Stealing a Tree (Almost)

First off, let’s wrap up the Amtrak journey, by saying the steak on the train was pretty dang good. Our cabin attendant Brian was kind enough (okay, it was his job) to serve us in our sleeper car, and it was only later, when we were telling him how good the steak was, that he suddenly remembered, “Oh, I was supposed to bring you a steak knife!” Colin told him it was okay that he’d forgotten, as Emily had taken pity on Colin’s strenuous cutting efforts, and had refused to taste a steak piece he had labored (and it was a chore) to cut.

Now, the Amtrak sleeper car for two is many things. (“Made in 1953” comes to mind.) But one thing it is not is roomy. Especially on the top bunk – the bunk that had already made a play for Emily’s finger. But Emily, a forgiving sort, decided to sleep up top. That involves climbing up a shallow set of pseudo-stairs, and rolling ones self in to bed, then strapping in with a multiple strap system held in place by a mountain climbing-style carabiner.
So it’s no wonder that Emily woke up at about four in the morning, yelling for Colin to “get me out of here!” Claustrophobia is a no good at any time of day, much less four in the morning, but Colin did manage to free the princess from what bound her, and, with a calming walk down the corridor to stretch her legs, a bottle of water and her iPod, Emily was back to dreamland shortly.

The next morning, Colin took another chance on social dining, and struck gold, with the very nice Marie and Doug. Stanford types, grandparents, good folks, fun to chat with, and even the shy Emily eventually stopped by to join in the breakfast fun. (Sleeping Car attendant Brian was returning our room to “day mode” at the time.) Colin had the French toast – not bad!

Meanwhile, we were in for a real treat. The scenery on the train – incredible! We got up to about the five-thousand foot level through Southern Oregon, and it had recently been dusted with a good amount of snow, turning the entire landscape into a winter wonderland.

Emily, still perhaps feeling the effects of her late-night bout of claustrophobia, slept.

The train arrived in Eugene about a hour and a half late – not as bad as some times, but not as good as it recently had been doing. Still, Colin’s mom and her husband Steve were there, and soon, we were headed up the river, to a warm house and a hot bowl of chili.

Saturday highlights included French toast – Mom style – and a trip to Walterville to procure a Christmas tree! Lots of fun, especially when it seemed like the people who ran the Christmas tree farm had left for the day, leaving their stock unprotected and ripe for the taking. Someone did show up before we were able to abscond with our tree (we were planning on paying anyway, really, we were!). The holiday cheer of the proprietor was evident, and she sent us home with our seven-foot Turkish fir. Then it was time for a session of decorating and garland making – turns out, it’s not as easy to string popcorn as you might think. (Car Woody managed to get in some mischief with last year’s Hawaiian themed Christmas Dinosaurs, but everything is okay now.) And now, with lights blinking away on a wonderfully decorated tree, the thermometer reading about 33 degrees outside, it’s time to bundle up for a long winter’s nap! More of Colin’s relatives are coming tomorrow… and we’re visiting the all-time Eugene hippie hangout, the Holiday Market. Don’t miss it!

Picking a tree...


Car Woody makes friends...