Page 29 - BoringStoriesPolyKidswArtwork_Neat

However, if they said that he could “climb the walls” it must be so.

Our train ride across the United States was simply marvelous and a great
learning experience since our parents allowed us to have the run of the train.
We delighted in running the length of the train and back! Especially exciting
to us was the experience of crossing from one car to another via the
overlapping metal boardwalks. They jiggled and shook and the noise on
those platforms was deafening. We even made our way to the very back of
the train where we discovered a small porch from which we could watch the
rails recede behind us. Traveling across the country meant we spent several
days on the trains. We especially enjoyed it when the attendant would come
and convert our seats into upper and lower bunks. There was a small net
hanging from the wall in which you could place your bathrobe and toiletries.
Only a curtain separated us from the aisle and the other passengers. At the
end of each car, there was a large bathroom where you could change into
your bedclothes and brush your teeth. We also loved the dining car with its
formal, white tablecloths and scrumptious meals.

On our cross-country jaunt, we swung by the Midwest and visited our
father's brother and his sisters at the family farm. While at the family farm,
many of our relatives that lived near by gathered for a reunion. It was very
hot at the farm, but we were able to enjoy the taste of ice-cold watermelon
for the first time. The one they served was larger than Elaine!

From there we spent some time with our aunt and her husband at a farm not
too far away in another state. They had a picturesque setting for their farm!
The gravel roadway to their farm made a graceful curve around the
farmhouse and entered into a large open area at the back. Our uncle was a
huge man with strong and weather-beaten features, had the neatest farm
tools and machinery scattered all around his back yard. There were huge
tractors with metal tires, all types of machinery and even a gasoline pump
like the ones at the service stations.
From the Midwest we got back on the train and went to Texas to visit the
founder of the college in Puerto Rico at which my father worked. That was a
real experience! The family lived in a ranch house at the center of a complex
of corrals. We were able to experience the branding and polling of cattle,
horses and rattlers. It was a very enjoyable and educational visit.

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