We get to the train station in time for our departure and load aboard. If you're a fan of the X-Files, you're familiar with Cancer Man. I think all his relatives were on our train. I've never heard so much hacking and coughing, organic phlegming, in my life. I felt like I should have a medical mask over my nose to keep healthy.

Also, just as we left New Mexico, we crossed by a rather alarming area that looked like the aftermath of a nuclear blast. It wa totally flat, completely devoid of any plant life, baked and cracking... and it was surrounded by official federal signs warning of "ammunition dud site". This flat bowl was marked, at regular intervals, by groupings of three short vent pipes protruding from the ground, but no other sign of life. I immediately suspected underground nuke testing, but I haven't been able to find out any more information about it.

So at the beginning of our trip, I wrote compliments about Hertz Car Rental. Now I need to rant about Amtrak. Amtrak coach attendant awoke us just outside San Antonio, telling us we'd sit there for about 20 minutes and then arrive at the station. At this point, we were already three hours late -- we had been four hours late on the arriving trip. We sat there outside San Antonio for an hour, with no Amtrak representative available, and the power (and airconditioning, and toilets) turned off.

Suddenly, some Amtrak representative we'd never seen before (our wonderful coach attendant, who lectured us so on how to keep the bathrooms clean and how he was there to make this a magic carpet ride for us never appeared after three pulls on the call button) strolled by and said, if you are getting off in San Antonio, you're HERE already. Then there was a delay while they found our stepladder to get out of the train. Then there was a delay because there was only one attendant in the station, who was taking tickets, and couldn't get our bags OFF the train.

We had a 7:45 flight, four and a half hours after our scheduled arrival in San Antonio, which we felt should be adequate. We barely made it. We eventually ended up going into the baggage area ourselves and dug out our bags for ourselves.

The train ride was fun, but I'm not surprised Amtrak has financial difficulties -- they have no organizational skills or business instincts.

A bright note, though... they ran three trivia contests on the return train trip. I won the first one, and proudly jogged down to the lounge car for my prize. The imminently personable Amtrak employee bartender said, "here!" and tried to give me a skanky Amtrak blanket for a prize. I asked if I could have the Amtrak cap instead, and he said he planned to give the blanket if a woman won, the cap if a man won. Duh... I want the cap! I was wearing a cap I'd bought at the Grand Canyon at the time anyway. Don't worry, I got the cap.

Then, they held the second trivia contest, and... I won again! Now the bartender and I are pals. When he called my name as the winner, he said over the train intercom "Kathy... uh, you know who you are." I felt a real connection between us, you know? This time, I came down to the bar and said, cheerily, "hmmm... what do I get this time?" My new pal said, "you get the coozie! that's it! I pick!"

They held a third trivia contest... and my niece and nephew tied for the junior win. He never announced an adult winner, and I suspect it was my mother (I didn't enter this one) and he just didn't want yet another Lessa winner.

But what the heck... it was a great vacation! We had the entire family together, except for Grandmother who's incapable of this type of travel unfortunately, and it was wonderful. I hope we made some good memories for the kids!