The Easter Train

Mike's older sister flew in on the Saturday before Easter and we all had plans to go on the Easter Train that is put on by the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. It was quite pricey but we were promised a treat. And boy oh boy were we disappointed :( So here is the story:

We drove 2 hours to get there...




And once we were there, they allowed us to wait for an extra 45 mins in the cold blustery, rainy weather un-sheltered of course, while they figured out what was wrong with the train.



After pulling up to the stairs, and backing up, and pulling up again about a dozen times they finally allowed us to board the train. We had actually been making fun of the broken down train while waiting in line thinking that we were waiting for another train to return from the previous trip. Nope, we were riding in the the rusted, mossy, broken, old train.

I think seeing the steam engine up close was probably the neatest thing of the whole trip.



Now the inside was probably dated back to the 50's and honestly I don't think it has been updated at all. The bathrooms were out of order, there were holes in the walls (see picture at bottom), it smelled funny, and the windows were all dirty and steamed up...oh and no heat on the train.

Below you can see some of the train and Ashley and her cousin Evelyn ( 2 months older).


Here are the four older cousins: Ashley, Lindsey, Taylor, and Evelyn.


So anyway, back to my complaining...once we were seated on the train we literally sat there for another 15 minutes, doing nothing and then no announcement, no seatbelts we jerk. Apparently they started going the wrong direction and ran right into another train. Sweet right, Poor Evelyn flew off the seat but was spared any injuries. The ride consisted of approximately 20 minutes of riding at about 1 mile an hour through a run down rural area..no joke we actually drove through a trailer park and saw a real outhouse...

Then we stopped and saw the easter Bunny. The kids enjoyed the easter egg hunt but were sad to find out that most of what they found in their eggs had to be confinscated by the parents...hmmm, jaw breakers and gum for the 0-3 year olds...hmmm not quite so smart.





Anyway after egg hunting for about 3o minutes we got back on the train and sat there again....forever...by this time it was time for dinner, kids were getting very cranky and considering there were 7 children with us 4 and under, it wasn't much fun.

Overall we were refunded for our tickets as we were not happy campers. I hate to be a complainer but for 18.00 per military adult and 15.00 for children...this did not cut the mustard. Below you can see the hole in the wall of the train that we were privleged to ride in.