Sam was not as scared this year of the train as he was last year. But he still needed to be carried onto the train, and was a little nervous. We quickly found our seats, and after an hour or so we all fell back asleep until we hit Dodge City about 6:30am.
For some sleeping was a bit easier than it was for others. Ben did a great job of sleeping, and even took his regularly scheduled naps, just as if he was at home.
We spent just a few minutes in the observation deck. Across the aisle from us was an Amish family that had been on the train for 2 days. They had boarded in Pennsylvania. Yikes - no thanks. Even more impressive, they had an 18 month old son. I'm guessing they didn't have the electronic Leap Pad and the portable DVD player like we had to pass the time.
Here we are on one of the "break" stops (aka smoke stops) where you can get off the train for a few minutes for some fresh air (if you can get far enough away from the smokers.) The nice conductor that led us to our seats casually mentioned that they were having a problem with the bathroom on our train and not to worry if we encountered a foul odor on occasion, it would soon pass. He said it so nonchalantly that it took a few minutes for us to understand the ramifications of his message. Needless to say, we lived with a "foul odor" on and off for most of our trip. I likened it to the smell of Chicken and Broccoli baby food. If you want to walk a mile (or 13 hours) in our shoes, feel free to visit your local grocery store and pick yourself up a jar of the baby food, open it up and sniff it. Then leave it sitting open on your kitchen counter so that every time you walk by, you are reintroduced to the inviting smell. Well, you get the idea.
Once we arrived in Albuquerque, we were met by Doug's parents and we drove in their van to Aunt Doris' house. We got reacquainted with all of our cousins, and they all met Ben. We spent Saturday at the Zoo, Aquarium, and the Botanical Gardens. We were all pooped when it was over. Ben got the royal treatment at the zoo. Doug's cousin, Janell's daughter - Katie, and her friend Jasmine carried Ben all over the zoo. And most evenings you could find Katie or her sister Melissa playing with Ben, or rocking him to sleep. We both wished that we could sneak them home with us. They were tons of help, and freed us to hang out with the other cousins, as well as Doug's sister, Lori and our niece, Brooke who we hadn't seen in several months.
Sam and Ben on the ant at the Botanical Gardens.
Sam reading "Today I Will Fly" for Katie and several others. If you have heard him read this book, you know that he reads with lots of inflection in his voice. It is truly funny to hear him read out loud.
Cousin Brooke pats Cousin Ben's head (after he has been rocked to sleep by either Katie or Melissa).
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