Starlight Express

 . . . or Coastal Starlight . . . whatev . . .

When Jason and I started planning our west coast trip, we decided to build in a little bit of down time.  We talked about a side trip to Carmel or even a trip to the San Juans, but eventually decided to take the Amtrak Coastal Starlight.  We needed to get from Washington to California anyway and a train ride sounded like MUCH more fun than dealing with an airport during the holidays.

Charlie has enjoyed short train rides in the past and we thought she might have fun walking around and smiling at her fellow passengers.  Luckily, we were right!  We all had a great time!  Here are some pics from our trip:

Charlie enjoying the scenery from our room.

Charlie napped quite well, but things didn't go quite as smoothly overnight . . .

We all enjoyed eating in the Dining Car.  The food was delicious!

Charlie watching mama at the wine tasting in the Parlour Car (I'm behind the guy in the yellow shirt).

Stripey pyjamas, a toothbrush and a pay-as-you-go mobile.  What more could a girl want?

We didn't take many pictures of our room, but trust me when I say it was very small.  You can see pics of one of the rooms on my friend Naina's old blog about her husband, Josh, donating a kidney.  

Though we all had a rough night's sleep (thank you Charlotte . . . ) it is something we would definitely consider doing again.  Especially if they are still serving that Tom Douglas lamb shank!!  Mmmmm.