Dagmar’s Adventure

How to take an adventure – Dagmar style.

First you realize that you have a lot of vacation days to use up quickly or you will lose them.

Then you buy a train ticket to visit your Aunt Julie in Chicago because she’s a lot of fun.You turn in your vacation days at work – and your boss gives you extra shifts the week before so you end up only using a little of your accumulated vacation and are exhausted .

You wash your clothes and pack so you are all ready to get on the train at 7:40 AM the next morning when you get an email that your train will be 12 hours late.

You go into full panic mode, call AMTRAC,  sit on hold for so long that when you finally hear a voice you yell, “Are you a real person?!”

Then you go to bed expecting to spend the day at home, only to have your mom wake you up at with the news that the train will now leave at noon.

You get up, shower, eat breakfast and get three more emails each one giving an earlier departure time.

Finally – realizing that you have an hour long drive to get to the train station – you leave in hurry.

Only to get to the station and wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

When you finally get on the train you end up sitting beside an older lady who likes to sing to herself.

In a foreign language.

With spontaneous clapping.

Even while she is sleeping.

But all nightmare journeys eventually come to an end.

And Aunt Julie was waiting on the other side with a week of fun planned.

Rock climbing.

Shopping.

Paint ball.

Shopping.

The sand dunes.

Shopping.

And life was so good – you didn’t want to come home.

Except that you missed your truck.

And fishing.

And your cowboy boots.

And maybe your family – just a little.

So eventually, you climb back onto the train and head home.

The end.