The Front Porch Swing

[Tomtommom]

Fantastic story, Blooie.

We've had a doozy of a vacation years ago.

My mom booked an off-season vacation in Croatia.. Gorgeous town, but the town was literally closed for the season. There was NOTHING open. And apparently the buses come and go as they please, even if there's a schedule posted. We waited at the bus station for two hours then a local stopped and offered us a ride.

The food was awful. The hotel was infested with fleas. The pool was only for old people... only quietly swimming, no splashing in anyway allowed (no fun for teens). On the last night we went out for pizza only for me to get food poisoning... 28 hour bus trip back home with food poisoning.

Worst. Vacation. Ever.

They offered us a partial credit but like we told them, we're never using your company again.. so a credit is pretty pointless.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I rode on a train with a steam engine once when I was a kid, about 5 yrs old I guess. We got to sit in the caboose. It was kinda neat except my sister pee'd her pants during the ride and I was sitting next to her, so wet pants for me. Then she got a cinder in her eye and it was a big to-do to get that out - mom used my cup of water to try to rinse her eye out. Funny what things you remember...

It was the Lumberjack Special in Laona, WI.
It is still running! too cool! http://www.lumberjacksteamtrain.com/about_us.iml?ID=1

 

[Alice28]

Ah, sitting down at last!  Unpacked, laundry running, and the chicken coop cleaned out. (Ken tried but boy, did it need fresh PDZ on the poop board and more litter down in the run and coop!)  That  banana bread smells delish!  Let me just pull up my bucket and tell you the long, long story of the train ride!

We signed up for a "fun, adventure filled day on the Gold Rush Route" in Skagway.  It was a 3 part tour, with a visit to a gold panning site, then a bus trip up the mountain where we were supposed to board this old steam powered train to take us back down.  The tour was supposed to end at noon with a "gourmet lunch" in Skagway, then we had the rest of the day to shop and sightsee on our own. We had to be back on the ship by 4:30.  Um, that was the plan!

.We left the ship about 7:30 am, met with our guide Tyler and headed for one of those touristy spots on a bus for the gold panning.  The owners were really great people - shared lots of interesting information and then we each got a pan of gravel to wash. Know how much gold was found in Skagway during the gold rush? Exactly NONE!!  I found it fascinating that the jump off point to the gold fields had no gold of its own!  Well, except for in the tourist traps, that is.  Tam ended up with $3.45 worth in her pan and I got $7.27 worth.  Nobody on the tour struck it rich, although one gentleman panned $15.00 worth!  Then it was back on the bus and we headed up the mountain.

If you've ever read the book "Alaska" by James Mitchner, this tour would mean something to you. Problem is I just can't make myself toss out books, even if they fall apart when I pick them up. Consequently I have 3 copies of it because I've read each of them so often they end up in really sorry shape and need replacing.   Now I have it on my iPad.  Anyway, there were two routes to Bennett Lake and one of them involved the famous Chilkoot Trail.  The route crosses the mountains from Dyea to the lake and crosses into Canada.  The Canadian Mounted Police wouldn't let anyone cross the border unless they were carrying at least a ton of provisions each, including food, mining equipment, and the materials to build their own boats once they reached the bottom of the trail at Bennett Lake.  Imagine that!  A narrow trail, too narrow for pack animals, and a line of people up and down the mountain as far as could be seen!  Steps were cut into the trail where it was steepest (called the "Golden Steps") and most people could only carry about 60 pounds at a time.  If they got out of the line for any reason, it could take them hours to step back in. Google "Chilkoot White Pass into Dawson" and the pictures of these miners walking with their heads down against the winds carrying all of this stuff will floor you! 

They carried their packs as far as they could, dropped them, walked back down the mountain and grabbed the next pack, then started over again.  They did this time after time, in the dead of winter, until all of their goods were stashed at the top of the mountain, then they had to do the same thing to get back down.  There is one historic photo showing the line of prospectors on that "Golden Staircase" that says it all.  White Pass was the other trail....not much easier but room for a pack animal.....in desperation they used dogs, horses, mules, and even sheep as pack animals.  Many horses couldn't take the pass and would drop - they were killed if they weren't dead already and pushed over the side of the mountain into a place they later started calling "Dead Horse Gulch."  An estimated 3000 horses died on this part of the trail.  

Then a narrow gauge railroad was built over the pass.  That's the part of the tour I wanted to take because I could see all of those spots I've read so much about. We opted for the one way train trip - up the mountain by bus and the train back down. The bus dropped us off at the Canadian/US border checkpoint (which is actually located beyond the border) after a member of the CRMP got on our bus and checked all of our passports.  We got on the train for the 1&1/2 hour trip back down the mountain. We didn't get too far before the train came to a jarring halt...it uses a dynamic braking system and the stops are horrible!  We sat there for over 10 minutes not knowing what was going on or why we were stopped.  Then they announced that one of the engines had a warning light flashing and they needed to check it out. Without the engine functioning properly there is no braking, and on a grade that steep that's the last thing they wanted to try!   A little bit later they said that everything looked okay so we would resume in a few minutes.  Well, we did, but we didn't get too far before there was another neck-busting stop, this one near the boundary, one of the few spots where there is a siding, so we were less likely to cause a problem for other trains coming up and going down the trail.  

We weren't going anywhere!  I'm not sure how much time passed before they decided that all of the passengers in the rear 5 cars had to move forward and we all needed to make room for them.  Then they unhooked the engines, used the good engine to move the bad engine onto the siding, and unhooked those last five cars, using the good engine to move them to the siding as well.  Interestingly this was happening right at the official boundary marker between Canada and the US, so we crossed the border in that one spot 3 times with all the backing up and jockeying cars and engines into position!  With one less engine and 5 fewer cars we were finally on our way.  This pass is hairy nasty!  It's a steep grade, lots of trestles, narrow and the drop offs are deep so we really had to proceed carefully.  The engineer is fully qualified to operate the trains, but the tour itself is conducted mostly by kids on their summer break from college, which did little for our confidence - and they weren't too confident either.  

When we were over halfway down, there was another siding.  They announced that we had to pull off onto that siding to allow two trains going up to get past us.  The climbing trains have the right-of-way because once they get some momentum going for the climb they can't just stop.  They said we'd be sitting there for a little bit, then announced there were actually three trains coming up - no wait, make that four.....nope, wrong again, that would be five trains.  So we just sat there again.  The scenery was great!  But we couldn't get off the train for any reason, and they kept giving us bottles of water - no bathroom, just water!  We were tired and hungry, but I just kept thinking of the hardships that the people who had to walk over this thing faced and it seemed so petty to whine!  

In all the train trip down, scheduled to take about an hour and a half, took over three and a half hours.  We got to our tour bus at 20 after 3 instead of noon.  We had already filled out our orders for the meal, either "Gourmet Chicken Pot Pie" or Smoked Salmon Pasta, and their staff had been advised about our delay so they were ready for us when we got there.  Tyler dropped us off at the restaurant and said he'd be back in an hour to take us back to the ship, and that the ship had been notified of the problem and was prepared to wait for us.  Lunch was absolutely awful - worst stuff I've ever put into my mouth!  As hungry as I was, there was no way I could take any more than the two bites I did.  If anyone ever offers you "Gourmet Chicken Pot Pie", RUN!  I swear the owner had just discovered seasonings and tried them all in one dish!  I wasn't the only one, either!  And I didn't know that the gravy in chicken pot pie was supposed to be PINK!  Not kidding here!  Tam ordered an iced tea - it would have been nice to see a menu ahead of time to know that it was an herbal iced tea.......tasted exactly like the taste you get in your mouth when you are spraying OFF insect repellent on your skin on a windy day!  We had all eaten breakfast on the ship at 6 am, had nothing until that lunch at 3:30, and not one person ate their lunches!! The restaurant used to be a bordello during the gold rush - the new owners would make more money and have more satisfied customers if they had kept it as one!

We made it back to the ship at exactly 4:25 - then had to go through security to board, which took a little more time.  It was so funny to see all of the people on that particular train hitting the nearest restroom and then beating feet for the buffet lines.  But while we were sitting on the train waiting for the 5 other trains to go by, the kids running the tour came to front of each car with a bag full of hats.  They announced that the hats are usually for sale at the end of the train ride for 10 bucks each, but for our trouble they were going to give them out at no charge.  Tam said she didn't want one - I made her take one for Evan anyway.  Then I wore mine the rest of the day, as did many others!  I figured I earned that hat!!  Later on the ship announced that we'd all get a refund for that portion of the shore excursion, and heck, 50 bucks is 50 bucks!

Interesting side-note about Skagway and Wyodreamer's hubby's gift of rhubarb to all.....in Skagway during the gold rush days one intrepid young man figured he'd never make it to the Yukon but there were other ways of making money.  He had rhubarb seeds!  Miners and others were dropping dead of scurvy, so he used the seeds to start growing it there.  It's cold hardy, comes up early in the spring, and is full of vitamin C.  Now you can't see a yard or a lot without rhubarb growing on it!  Tyler said that Skagway has so much rhubarb that it now grows wild. 

Wow! That sounds like an informative adventure, but I'm sure the train ride and bad food at the end made things very stressful! But now you have quite a storey to tell! I would live to visit Alaska sometime! I'd love to move there, but that doesn't seem like it will happen. We were thinking about it, but now we don't think it will happen

 

[Blooie]

Fantastic story, Blooie.

We've had a doozy of a vacation years ago.

My mom booked an off-season vacation in Croatia.. Gorgeous town, but the town was literally closed for the season. There was NOTHING open. And apparently the buses come and go as they please, even if there's a schedule posted. We waited at the bus station for two hours then a local stopped and offered us a ride.

The food was awful. The hotel was infested with fleas. The pool was only for old people... only quietly swimming, no splashing in anyway allowed (no fun for teens). On the last night we went out for pizza only for me to get food poisoning... 28 hour bus trip back home with food poisoning.

Worst. Vacation. Ever.

They offered us a partial credit but like we told them, we're never using your company again.. so a credit is pretty pointless.

See? In the overall scheme of things getting stuck on a steam train at the top of one of the most notorious mountain passes in Alaska, with an amazing daughter by my side and a car full of good people isn't so bad!

 

[LindaB220]

Fantastic story, Blooie.

We've had a doozy of a vacation years ago.

My mom booked an off-season vacation in Croatia.. Gorgeous town, but the town was literally closed for the season. There was NOTHING open. And apparently the buses come and go as they please, even if there's a schedule posted. We waited at the bus station for two hours then a local stopped and offered us a ride.

The food was awful. The hotel was infested with fleas. The pool was only for old people... only quietly swimming, no splashing in anyway allowed (no fun for teens). On the last night we went out for pizza only for me to get food poisoning... 28 hour bus trip back home with food poisoning.

Worst. Vacation. Ever.

They offered us a partial credit but like we told them, we're never using your company again.. so a credit is pretty pointless.

That sound's like upper Florida in November. Nothing open.

 

[ducksanddoxies]

The train going around a curve with its one puny little engine....we were in one of the last cars so I was able to take pictures of the front half as it went around curves. Not exactly where you want to have engine trouble on a downgrade! We backed up and went forward again over this border so many times!

My oldest son, who is 7, loves trains. I would love to be able to take him on a steam train someday. He would have loved that trip even with all the "bumps in the track". Can't wait to show him the pictures....if he ever comes home from his Mamaw's house.

 

[LindaB220]

This is something that came over my FB page. Funniest ever.

http://m.tickld.com/x/guy-posts-yoga-mat-for-sale-ad-on-craigslist-this-is-hilarious

 

[bruceha2000]

Wait.... I missed it..... YOU were in San Diego this week? That link looks like somewhere in LA area.... Though my Commute from twelve miles away looked like this when I commuted from the coast to Santee. Some times it would take 45 minutes to an Hour. There are a few places where they move the divider between North going and south going traffic to give an extra lane to the heavier traffic..... About a five mile section of moveable partition....

sort of like this. I know they have one on the Coronado bridge

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...G/220px-Barrier_Transfer_Machine_Auckland.JPG

deb

Yep. Quick synopsis for those that missed the details from past posts (and care to read it

)
Daughters (19 and 21) and I flew to Oregon 2 weeks ago. Dad lives just south of Portland, not far from Leslie Joyce. Older daughter and I met her Jan 2013 and the 3 of us visited with her this year. We flew with Dad to Santa Ana (I remember the airport when the biggest thing that could land there had 2 props) last Tuesday.

Older sister lives in Huntington Beach. Dad, sister, BIL and I went to oldest nieces wedding in Fallbrook Friday.

Sister, BIL, niece and the 3 of us drove down to San Diego early Sunday morning and took the red eye home that night. Younger (a month older than me) of the step sisters lives just south of San Francisco, the older (1 year older than me, proving that breastfeeding is NOT a reliable form of birth control) lives in San Diego down Point Loma right opposite the customs dock. Only got to see the younger for 3 hours before she flew home and the older for that time and a couple of hours between leaving Sea World and getting to the airport at 9:30 but since it is a LONG way from Vermont to anyone I am related to, I have to make the most of the time I can get. Older step sister didn't go to Sea World, she is a huge baseball fan and has had season tickets to the Padres games for a couple of decades.

All I know about the picture is it was part of the June 18, 2012 Orange County Transportation Weekly Update. I just grabbed a picture I found on Google to show what a freeway in So. Cal looks like compared to the dirt road in the picture with all the rocks.

Bruce

 

[Blooie]

I've tried really hard not to focus on the anniversary of Austin's death, but I seem destined to be reminded all day long. This afternoon I ran into Lovell to pick up some things and there was a young man walking down Main near the grocery store. His build and dark hair reminded me instantly of Austin. Then, as I watched, he walked right into a light pole - paying no attention to where he was walking he hit it full stride! He took a step back, bowed elegantly to the pole, then continued on his way, laughing the whole time. It was a total "Austin" moment! He believed so strongly in signs so I'm taking it to mean, "It's okay, Gramma - nothing's really changed"....



This is Austin's "Joy Rock". They had 3 of them - one said 'Faith', one said 'Hope' and then there was this one. Austin's job was several miles away on dark, winding roads. When he left for work the 'Faith' and 'Hope' rocks stayed home so his wife, Joy, would always know he'd return. This rock stayed in his pocket at all times, so he had always had 'Joy' with him.





The additional story behind the "Joy" rock.....After the accident, Austin's dad and several of Dan's friends went to the accident scene to recover items lost. Dan's best friend Ffej (who is also Austin's godfather) found Joy's butterfly necklace, Austin's glasses, and Joy's photo album, which contained this picture.

Two days later, on the way to the visitation, Ffej again stopped at the site because, as he said, "Something told me that there was something there I was supposed to find." Half buried in the tracks of the ambulance which had taken Austin to the hospital was a shiny little white sliver. He kicked at it and it dislodged. It was the Joy rock. It had been run over by the ambulance, standing on its edge so that just a bit of it showed. Even using metal detectors, they never found another item at the scene.

Point of non-interest....Ffej's real name is Jeff. One night at a party a good looking young lady sidled over to him and asked for his name. He grabbed at his belt buckle and held it so he could read his name on it (upside down) and then looked back up at her and slurred, "Ffej." It stuck.

​

Austin and his Joy, taken just a few days before they got married. As sad as it is not to have him with us, it is even harder to imagine what our lives would have been like if he'd never been given to us. Folks identified him by saying he looked like a praying mantis. He truly did, too! Long and lean...only Austin could lie down and look like a triangle:


Silly boy! He gladdens my heart, even now!

 

[Alice28]

I've tried really hard not to focus on the anniversary of Austin's death, but I seem destined to be reminded all day long. This afternoon I ran into Lovell to pick up some things and there was a young man walking down Main near the grocery store. His build and dark hair reminded me instantly of Austin. Then, as I watched, he walked right into a light pole - paying no attention to where he was walking he hit it full stride! He took a step back, bowed elegantly to the pole, then continued on his way, laughing the whole time. It was a total "Austin" moment! He believed so strongly in signs so I'm taking it to mean, "It's okay, Gramma - nothing's really changed"....

This is Austin's "Joy Rock". They had 3 of them - one said 'Faith', one said 'Hope' and then there was this one. Austin's job was several miles away on dark, winding roads. When he left for work the 'Faith' and 'Hope' rocks stayed home so his wife, Joy, would always know he'd return. This rock stayed in his pocket at all times, so he had always had 'Joy' with him.

[TR]


[TR]

The additional story behind the "Joy" rock.....After the accident, Austin's dad and several of Dan's friends went to the accident scene to recover items lost. Dan's best friend Ffej (who is also Austin's godfather) found Joy's butterfly necklace, Austin's glasses, and Joy's photo album, which contained this picture. Two days later, on the way to the visitation, Ffej again stopped at the site because, as he said, "Something told me that there was something there I was supposed to find." Half buried in the tracks of the ambulance which had taken Austin to the hospital was a shiny little white sliver. He kicked at it and it dislodged. It was the Joy rock. It had been run over by the ambulance, standing on its edge so that just a bit of it showed. Even using metal detectors, they never found another item at the scene. Point of non-interest....Ffej's real name is Jeff. One night at a party a good looking young lady sidled over to him and asked for his name. He grabbed at his belt buckle and held it so he could read his name on it (upside down) and then looked back up at her and slurred, "Ffej." It stuck.

​

[/TR]

[COLOR=A0A0A0][rule][/COLOR]​

[/TR]
Austin and his Joy, taken just a few days before they got married. As sad as it is not to have him with us, it is even harder to imagine what our lives would have been like if he'd never been given to us. Folks identified him by saying he looked like a praying mantis. He truly did, too! Long and lean...only Austin could lie down and look like a triangle: Silly boy! He gladdens my heart, even now!

Everytime you share an Austin storey it makes me smile. I think people deal with this in different ways and I know I said it once already, but I don't think we are met to get over loosing a child, or grandchild. How can you? But it sounds like he brightened everyone's life and he still is with the stories you tell. I will be thinking of you.