I'm on a Train: Part 1

The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, however you want to look at it, I embarked on my new adventure: moving to Washington DC to earn my master’s degree.

This is the first time someone from my immediate family has moved out-of-state to attend school. And not to toot my own horn, I’m the first sibling to be working on a master’s degree. In other words, I am sailing in uncharted waters.

Some moments I have felt like Marco Polo, confidently sailing forward, knowing what I encounter is for the best and that I will gain valuable knowledge.

Other times I have felt like the Titanic.

Stupid anxiety.

But either way, I am here, on a train, moving across the country.

The train has actually been pretty fun, although I still haven’t found the “lounge” cart. Eh…maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, so Wednesday morning at 1am, we left my home in Utah, traveled up to Salt Lake City and to the Amtrak Shack. I kid you not; this is not the train stations of olden days.

I got checked in and we waited for about 45 minutes. Then my train came. I hugged my family goodbye and got on the train. It was a very bitter-sweet moment. Walking away from my family was so very hard. I didn’t want to look back because I knew that I would start crying. But I had to look back at least once so David could take a picture.

Then I got on the train, found a seat, and got settled in. I stayed awake until we passed Provo and then fell asleep before we had even reached Spanish Fork. I woke up just as we crossed the Utah-Colorado border.

The sights were beautiful! For most of the day, the train traveled right next to the Colorado River. Between that and the mountains, it was awesome! And I discovered that traveling through the tunnels was amazing. You enter the tunnel and it’s pitch black but then you come out of it and there is an amazing view of the canyons, mountains, and valleys. I loved it.

People watching has been fun as well. There are some unique characters out in the world…and ever since we entered Colorado, there have been interesting smells. I let you use your imagination on that one ;)

But riding on the train has been very relaxing. I’ve slept a lot, done a bit of homework, watched some movies, and read. Way more relaxing if I was driving or taking the plane.

Tonight the train will travel through the rest of Colorado and up into Nebraska (my favoritist place ever!...not). Then in the morning I will go through Iowa and into Illinois and will be in Chicago. I am looking forward to that experience!