California and Back in 5 days (gone)

If the last thing you read wasn't, we were on our way to Albuquerque then you might wanna back track...

As we entered Albuquerque I told Brennen, I think the train station is on the other side of Albuquerque like in the downtown area.  I was not for sure but that was what I was thinking.  We were able to GPS it (thank goodness for Google maps on my phone).  It was exactly where I thought it was.  I had actually dropped a client off at the train station back in like 2003.  I had forgotten all about that until this moment.  So, anyway, we found the train station.  But guess what - there is no parking.  There is no where for our car to stay while we are gone. I sent Brennen into the train station (which doubles as a bus terminal) for directions.

He came out and told me that we have to park in the public parking downtown.  Just so happens there is a parking garage just down the block from the station.  After circling a total of 3 times, we finally got in it.  They offer free parking for the movies and different stuff.  Other wise it is like $2 an hour and a maximum of $8 a day.  A little more expensive than I had planned but still reasonable (I guess).  Somewhere in my brain I figured on $2 or $3 a day.  I have no idea where I got that idea since I don't ever pay for parking anywhere but I did.   As we parked the car, I got an alert on my phone.

I guess our train was delayed.   As we finished parking I became nervous that one of our bags would not fit in the regulations for the carry on bags.  (One of our hick-ups in packing was that we could not check our baggage because the second train was only a commuter train and there was no baggage check).  So I began rearranging stuff and worrying like I do.  Brennen kept saying, "Mom.  It will be ok".  He was busy hiding all of the valuable stuff in the car.  There was nothing actually valuable except a stack of cd's.  Those to him - are invaluable.  So, he hid them and I rearranged.  Then we unloaded the car and loaded it all onto our backs.  As we went downstairs and exited the parking garage I became aware of how NOT smart we were. We could have unloaded the bags and Brennen at the station and then I could have parked the car and came back.  But with our lack of experience, we did it this way and then carried our bags to the station.  Luckily it was not a long way.  Here is the picture of the parking garage:  

 And then here is Brennen in front of me walking to the train station.  I always wanted to buy a hot dog from a stand on the street like the one in the picture - but we had way too much other stuff on our mind.  Brennen was getting very excited and impatient and I was getting nervous.  But together we did well.  Brennen was so sweet.  He carried my bag which was the heaviest and then I carried his bag which was a little lighter.  (What a big kid he is turning into).

Because I printed out tickets online, we didn't have to check in or anything.  We just went and found a spot to wait.  Inside the station they had a Burger King.  I kept asking Brennen if he was hungry but he insisted he wasn't.  So, we just waited.  The station was packed.  We had our luggage on the floor outside of the men's bathroom and Brennen knelt on the floor next to it and I just stood there.  We waited and waited.  Then our curiosity got the best of us and we headed outside.   

This is a picture of inside the station just above the doors to exit to the tracks.  We went outside and sat on the sidewalk and waited some more.  While we waited outside we played a short game of WAR with Brennen's Star War cards.  I don't know what he was thinking of when he said WAR but about half way through he grew tired of it and we quit.  We got even more curious and went up the stairs to the actual tracks and waited some more.  

Carla - you are probably thinking YEAH!  She took lots of pictures - but actually I only took them in clumps.  I started strong - but...well, you will see as we go.  

So it seems like we waited for EVER and a DAY - but actually, we only waited like an hour and a half.  But it was really hot, and really sweaty!  Really hot!  Carla - you probably forgot what really hot feels like but it as burning hot.  And we had no where to sit except the sidewalk or the floor by the bathroom.  But hey - we were too excited to really care.  

And then finally, we heard the railroad crossing start to make noise and we looked down the track and here came our train.

 Can you believe that you can stand as close to the train as you want (even while it is in motion) as long as you do not pass that yellow line.  That was just to close for my comfort at this point - but as our journey continued, that yellow line got closer and closer to my feet.