of us enjoyed the steak dinner with potatoes and green beans and a chocolate mouse cake.  Very good!  We ate with another mother/son who were traveling cross country on the train.  It was fun to hear them interact and was a bit bittersweet for this mama remembering those earlier days.

We called Robert after dinner and asked him to help us turn down our bunks.  We wanted to settle in and watch a movie.  Its been a long day and although the time is changing as we proceed west, our bodies are not adjusted yet.

We made it through Iowa before I fell asleep.  Unfortunately I think we’ll miss most of the state because we’ll likely wake up in Denver, CO. 

Train Trip with Tyler - The Plan

Tyler and I leave in the morning for our second mother/son trip.  

Covid interrupted our parent/child one on one trips so we’ve had lots of time to plan our next big adventure.  Since he was little, Tyler has wanted to take a cross-country trip on a train.  We did some research and finally decided on the California Zephyr route… from Chicago to Emeryville, CA.  It passes through the Colorado Rockies during the daylight hours and over the Sierra Nevada as well.

Once we arrive in California, we’ll stay in San Francisco for a few days.  This will be a first visit for both of us!  So we’ve planned some fun activities… Alcatraz, the California Academy of Science, etc.

So, tomorrow we head out on the 6 am train from GR.  We’ll switch trains in Chicago and have a family bedroom for the long 50-some hour trip to California.  This layout is the largest sleeper offered on this route.  Technically there are 4 bunks but we’ll only use the two adult sized ones.  It also offers two windows - one on each side of the car for optimal viewing.

I am just so excited to spend this alone time together… I am acutely aware of the limited time we have left with Tyler at home.  Love the opportunity to make some memories together.