As I traveled to the train station excitement and anticipation over came me. I see cars coming and going from the train station and I wonder where they are going or where they just came from. As we park at the train station I jump out to grab my suit case and belongings. I could feel the cold air against my face as soon as I stepped out of the car. Rushing into the train station I could feel the slushy snow beneath my feet and I started to become slightly nervous. I have never been on a train for a long amount of time. But the nervousness soon faded as it was replaced by excitement for the trip ahead of me. At the train station me and a few girls decided to make the most of it by passing time playing cards, and snacking. You could hear laughter through out the train station. As our boarding time got closer I became more ready to leave. Then a voice starts to speak on the over head speakers. The voice says our train is delayed by about 40 mins. At the time 40 minutes didn’t seem to be too bad, and the girls and I had just started getting into a card game. We played the game "Bullshit", and laughed every time one of us had to pick up the stack of card from the pile. As time passed by it became closer to our new boarding time. As I wait to for our train to arrive I hear a women's voice say that our train is going to be another 40-45 minutes! I couldn’t believe the bad luck. My first thoughts were something is wrong with the train, or we aren’t going to get on the train till hours later. What I didn't know at the time was that we wouldn’t be boarding the train till about 1:30! At this point I became overly tired. I could feel my eyes droopy, and my excitement was starting to fade. All I could think about was sleep. When the train arrived everyone boarding the train walked fast as if there were a chance the train might leave us before we could get on, and the cold air felt good as it hit my face stepping outside the train station. Finally I was on the train!! Now I was very weary about sleeping on the train, but I was just so tired I thought I could sleep anywhere, but I was wrong. I tossed and turned and just couldn’t get completely comfortable. As I looked around at the other passengers I see everyone also trying to get comfortable sleeping in the dark blue train seats. I guess I know why people pay the price they do for those sleeping carts. As I sit on the train now, I look out the window at the current scenery. The sun is shining and I see trees for miles. The best part of the scenery was that there was no snow to be seen. Our arrival time is now around 5pm and I couldn’t be more ready to get off this train. New Orleans here I come!
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| Peyton on the train! (Passing through Sledge Mississippi) |
Inner Journey-
Like I said earlier, my roommates and a couple girls decided to play cards to pass the time at the station. We were bonding over snacks and stories we were sharing. I knew at this moment this trip was going to be even better because the people I was about to share this journey with were no longer strangers. I’m so excited to make some new friends that I have something in common with. The something in common being us all in nursing school. I think the trip over all is going to be better then I had hoped for. Our group is full of fun people and that makes it so much more exciting. As it got later I started to grow even more Eager to get on the train. The thoughts running through my head were driving me crazy. I kept thinking “what if the train breaks down when we’re on it?” Or “what if it doesn’t come till morning?” And I even started to think maybe this trip wasn’t going to happen and I built all this excitement up for nothing. I tried to push those negative thoughts away though. When the train finally arrived and we started to step on, I can’t tell you the rush of happiness I felt. Not because we were heading to New Orleans, but because we were finally getting on the train after our three hour delay🙄 I was so exhausted I fell right asleep. Waking up numerous times in the night prevented me from obtaining any quality sleep, but I’m growing more and more excited as we get closer to our destination. Freshening up in the tiny restrooms they have on the train really made me appreciate my big bathroom at home. I decided putting any makeup on this train while in motion would just be way too difficult. Not being able to shower this morning was hard for me because I’m so use to have a shower at my convenience. It’s hard for me to feel clean without showering and a clean change of clothes. Hopefully I will have a few minutes to change at the hotel before we continue with today's itinerary.
As I was sitting at a table on the train some little boys came and sat down by me. They all looked close in age and are just running around being crazy kids. In this moment I miss my little brothers like crazy. My youngest brothers are ages 4,3 and 2, and these boys on the train are remaining me so much of them. It reminds me I’ll have to Face Time them later on to keep me from becoming too home sick. Family is very important to me, and I rarely go a day without seeing them so a whole week is going to be rough for me. I can’t wait to take many pictures so that they can see everything that I get to experience. In just a few more hours we will arrive in the city of New Orleans but until then I have no more to share. Stay tuned, my adventure has only just begun!
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| Checking out the scenery on the train ride |
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