Trains on the plains

As part of "summer school," whereby I expose the Whee to as many non-harmful new experiences as I can, she and I took a train to Ft. Worth, because she'd never been on a train before.

Just let me pause a moment to say how much I LOVE trains. The roominess to stretch out, roam around, the nice people, the lack of seatbelts and uptight flight attendants. All the fun of a plane without the TSA pain. The seats are sets of two, not three, so you're never, ever, stuck between that businessman who falls asleep and drools on your shoulder and the lady who gives you seven recaps of her toe fungus treatments.

Yes I know. I am happy being a misanthrope- my luggage tag reads "doesn't travel well with others".

Back to the Whee- she was most enamored of the fact that our train had a cafe car. She could walk around and get snacks without anyone ever turning on a light that said 'fasten seatbelts'.

She pretty much depleted their Dr. Pepper supply. And none of the food was, in her words, "that gross health food stuff."

There's no turbulence on trains. Just a gentle rocking that lulls you to sleep. That's why I like trains. I can sleep while I travel. I have slept while I was driving, but I don't recommend it-I was the driver.

It's also a little nostalgic, gliding into station after station, seeing the inner parts of small towns as you coast by, rather than a blur as you exceed the speed limit on the interstate.

Kudos to the folks at Amtrak, for an excellent way to make a day trip. A-a-a--a-a-ll aboard!