{"id":633,"date":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/2016\/04\/12\/our-california-journey-part-1-the-train-voyage\/"},"modified":"2020-11-15T14:15:48","modified_gmt":"2020-11-15T20:15:48","slug":"our-california-journey-part-1-the-train-voyage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/our-california-journey-part-1-the-train-voyage\/","title":{"rendered":"Our California Journey Part 1:  The Train Voyage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/001.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1253 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/001-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"001\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Summer of 2015 we sat down and decided that our family vacation of 2016 would be a trip to California, that would include a train trip on the Sunset Limited from Houston to Los Angeles.\u00a0 A train trip in a sleeper car was something my husband has always wanted to do, and this trip seemed to be the trip to do it. <em>We are on the train!!<\/em> We had a friend be willing to drop us off at the train station the evening of March 16th.\u00a0 We did not know what to expect, and was surprised to find there was no wait in the train terminal.\u00a0 We got our bags checked and walked right on board the train, where our train attendant showed us to our family roomette.\u00a0 He made a comment to the boys that we had the largest room on the train.\u00a0 The boys excitedly tried out the seats.\u00a0 The room size was equivalent to a walk in closet. <a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/030.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1257 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/030-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"030\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a> <em>The boys in front of our train.<\/em> The train had a delay waiting for supplies for meals so we had a delay in waiting for our dinner that evening.\u00a0 Finally about 7pm, it was time to go to the dining car and eat dinner.\u00a0 The train was suppose to leave the depot at 7pm, but ended up delayed and did not leave until a little after 9pm&#8230;. when the real fun began! Having done many cruises, we guessed that a train ride would feel similar with the rocking and movement.\u00a0 Nothing prepared us for the adventure of trying to sleep on a moving train.\u00a0 The boys fell asleep as normal and seemed to sleep well during the night.\u00a0 For the husband and I, that is a completely different story!\u00a0 The train was so jerky and fast that sleep was next to impossible.\u00a0 Just as you would drift off to sleep, the train would jerk you right awake.\u00a0 I was paranoid Gideon or Christopher were going to be jerked right from the top bunks!\u00a0 I think we each averaged 6 hours of sleep total between the two nights on the train. <a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/041.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1260 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/041-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"041\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a> <em>An image of our tiny closet&#8230;<\/em> The following morning we went to breakfast at 6:30am when the dining car opened up.\u00a0 It was fun watching the sun rise on the train. The train makes several stops on the journey, some small and some big.\u00a0 The bigger stops they allow you to get off the train to walk around and stretch your legs.\u00a0 The boys thought that was an exciting part of the trip.\u00a0 We enjoyed getting out and walking around in Alpine and El Paso.\u00a0 The boys were already in bed when we hit Tucson for that stop, but Christopher enjoyed getting out and roaming around while there. <a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/024.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1256 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/024-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"024\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/020.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1255 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/020-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"020\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a> <em>Stopping in Alpine.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/031.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1258 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/031-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"031\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a> <em>Snagging a picture in El Paso!<\/em> One thing that was quite enjoyable on the train was the scenery.\u00a0 It was gorgeous to watch the scenery change as the train went through different parts of the country.\u00a0 We would sit in our room and watch the scenery or go to the observation car if there was a free seat and enjoy the beauty around us. <a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/051.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1261 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/051-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"051\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/035.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1259 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/035-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"035\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/011.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1263 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/clanstellhorn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/011-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"011\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a> <em>A few of the scenery photos we captured on the train.<\/em> Other than watching scenery, there isn&#8217;t much to do on the train.\u00a0 The space is cramped and there are no activities.\u00a0 The boys got bored so after playing dozens of card games, we would let them break and watch a movie on one of the phones to help pass the time. The train was suppose to arrive at 5:50am, but was running early and had a planned arrival for 4:20am.\u00a0 The policy was for everyone to depart the train upon arrival no matter the time.\u00a0 So we had to be up at 4am and get the boys together and off the train once it arrived.\u00a0 We arrived so early the luggage area and the waiting area were not open, and we ended up having to wait two hours for our rental car location to open since we arrived so early. We definitely refer to our train ride as a great adventure, and it definitely was an adventure!\u00a0 We are thankful for the opportunity to experience a train trip across the country, but think we will probably not choose to experience that kind of adventure again&#8230; unless in Europe and then we might try it once more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summer of 2015 we sat down and decided that our family vacation of 2016 would be a trip to California, that would include a train trip on the Sunset Limited from Houston to Los Angeles.\u00a0 A train trip in a sleeper car was something my husband has always wanted to do, and this trip seemed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,8,19],"tags":[53,54,55,56,57,58,25],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - 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