OK, so we were outvoted on heading to Monterey Aquarium – the boys wanted to go on a train. While Elliot is car mad, Oliver is absolutely TRAIN mad – all he seems to want at the moment is trains, trains…. So we drove to Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow-Gauge Railroad near Felton (on the way to Santa Cruz from Los Gatos for those who have an idea of Bay area geography).
It started out a pretty cold day – 14 degrees Celsius, but once we were getting ready to board Number 7 – Sonoma (pictured above) the clouds parts and the temperature rose to a way more acceptable 21 degrees Celsius – daddy was OK then since he only came in shorts and t-shirt – when will he learn – mummy told him to get a sweater… silly daddy.
Anyway, while we were waiting for the train to take us up to Bear Mountain, we saw these two likely looking suspects….
Frightening pair of suspects…..
Anyway, on the way home we were checking out the tickets for the train – these are the “Rules of the Road”
1. No more than two children under 2 years of age riding free per adult.
2. Passengers must keep heads, arms, legs, ears and all trash inside of cars at all times.
3. No shooting of bears, deer, raccoons or birds from train.
4. NO SMOKING. Passengers must swallow butts, or crush them on the floor, but don’t thrown them out the window
5. Male passengers must assist crew in moving logs or pushing if necessary.
6. Stop over privileges up to 4 hours are permitted. Notify conductor.
7. This ticket is not transferable. No refunds or rain checks.
8. Roaring Camp is not responsible for 1880s soot.
9. Video and/or photography of Roaring Camp or its property may not be used for commercial purposes without consent of Roaring Camp management
10. Be SAFE. Watch your children. Don’t ride on platform, no running in aisles, check window latches. Ask crew for help if necessary.
11. Keep feet and food of seat cushions.
12. Schedules are adhered to as closely as possible, but railway reserves the right to alter schedules or substitute motive power or equipment if necessary.
OK, so let’s dissect these;
Number 3 – REALLY ??
Number 4, given the choice of swallowing the butt or crushing on the floor, which would YOU take?
Poor Olly was so shattered, that we only got 1/4 mile on the train and he opted for a quick bit of shuteye 🙂 Typical – he ws the one who REALLY wanted to go on the train, yet he fell asleep at the first opportunity….
On a separate subject, we have started watching a pretty cool series on TV – called Nikita – see if it makes it to UK TV – pretty cool so far – we have watched 3 episodes so far.