Elias in his seat when we first got on the train.
I had never been outside of the United States, and I’ve always wanted to visit Vancouver B.C. Many years ago, Nathan and I planned to visit during the Olympics, but that didn’t happen so we decided to plan a trip this year. We got Elias a passport, booked some train tickets through Amtrak, found a hotel, and headed off!
About a week or two before we left, it suddenly dawned on me that we had signed up for an eight hour train ride with a 19 month old. Although the train provides a bit more room than a plane, I was a bit worried about what we had taken on. Eight hours is a loooooong time. I even considered backing out briefly, but we decided to just go for it.
Here you can see Elias, who had wandered across the aisle when no one occupied those seats between Olympia and Seattle.
My dad dropped us off at the train station on Thursday afternoon. Our train left at 2:55. We were due to arrive in Vancouver at 10:50. The train ride was actually a lot of fun, and Elias was our little train rock star. He got many compliments from other passengers, and he only had one mini melt down around Seattle. (Nathan blamed Seattle….) The train was not full, so we had an entire four seater section to ourselves…and at times, as people got on and off the train, Elias could play in the four seater section across the aisle from us as well. We explored the dining car a few times, but Elias didn’t like walking on the train. It sways a lot and makes it difficult for even adults to walk.
Elias liked playing with some of his trucks, and he liked coloring. He enjoyed looking out the window.
Elias playing with his toy train on the train.
We thought for sure he would nap, but everything was just too exciting. He finally fell asleep around 10:20. Unfortunately, due to track work and a few other delays, we did not reach the station in Vancouver until after midnight! We were actually on the train for nine and a half hours. But luckily, customs was a breeze, and we quickly walked to the nearest skytrain station, and then walked to our hotel.
It was a long day, but full of fun and new experiences. And we were in Canada! Here are a few more pictures of our train adventure:
A view of Puget Sound from our train.
The last thing Elias did before falling asleep was draw. You can see his notebook on the floor. He organized his crayons on the seat.
Finally asleep. Nathan was happy because he misses the days when Elias was a baby and would nap on him. He got another chance!
Elias and Nathan as we waited at the sky train station. This was about 12:45 or so. Too late!