Write Team: Travel’s worthwhile, but it’s good to be home

I don’t travel much anymore. I feel like my main place is home taking care of my cows.

But my elderly mother still likes to go see my sisters and their families, and I love being with those dear ones, too. So, we embarked on a train trip to Baltimore on Thanksgiving week.

For me, getting away means not only packing, but trying to get my chores streamlined for my son who will be taking care of the stock while I’m gone. It looked like an extensive list as I detailed my daily work. Of course, he took fine care of the animals and assured me I shouldn’t feel guilty for leaving.

I was apprehensive about changing trains in the Washington D.C. station during the holiday rush, but with patience and some helpful redcaps (porters), we were able to make our connection and then find my sister waiting for us at the Baltimore station.

I was so thankful to land in her comfortable home, full of plants and garden produce just like mine. Her tiny corner lot in the city is burgeoning with all kinds of flowers and good eats. She had just gathered her last tomatoes and was roasting them to make her homey soups and sauces. We sat at her table and shelled beans.

Two of her sons live nearby with their families. It was fun to reconnect with the ones who’ve visited us on the farm, and to get to know the younger ones I hadn’t met yet. I brought along a little photo album of the farm animals and family, and that warmed them up right away. Soon they were playing games with me and showing me things, which did my grandma heart good.

We spent several days, shared meals in their homes, walked about the neighborhood a bit. So many rows of neat brick houses, little yards, busy streets and so many people. I have trouble comprehending how many people live there.

Likewise, during our journey, we whiz by so many communities and see so many folks on the trains and buses. What we enjoy about train travel is the chance to sit and talk to people we meet in the dining car. With the fellow grandparents and teachers, we swap ideas about our favorite storybooks and historical fiction. There was the young nurse taking a long train ride home to Montana from Richmond since the plane trip out gave her a ruptured ear. Train travelers tend to be more relaxed and accepting of the time spent as we just roll along to our destinations.

The hard-working, mostly cheerful and competent staff of the trains and stations blessed us so much. Imagine balancing a full tray of meal plates while rocking and swaying with the movement of the train on the rails beneath. Figure if you could remain polite and patient at the information desk, answering endless queries from weary and frustrated travelers fumbling with their luggage and tickets.

The best was as we waited on the cold platform in Baltimore, and our ears perked to the sound of a glorious, operatic voice coming from a conductor singing his heart out to the classical music playing on the loudspeaker.

We joined worlds with our fellow travelers for a time. Now I think I’ll stay home for a while.

Winifred Hoffman, of Earlville is a farmer, breeder of dual-purpose cattle and a student of life. She can be reached at newsroom@mywebtimes.com .