There’s no one at the station to help them and they can’t walk far, so I’ll be taking them into the station.  But I have people boarding there as well, so I’ll need to be in two places at once.  This should be fun. And it’s not over yet.  We’re coming into Whitefish, MT. And I have people getting off and then people getting back on the same room.  This is starting to feel like a commuter train with all these people getting on and off my car.  It’s usually not like this.  LOL       BRB,  Whitefish.      9:35pm OK.  I’ve got everybody on, all beds are down, and all work is done.  At least until the next stop.  LOL  Sorry about the lack of scenery reports.  I totally forgot how early it gets dark out now.  Coming home should be better. Tomorrow will be scenic but I’ll be running around getting all the supplies and the people ready to get off the train in Portland.  I also need to make up all the beds.  And all this has to be done before we arrive at 9:30am.  This is like a 5 hr. job that needs to be done in 3.  So I’ll really going to need to fly.  And on top of this, I’ll only get 3 hours sleep tonight.       Day 3, 6:00am Good morning Peg......It’s time to ROCK !!!!  LOL  Got to get your a-game on-line.  Today is going to be a race with the clock.  Portland coming up in 3 hours. But for now, everybody’s still sleeping so I have a sec or 2.  LOL Well I survived the night.  I got more people on my car in Spokane, WA. Who were not on my list.  Last min ticket buyers.  So I have a pretty full car to deal with this morning.  People will start to get up soon and then I’ll be getting this car together all the way into Portland.      4:30pm Welcome to Portland Peggy. I got through the morning, barely!!  LOL  Just waiting at the hotel right now waiting for the Packer game to start.  Never go to the grocery store hungry.  LOL  I have enough food here to last me all week!!!!!  But then, there is a Packer game on.  Ha-ha-ha

I’ll acutely get some real sleep tonight.  My layover here is about 30 hours.  First time in over 15 days that I’ll get more than 6 hours sleep. I love this area of the country.  Seattle being my favorite place.  Portland being #2.  I have national seniority working for Amtrak so I could live and work anywhere in the US of A.  I think that if I was not married, I’d live all over the country and end up settling down out here.  But being married with kids, family and friends all in Wisconsin, I’ll stay where I’m at. Well I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  Report time is 2pm.  See you tomorrow, don’t be late.      Day 4,  7:30pm. Ya know???  It’s been one of them days.  Now I really remember what I dislike about this run.  After this afternoon, it all came back to me.  Like a bad dream.  This car can be a pain in the rear leaving Portland, and it has nothing to do with the passengers.  For starters, no linen on this car.  The one we brought in yesterday left the same day back to Chicago.  So now we get somebody elses mess.  I have no sheets, towels, wash cloths, nothing.  One of the Deluxe Bedrooms is missing a chair and it’s sold all the way to Chicago.  And the dinning car went to Seattle so we have no dinner, just the snack car.  The people in the sleepers receive their meals free in the dinner and with no diner car, no meals there.  We’ll join up with the Seattle section in Spokane at 1 am.  So for dinner tonight I get to hand out these box meals.  I don’t mind the meals but you’d think they could supply me with the basics???  Is that too much to ask??  These people, some of them have paid up to $1300 for the rooms and I don’t even have a towel to give them.  Going inside the station to get this stuff is like asking them for there first born, or so they act.  I just want to smack them.  And the person who brought this car in needs to learn how to make it up.  I want to smack them too.  And on top of all this, they changed the departure time so we will be going through the Columbia River Gorge and the Cascade Mts. in the dark.  I want to smack them too.  AAAAaaarrrrrrr..........!!!!!!! So as you can see, I’m not having the best of a day. I do have some old pictures of the Cascade Mts./Columbia river area.  I’ll send them with the rest. Anyway, Day 4.