The Train

OK, I guess I have to write about the train too, just to get beyond it. It seemed like such a nice idea: there's a train called the Metrolink that runs from Lancaster/Palmdale to Los Angeles and parts beyond. Why not take it some weekend? Why not indeed? Oh, there are so many reasons, most of them involving four-year-old twin boys. But anyway, it did sound like a good idea, in the beginning.

So we looked at the schedule and discovered that very few trains run on the weekends. This is a SERIOUS train, a commuter train. There was a train that left Lancaster around 9:15 am (and Palmdale 10 minutes later), but it would take us nearly 90 minutes to drive to the station, which meant leaving the house at 7:45 am, which meant no, try again. There was an 11:30 train, but that's lunchtime.

Finally we decided to drive to Palmdale, do a little shopping, eat lunch, and catch the 1 pm train. Rather than go all the way to LA, which would take 2 hours, we decided to stop at a place called Newhall, about which we knew nothing other than that the train would get there a little after 2 pm. There was a train from Newhall at 3:30 which would get us back to Palmdale at 4:30. All that sounded reasonable and doable, and really, it should have been. Sigh.

We got to Palmdale around 11 am and went straight to Dillard's, because Baby B needed new shoes. His beautiful flashing Stride Rite shoes, only a few months old, have a huge hole in them. What has happened to formerly dependable brands like Stride Rite??? Might as well shop at Walmart. We managed to buy both boys some shoes, with only a small amount of screaming and running away. Then we had a quick quasi-meal at a coffee place, and we were off to the Palmdale train station.

We got there quite early, around 12:30, because we didn't know how hard it would be to park, buy tickets, and all that. Everything turned out to be very easy, so we had a long time to sit and wait.

It costs $10 to ride the Metrolink on the weekends -- all weekend for just $10. If you were dating someone in LA, you could take the train down on Saturday morning to visit them, stay until 5:40 pm on Sunday, and ride the train back, all for just $10. Unfortunately, we're married and have four-year-old twins, so Rocket Boy and I paid $10 each to ride the Saturday afternoon train to Newhall and back. But still, it was a pretty good deal, and the twins were free.

The train ride was pleasant, at least at first. We sat on the upper level. I didn't get a window seat (preview of my life as a mom from now until eternity) so I couldn't see as well as the boos could, but it was still nice. Here's Baby A, observing the scenery.

Of course, as soon as we got on, someone needed to go potty, but the Metrolink has bathrooms! So we visited them a few times. Rocket Boy and I took turns. The rest of the time boos climbed back and forth between our two rows of seats. "Are they twins?" the teenage girl across from us asked, and I could see that look in her eye, that "I want twins" look. I wanted to say "no you don't" but resisted.

We reached Newhall about 2:15 (JUST as Baby A was nodding off, sigh), got off, and looked for something to do. Newhall is a part of Santa Clarita. It's very attractive, I guess. We spotted what we thought was a Rec Center right next to the train, and went there first.

But it turned out to be a place where school-age kids can go after school to get help with homework and participate in activities. There was nothing for us there, not even vending machines, although they did say we could play on their playground. So we did. But it was so hot.

So then we walked the other direction and through the renovated downtown. Newhall is sort of an odd place, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. First we walked down Market Street to a little park dedicated to veterans. Then we walked down Main Street looking for an ice cream parlor or some such place to have a treat. Main Street just couldn't be prettier or cleaner -- someone spent a lot of money fixing it up and even more money maintaining it. And yet the stores weren't right. You'd be expecting, I don't know, a fancy clothing store, or an espresso place, and instead here's a laundromat, a place to buy lotto tickets, a dollar store. And everything was mostly in Spanish. And it was so hot. We finally found a Panaderia and bought some cupcakes and drinks, which we took back to the train station with us.

The train arrived around 3:30 and we boarded. We sat downstairs this time, within sight of the bathroom, and what a mistake that was. Baby B spent the entire hour-long return trip wanting to visit the bathroom. When someone else was in the bathroom, he yelled or ran up and down the car. Baby A was not much better. They were tired, they were bored, they didn't want to be on a train anymore. Rocket Boy and I were also tired and didn't want to be on a train, at least not with our children. The other passengers also did not want to be on a train with our children.

But we were all TRAPPED. For an HOUR.

A little before 4:30 the train got to Palmdale and we got off. If we'd had any sense we would have driven straight home to Ridgecrest. But we have no sense. And there were all those stores. First we went to Lowe's so Rocket Boy could shop. Then the boos and I went to Target while RB waited in the car. I had all these things I wanted to buy at Target, but I got caught up in helping the boos choose a toy (I had told them before we went in that they could each have one small toy), and forgot about everything else. When we got back to the car I almost burst into tears in frustration.

We still had Macy's and Trader Joe's on our list. I had a $25 coupon for Macy's. But suddenly I knew we had all passed our limit and I needed to get us home immediately. So I got on the highway and drove fast, much faster than the speed limit, all the way back to Ridgecrest. Everyone else slept most of the way, but I stayed awake, driving, driving, all 92 miles. We got home around 7pm, JUST before I collapsed.

So that was our Metrolink experience -- our only Metrolink experience, since we're never going to do it again.