Those girls have grown up!

Yes, my three granddaughters are now all high school graduates.

Youngest granddaughter, Danielle Nicole Pray, graduated from Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, California. It was a proud and satisfying day for me. She is 18 years old. Danielle is registered to attend Palomar College in the fall.

It was a proud day for Danielle’s parents and her sister Christine, too. My son Rick Pray and his wife Dianne were beaming brightly.

My other two granddaughters are both 22 years old: Christine Marie Pray (Danielle’s sister) and Melody Carol Titcomb (my daughter Sue’s daughter.)

Rather than drive my motorhome or take my Ford Explorer, I chose to take Amtrak – aka a ‘rolling camping trip.’ Family, and friends who have known me for a long time recall that I spent several years taking train adventures – Amtrak throughout the USA, VIA rail in Canada, Mexican railways to Copper Canyon (Mexico), and the Bullet train in Japan. Riding the rails is in my blood – Grandpa Hunter and Uncle Willis Hunter were both railroad men.

I had an enjoyable ride. Left Albuquerque at 4 p.m. on a Sunday, and arrived in Oceanside, California, at 11 a.m. on Monday. I ride coach – what would you expect from a thrifty person like me? Both times I had two large seats to myself, and was able to put the foot rests up, the seat backs back and curl up to sleep fairly well. Not a perfect night’s sleep, but adequate.

I’m an early riser – usually heading down to the ladies’ lounge car about 5:30 a.m. to freshen up for the day, and then walking through all the coach cars to reach the observation car and the dining car. What a sight! Let me tell you, people were sleeping in various positions – mostly with their mouths open; sometimes an arm or let poking out into the aisle. As I walked through I took care to keep one hand on a seat back at all times – the last thing I wanted to do was to fall into some sleeping person’s lap as the train lurched along.

Here are some pictures from graduation day.