Choo Choo!

I wasn't planning one writing about trains tonight. I was just going to describe my day and leave it at that. Like most things in life my day was a little unpredictable and this carried over into my blog.

My day started late this afternoon because I slept in. I guess playing computer games most of the night may have had something to do with that. I stumbled awake and got myself organized and then went out for food. No more leftovers for me. I ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory and enjoyed myself as usual.

After dinner I walked around taking pictures. I found two interesting fountains and a sculpture I hadn't photographed before. I also took some pics to use as examples in the Glimpse group at Flickr.

I looked at my time and decided to catch a movie. I saw Millions and really enjoyed it. Watching two boys spend lots of money was funny. I couldn't decide who I would act like: the materialistic older boy or his idealistic younger brother.


Just one train in Canada can ruin your whole day
Originally uploaded by Felicity and Phillip.

So what does this have to do with trains you ask? Plenty.

The game I played this morning was Railroad Tycoon 2. I reinstalled it on my computer this week. I never had a train set as a kid so I use the game to make up for lost time. I like making tracks to weird locations and hauling freight. I don't often win the 'become the richest player' type scenarios but I have fun for a few hours.

Trains also are important in 'Millions' for a number of reasons. In fact the story really starts when something falls off of a train. That's all I will say. Go see the movie.

Dreams and memories. The game and the movie remind me of both.

Before I went to Europe I had only ridden on a train once. I went from Prince George to Vancouver on BC Rail. In Europe I went everywhere by train. I rode British Rail from southern England to Scotland and was honoured when an employee gave me two collar badges for my collection. In Spain I worried about being arrested because some young Portuguese workers were smoking marijuana on the train.

I travelled across Europe by train using a Eurail Youthpass. It was a magic time. Since then the only rail travel I've had is on transit in Vancouver and Edmonton. It doesn't seem enough.

As my day winds down I can hear that whistle in the distance: Woo Woo! Woo Woo!