GRAND Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 35)

in Union Station. I head off down the platform as Sheila counts heads and bags and backpacks. Riding north to Boston later that day, I thought about when my grandparents treated me to my first overnight train ride. It was unimaginably exciting, and I have no doubt it was the genesis of the passion for train travel I have to this day. No matter the generation, kids love eating in the dining car and snuggling down into a real bed while cities and towns and fields and mountains pass by just outside. A week later I’m on Amtrak’s premier train, the Empire Builder, a day out of Chicago, heading for Seattle, and rocking along through vast North Dakota wheat fields. And it happens again! I’ve just taken a seat in the dining car and am scanning the lunch menu when a woman with a shy smile is seated at the table with me. Once our orders are placed, conversation begins. Carol McManus, as I discover, is also a grandmother treating seven grandchildren to an overnight train ride and a week of horseback rides, hikes and boating in Glacier National Park. The kids, ages 8-12, are scattered among other tables in the diner, looked after by two McManus daughters and a daughter-in-law. “I thought the train ride would be a novelty,” Carol says. I ask the four seated across the aisle what they like best about the train ride. “The shower!” they chorus. (Each sleeping car on the Empire Builder has a shower on the lower level, and according to one of the moms, the kids were lined up last night to try it out.) When I check in on them later in the afternoon, the children have roamed throughout the train: Some are in the lounge car buying snacks, others in their bedrooms reading or playing games or peering out the window. The Rockies are up ahead now, massive slabs of gray rock, evergreens somehow clinging to their flanks, still snow-capped in late June. At 7:20 p.m., just a bit over 40 minutes behind schedule, the train stops at East Glacier, Montana. The McManus family—six girls, one boy, three moms and one wise grandmother—clamber off the train and head into the station, ready to begin their week in this magnificent national park. As the Empire Builder starts moving again, still with 650 miles to cover before reaching the Pacific, one of the kids turns, stares and waves. Not at me. At the train. G Train Tips Book early: Amtrak trains can sell out quickly. Sleeping cars are especially hard to get in the summer. Get help: If your itinerary is complicated, get help from a pro. If you use a travel agent, be sure he or she is familiar with booking train travel; many are not. Be careful when making connections. Amtrak trains often run late because the freight railroads own most of the tracks and give priority to their trains. The safest course is to plan on staying overnight in the connecting city. Small children may need some comfort and distraction, so don’t forget to take SpiderMan, Big Blue Blankie or whatever. Pack light: luggage space is limited—especially in sleeping cars. The secret is to take lots of tops—polo shirts, blouses, T-shirts— and ruthlessly cut back on everything else. Most scenic: The California Zephyr, (daily, Chicago-San Francisco), the Empire Builder (daily, Chicago-Seattle/Portland), the Cardinal (three times weekly, ChicagoWashington-New York). For more info: www.amtrak.com H Go to page 38 for the GRANDselect travel agency working with intergenerational train travel. ved cruising g restaurant. Grand Sheila Powell and her g’kids, Jazzy 9, Rico, 13, and Alexis 13, leave the Crescent to sightsee the capital. Jim Loomis, right where he wants to be. JANUARY 2009 GRAND 35 http://www.amtrak.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - January 2009

GRAND�Magazine - January 2009 Grand View Contents Isn't it Grand? Grand Central Tips on Teens Grand Gestures Toddler Town Help! My Grandson's Being Raised Vegan! Cover Story: Casualties Leader of the Pack Reunions Together Time Resources Grand Finale

GRAND Magazine - January 2009

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