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All aboard!
By juliezavala in My Turn
November 7, 2010

Image Image We are on our way to Austin to catch a train that will wind it's way through the hill country. We left the house at 10:40 am and we are headed to Cuero on 87 and then on to 183 all the way to Austin.

Yesterday, when I bought the tickets online, I printed out the ticket confirmation and then handed it to Daddy. I told him, "Tomorrow we're going to ride a train - not just chase it through town." He was so excited. He wanted to know what time all this was happening. I told him that we had to be on board by 1:45 pm tomorrow. I stressed the word, "tomorrow". I could tell he was ready to grab his coat and hat and head out the door.

Robert is driving right now and my Dad is sitting in the front passenger seat with his headphones on. He's listening to an assortment Mantovoni, Linda Ronstadt, Ray Conniff and various other songs I thought he might enjoy. I'm sitting in the back seat typing on an iPad. It's a gorgeous day for a train ride.

This morning Dad got up and drank a cup of coffee, then he sat in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal while I fixed a lunch for us to eat on the train. I had music playing and "The Year of The Cat" came on. Dad said, "I haven't heard that song in a long time!" He listened a little longer and then said (with the funniest expression of hope on his face) "I changed that song around and made it better." I couldn't help it- I laughed. I immediately regretted laughing; I think he seriously wanted to believe he had written, produced, or re-mixed the song.

2:45 pm On the train, first class car. Daddy is enjoying his train ride immensely. He's sipping on some of the coffee I brought and listening to his music with his iPod and headphones. He just asked me if I liked the song that was on. Can't hear the song but I nodded and smiled and gave him a thumbs-up sign. We're seated a table with four chairs. There was a plate with complimentary muffins and blackberries waiting for us. The guide said all drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks are free.

A kid started honking like a train. He was loud and irritating. Daddy looked at me and said, "We'll let him off at the next stop."

3:29 pm We stopped in Bertram, took pictures by the train engine, toured the little depot museum, and now we're getting ready to head back on the train to Austin. All along, Dad has been saying we were headed to Dallas. Evidently, at this part of the trip, the engine disconnects from the front and hooks up to what was once the back of the train and we will start going backward to Austin. I wonder how he'll explain that. Poor Daddio.

4:00 pm On the train ride back to Austin. I finally got my Dad to go with me to walk through the other cars. He made it to the little passage between our car and the next one. But the train was rocking too much and he's already unsteady on his long legs. We turned around and went back to our seats. Later, I went back through the cars to the gift shop and bought him a hat and some postcards of the train.

7:35 pm After we got back to the depot we took a couple more photos. We stopped at Cheddar's restaurant for dinner. Pretty good food. Dad ,as usual, said he didn't think he could eat it all (I ordered shrimp and steak for him). He ate everything on his plate and then ate dessert. After the meal Daddy told us, "Hey now, we'd better get going! We're going to miss the train!" I told him we already rode the train. I pulled out my phone and showed him the pictures I took of him on the train and outside, standing by the engine. He looked a little confused and then he shrugged his shoulders. He'll probably remember later. I hope. Regardless, the look of sheer happiness on his face when the train first left the depot was reward enough for me. He was happy; that's what it's all about.