Leaving on a Train to Xining

Most people leave on a jet plane, not this family. Tonight we’re boarding the overnight train to Xining for our family vacation and excitement is at an all time high (we’ve been tearing down rings for weeks, each ring representing one day closer to our family vay-cay, each time we tore down a ring we did a dance/song…. So yeah, we’re pretty pumped). For our travel there we got 4 soft sleeper tickets, which are all in the same train compartment (a small room with a door). It will be a fun experience and we’ll try to capture it with pictures and video. Heather and I are slightly worried about the kids sleeping well, but we’ll see how it goes.

"This is what Heather and I are hoping for on the train. But it's also a poor example of how excited we are for our trip."

Over the past few days we did get a bit stressed about finding tickets home. I didn’t realize how difficult it can be to find train tickets during the summer holiday. It came down to the wire, but luckily some friends of ours were able to get us some tickets that are together, however they’re hard sleepers. And as their name would suggest they’re not as comfortable as the ‘soft sleepers’. The beds are also stacked three high and the compartment area you’re in has no door (so lots of guests!). We’re grateful for the tickets home, but we’re nervous about our return trip.

"Another poor example of how excited we are."

Once we get home from our trip it will be in no time at all before many of our friends and family will be getting back (as well as some new friends). Our new semester of school also starts only a couple of weeks after we return. It will fun to get back into our family routine.

with hope,

the petersons