Anniversary Train Ride - Mt. Hood Railroad - June 10, 2007
Rocke and my fifth wedding anniversary will be on the 15th of this month and Michael and Sylvia's 14th anniversary is on the 12th, so we planned an anniversary brunch train ride on the Mt. Hood Railroad.
We actually had the tickets for the brunch train for last November, but just before we were due to take the trip, there was a lot of rain and more than a mile of the tracks up near Parkdale, Oregon were washed out. We had hoped the tracks would be prepared for our brunch train ride by our anniversaries, but we learned they would not be completed until late summer. We decided to take the brunch train anyway, which only went as far as Dee, Oregon and then back to Hood River. Still, it was a a nice ride through Hood River Valley.
Plans were made for all of us to meet at the Mt. Hood Railroad station on the Sunday morning, June 10th. It looked like it was going be an overcast but otherwise nice day to enjoy the train ride.
This vintage train captured the nostalgia of classic American train travel. We enjoyed a delicious four-course brunch, while enjoying the scenery looking out our comfortable large windowed booth. When we boarded the train and found our booth, the table was already set with some flowers, pastry and fruit trays. While waiting for the train to start rolling, we enjoyed visiting and snacking on the pastry and fruit. Once we were under way, we were served by the friendly and attentive wait staff.
After enjoying our meal, we strolled throughout the cars during the journey. We were able to enjoy glimpses of Mt. Hood, Hood River tumbling along through forested banks, and pear and apple orchards stretching to the mountains on either side. We didn't see any wildlife roaming around in the forest. That is, unless you wanted to count the few people and a barking dog, along the way.
What an enjoyable anniversary we shared with Michael and Sylvia. We're looking forward to taking another train ride when the tracks are open all the way into Parkdale, Oregon.