It’s my birthday and I’ll board if I want to

 Grant and I are finished with the smaller vehicles and are back aboard Amtrak: California Zephyr Train 6 to Chicago Union Station. Our roomette is one car back and one level up. Being on the same side means we see the other half of the journey. This car has the same layout but it’s even older than the one that brought us here. 

We spent a lot of time on our feet these past four days and our bodies are feeling it. I knew my knees would complain, but the hips joined the chorus early yesterday, even before hoisting the big bag. The cranky ankle from the header on the bus remains a background singer. As we began our quarter mile stroll this morning from the hotel to the train station, they all struck up a tune, suggesting it might have been wiser to alot  more than a half hour in case I had to crawl. But, this old tortoise made it with plenty of time to spare. 

The bay is foggy today but the sun has cut through as we head north, now crossing the Sacramento River and reaching the bay behind us. Our windows are clean for California! I suspect they weren’t cleaned in Denver on the way here due to it only being 7 degrees. We may see 70 tomorrow. They were cleaned in Chicago before departure, and so had accumulated some filth over the two thousand miles.