So a couple of weeks ago a group of us adventurous young single adults thought it would be a lot of fun to take the train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe for the day. The reason why we thought of this in the first place was we were informed that the drama department from UNM performs a Shakespeare play on the first car of the train on Saturdays during the summer. We thought that was such a wonderful thing that we had to see it for ourselves. Our plans went into effect this last Saturday. However, they didn't exactly go as planned...
We decided that we would go up to Santa Fe early, get lunch, walk around the Plaza and the state capitol building and then head back on the 4:4something train and force our way into the first car to watch the play.
We get up there, have lunch, walk around the Plaza and the state capitol, consider going to the Miraculous Staircase but decide against it due to the fact that it wasn't free, and head back towards the train station. By this point the clouds have gathered strength and were lovely shades of dark gray.
Get to the train station, notice an oddly large line of people waiting for a shuttle, and plant ourselves where we think the first car will be.
This is when the fun began.
A man in overalls and an old-timey train cap pulls out a speaker phone and informs us that they 4:4something train has been cancelled, and that there are shuttle buses waiting to take us to another train stop where we will board buses that will take us back to Albuquerque.
The moment he gets off the speaker phone, the heavens opened.
Just a little at first, but it slowly gained momentum. We had ONE umbrella between the 4 of us. We got very close during this ordeal...and despite the umbrella, oh so very wet...
We were shuttled. To a place where we had even less shelter and NO official looking train office with employees we could harass.
We were rained on. It rained even harder at the place where we were shuttled. We met a group of people who were in NM for a family reunion...and we made it into their scrapbook evidently...and it rained and rained and rained.
We were NOT bused. We passed the time creating masterpieces out of doodles another one of us made on a square of paper. We made friends with a young couple from the South who met in Albuquerque. We took advantage (once the heavens clogged) of the travel savvy one of us who brought his iPad and looked for nearby restaurants...with no luck. We contemplated checking out a cool looking cemetery nearby, but decided it wasn't worth the risk of missing our ride home.
We were starving. Luckily I brought 3 granola bars...I went without, telling myself that I am on super-diet mode anyways, even though I was super-starving...and I totally lied to my companions, saying I wasn't hungry...
The buses that were coming were a grand total of TWO. For 500 people. Ha! Luckily, by the time they showed up, we found out that the tracks had been reopened and a train was coming. We waiting 2 1/2 hours to board our train. Luckily, the heavens were plugged up for a good bit, so we were mostly dry by the time we claimed our seats on the train. Halfway home I did state the fact that I was starving.
No Shakespeare. We did spot some amazingly steady lightning/radio towers though...(inside joke...you had to be there)
We are thinking about going next Saturday...
2 comments:
But as long as no one was permanently scarred for life, it's a great story to have and pull out on a date.
That would probably have be hilarious if you hadn't all got so wet.
My best rain story is a few years ago when it was raining after school so everyone tried to get on one bus, but obviously it didn't let all of us on, so a few boys from my year decided to leg it to the next bus stop and try and get on then, and one of them ran into a lamp post because they couldn't see because of the rain. Twice. But amazingly got on the bus and told us all about it
from Tigerlillie xx
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