My daughter came home from Montreal on Saturday, after her last exam. We scheduled a train trip, although costing much more than the bus, it would be more assured of making it home in case of inclement weather. We had decided this was well worth it for us all.
On Saturday morning after a bit of a trial by transportation, she arrived safely at the train station only to have a delay due to engine trouble. Forty-five minutes later they were off, and it looked like smooth sailing.
There was some more mechanical trouble along the way and we would be off by about an hour and a half.
We planned that she would get off in Toronto at Union Station and get a GO train to Burlington where we could easily get her and avoid, if there was any, a Saturday before Christmas rush.
The wall plugs were not working on the train so her computer battery ran down and that communication died. The Wi-Fi was out as well. Her phone battery was on its way out and there was no way to rejuvenate that either. We used text to communicate at this point so we knew what was going on.
My wife had been ill and had ear infections and decided to take a nap before we had to go. We had a few hours left before we would have to leave.
I went to use the computer, having just reinstalled it into our partially restored home office when the phone rang. My daughter was calling. The train stopped in Oshawa, Ontario and could go no more as there was a fatality on the tracks! Basically, that was the end of the line for at minimum, two hours! It may continue after that but there was no assurance.
I woke my wife up, who had been sleeping for ten minutes, and told her we were going to Oshawa, even though I had no idea where it was or how far. My other daughter did a MapQuest while I went to get gas. We took the GPS and left.
It’s about 75 miles and the traffic was about what one could expect driving around Toronto on a Christmas Saturday, just awful! However, we never stopped for a minute! We were there in an hour and a half, about 15 minutes after the train left for Union Station!
A brief stop at Burger King and we were off to home, It was another hour and a half without incident, but our planned Chanukah dinner (belated) was put off yet another day.
It was an unforgettable journey to surely make for a more well rounded Christmas.
On Saturday morning after a bit of a trial by transportation, she arrived safely at the train station only to have a delay due to engine trouble. Forty-five minutes later they were off, and it looked like smooth sailing.
There was some more mechanical trouble along the way and we would be off by about an hour and a half.
We planned that she would get off in Toronto at Union Station and get a GO train to Burlington where we could easily get her and avoid, if there was any, a Saturday before Christmas rush.
The wall plugs were not working on the train so her computer battery ran down and that communication died. The Wi-Fi was out as well. Her phone battery was on its way out and there was no way to rejuvenate that either. We used text to communicate at this point so we knew what was going on.
My wife had been ill and had ear infections and decided to take a nap before we had to go. We had a few hours left before we would have to leave.
I went to use the computer, having just reinstalled it into our partially restored home office when the phone rang. My daughter was calling. The train stopped in Oshawa, Ontario and could go no more as there was a fatality on the tracks! Basically, that was the end of the line for at minimum, two hours! It may continue after that but there was no assurance.
I woke my wife up, who had been sleeping for ten minutes, and told her we were going to Oshawa, even though I had no idea where it was or how far. My other daughter did a MapQuest while I went to get gas. We took the GPS and left.
It’s about 75 miles and the traffic was about what one could expect driving around Toronto on a Christmas Saturday, just awful! However, we never stopped for a minute! We were there in an hour and a half, about 15 minutes after the train left for Union Station!
A brief stop at Burger King and we were off to home, It was another hour and a half without incident, but our planned Chanukah dinner (belated) was put off yet another day.
It was an unforgettable journey to surely make for a more well rounded Christmas.
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