A Trip Advisor summary.

31 Jan

[A Trip Advisor summary.] I write this from my usual spot on the left side of the couch at the ROG parsonage; Mabel curled up to my right. Paige and I de-trained in St.Paul this morning around 7:30 after – I can say – a pretty great ride home. We upgraded to a sleeper car; the best $55 spent. A sleeper car room meant that not only were we able to lay down flat at night but all meals and a wine tasting were included. [That’s a $55 value right there.] Along with that, there was a roomier and cleaner bathroom and our own porter, Darryl, who referred to himself in the third person and helped us with anything we needed. [Darryl’ll do that, he told us about putting the top bunk down.]

It wasn’t easy getting on the train to come home; both Melissa and I started crying. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve seen them; it was so great to be together again. I miss them and their little girls already. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent so much time with babies and I loved it. I am so grateful I had the chance to hold and rock and play with Hannah Grace and Harper Joy. Grateful.

It was a great vacation and like all great vacations, it deserves a glowing review on Trip Advisor. Do you know Trip Advisor? It’s a website that reviews and shares information about hotels and getaways. If I were to write a Trip Advisor summary for this vacation, it would sound like this:

Escape to rural Montana for a week of snow, good food, and wonderful friends. Travel by train; experience luxury and wine tastings in the sleeping cars or suffer a miserable night in coach. You will be greeted at the train station by Rev. Joel, Melissa, and their beautiful babies. While in Montana, excursions to historic fort cities and underground passageway tours are available and recommended. Much of your time will be spent comforting crying babies, feeding babies, dancing with babies, and holding babies [but that’s a big part of why you went in the first place]. Time will also be devoted to church-going, Bachelor-watching, and scone-eating. Cocoa Puffs, coffee with peppermint creamer, and hand-whisked orange juice are always readily available for guests. Private rooms. Laundry facilities available on-site. A welcoming, loving, and reasonably-priced destination for your next winter vacation.

I give it five stars.

Here are the rest of the photos from the journey westward. Photos include our Havre Under the Streets tour [Chinese laundromats, opium dens, bootlegging ghosts, oh my!], one last photo of the baby girls, and adventures on the train ride home.

The beginning of the Havre Under the Streets tour. Lorraine was our tour guide and she was awesome.

The Chinese Laundromat.

The opium den. I kid not.

The barber shop. [Quite literally, all of these are under the streets. There used to be a series of tunnels and businesses under the sidewalks of Havre.]