- Day Six of our Wild West Road Trip
Day six was train day. Trever, Abby, and I traveled over to Georgetown to ride the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Sarah – who is not a fan of trains or heights, stayed behind in the room. I would have felt badly for her but I knew she wanted some alone time and she planned a few hours of reading and relaxing on her own.
As we left out across the mountain, Trever noticed we had a low tire. This was concerning, but it was still holding air so it wasn’t an emergency. We knew we would have to address it before we did any more distance driving.
I had purchased vouchers for our train tickets the night before on Travelzoo and had to call and get the actual ticket/reservation the morning of the train ride. I knew securing a spot would not be a problem because there were plenty of tickets available. So when there was not an answer when I called the reservation line, and I had to leave a message I wasn’t too concerned. I thought I could just change the vouchers for tickets at the station.
We arrived at the depot around half an hour before the train was to depart and got in a short line to pick up tickets. Much to my dismay they could not convert the vouchers to tickets there at the depot and I had to call the reservation line yet again. After many back and forths and miscommunication, we got the right tickets at the right time – and just in time to board!
The train ride itself was short – 30 minutes to a depot down the road with a brief stop at another station, then 30 minutes back. The weather was pleasant though and Trever had many opportunities to take pictures both during and after the ride.
After the train ride, we knew we needed to tackle the tire situation. We stopped at a small grocery store to ask for recommendations and, as luck would have it, there was a mechanic right next door. He was able to quickly plug and patch the tire while we got a few things from the store for lunch and we were soon on our way.
Back in Winter Park, we took some time to just relax. Everyone busied themselves with their own activities, and I spent time writing in the loft area of our room. Later that evening, we went into Winter Park and ate at Randi’s Irish Grill and Pub – they had a varied menu from which we had Bangers and Mash, Lobster Mac, and Pastrami. We ate outdoors with the mountains in the background. After dinner, we got a few more groceries and headed back to the hotel. I did some laundry (I would rather do it here than do it all at home!) and took the time to start a new book, and Trever and the girls took a walk.
Day six was a solid vacation day, with time both for activities and resting. As on any trip, my vacation ennui was staring to set in, dreading the packing, the drive home, the return to reality. Plus we were just all getting really tired! This vacation wasn’t about relaxing as much as it was about exploring and experiencing. And we still had one more day to make vacation memories before our time here was over!