Some idiot thought it'd be a good idea to take a toddler on a train. That idiot was me. And, actually, it definitely beat flying or driving, so although it was a challenging trip, it was no more challenging than our regular life, except that we didn't have the option to pack it in and go home for a breather.
Getting to the train station in Austin was a lot easier than I thought it'd be. We parked (for free!) three spaces away from the terminal. We only had to be there half an hour early. Then we were on the train and ready to go. Mal and I went up to the lounge car for a while, then James joined us. D slept pretty much the whole way, having been warned in advance that the heartland trains are for some reason the only ones left without any wi-fi.
After the third stop, Mal kept signing, "All done!" like he was finished with the train and wanted off. This was a problem, since we still had about two hours. We took turns distracting him, then let him video call Nana because he was ready to see her and kept crying for her, and finally he went to sleep around 1. After an hour-and-a-half's nap, he was up and ready to go again.
Nana and Pappy drove to Fort Worth to kill our layover with us. We walked to Flying Saucer and had a fabulous lunch (thanks, Pappy!) then enjoyed a bit of Sundance Square, as much as we could in mid-90s and full sun (there is a fountain, but Mal is the only one who got a little close, and even he wasn't going for the full Monty), then headed back to the train station to wait it out in the air condition.
After bidding Nana and Pappy adieu, we were on our way to OKC. This trip was longer... it turned out that it was A LOT longer, I guess because of construction on the rails. We were supposed to get in at 9:23, but early on it was showing we'd be here at 9:07. We actually got here around 10.
This trip was more tiring than the first leg, because Mal would not sit down for more than a couple of minutes. He was up walking, playing, enjoying himself. So James and I handed off chasing duties, and it still beat his being upset and wanting off of the train.
He fell asleep around 8:45, and woke up shortly before we arrived, gagging and dry heaving like he had done the night before at the same time. I have no idea what that's about; I was dreading having to call off the trip if he kept being sick, but after 9 the night before, he seemed to feel fine and had no sick symptoms. We'll see what he does tonight.
We got to the OKC station, and it's undergoing reconstruction. Good gosh, we could not figure out where to walk because they have construction fencing set up on the sidewalk, making it impassable with rolling luggage (or a girth of anything more than a scarecrow). We ended up traipsing up one lane of a six-lane street with all of our luggage.
It's wasn't far to the hotel, but after a long day and hauling so much gear, we were beat. Then the keys didn't work. The kids and I set up camp in the hall while James got new keys, and we discovered that the vending room has super chilly air conditioning (and takes credit cards!).
Mal was awake for at least an hour before James turned out the light, and who knows how late D stayed awake. Our room is nice and has good sound insulation, apparently. I would have slept very well if it weren't for a sweet, over tired, mysteriously barfy kid waking up every twenty to thirty minutes wanting mama juice.
Still, we got some rest and were ready to go this morning. We went down to our complimentary breakfast, and I took Mal out to see the fountain in the front. He wanted desperately to climb in, so it seemed like the perfect time to swim!
The pool here is indoors, has a beach entry, and has several water features. After an hour or so, Mal was getting pretty confident splashing around by himself. He also found a ball in one of the filters.
After James and I both showered, the three of us walked down to the American Banjo Museum. They had a "petting zoo" with a couple of samples banjos, and Mal entertained several people and played for about ten minutes before someone came over and said they were going to have to ask us to be quieter. Mal can't play quieter, so that was the end of that.
He looked around at the banjos but was frustrated that he couldn't get to them. There was an open bass banjo upstairs, with a note reading: DO NOT TOUCH. Mal fell on the floor crying two or three times before I decided just to take him downstairs and watch the Steve Martin retrospective on a loop three or four times. It was interesting and he seemed to enjoy it.
For lunch, we stopped at Pearl's Crabhouse. We got a crab dip appetizer, then James got crawfish etouffee, I got pecan crusted Idaho rainbow trout, and got shrimp Fettuccini to bring home for D. Mal manager to amuse himself pretty well for Mal, and we ate an entire meal until we were full. It helped that when Mal was sitting in the table, the waitress was so cool about it and didn't act like we were putting anyone out. Really good food and we have leftovers for later.
We came back to the room, Mal took a nap, and now we're getting ready to head over to Bass Pro Shop... we can see it from our eighth story window!
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