We Rode a Train! (Part 2)

Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry to cause angst by using the horrible To be continued conclusion yesterday. I agree--I HATE cliffhanger blog posts, because they're lazy and manipulative, and while I am definitely the former I do try to not be the latter. But re-entry chaos excuses date night more excuses too rushed to write a short post even more excuses blah blah blah.

When we left off I was discussing my fascination with train travel, which was formed of equal parts 1950s movie musicals and Harry Potter. (I very much hoped we would be taking off from Platform 9 3/4 but we did not.) So imagine my surprise when we had schlepped our (three) suitcases up the tiny winding staircase to Roomette #8 in the upper deck of the sleeping car and found...this.

I shot the photo above from the hallway of the sleeper car. That shiny bar in the lower left corner is the door jamb. I then removed my knitting bag and purse from the recliner and sat down to photographically document the opposite side of the roomette.(Also, is "roomette" the worst made-up word you've ever read? Yes, I thought so.)

This is the interior view of the roomette:

That little floweredy patch at the bottom? Those are my knees, which demonstrates how close the recliners are.

People, this was not a roomette. This was a roometiny. Want to know how not-big it was? Call your significant other into your dining room. That significant other should be at least adult sized. Now climb up on one end of your dining room table, and have your adult significant other climb up on the other end of the table. Be sure your legs are fully inside the boundaries of the table. Now, assuming that your name is not Crawley and that you do not live in Downton Abbey, you are beginning to appreciate how small a roomette actually is.

It is miniscule. And in our case, it was hot, because Chicago had just experienced its first cold day of the year and although the day had warmed up nicely the furnaces were working fine and could not be persuaded to just STOP THAT ALREADY.

So there we were, Husband and I, on my dream trip and already being subjected to things I hate with purple passion--too much small and too much heat. But because I have already made this post way too long and more blah blah excuses for not writing more concisely, I will skip to the end and tell you (spoiler alert):

I loved it. Loved. It.

It was one of my favorite trips I've ever taken, and I've logged a few miles. Rather than make you read any more today, though, I'll just say to come back Monday to find out what was so very cool about this very hot train. And I will leave you with the dreaded

To be continued.