Scootaloo and her family arrived in Fort Bragg late on Monday evening. Despite living in the same state, they had ended up getting lost due to the insistence of her father that he knew the way, and his dogged refusal to make use of a SatNav, GPS, direction finding app, navigation unit, or even a map! As a result, they ended up driving here, there and everywhere, primarily because Will had stated with the utmost confidence that ‘no, it’s definitely the next road onto the Interstate’, when almost invariably the opposite had been true. As a result, the family had ended up arriving at their hotel very, very late in the day. As Will popped the boot open, Cheerilee went over to get her case, and motioned for Scootaloo to do the same.
“Well, we’re here!” Will proclaimed with a smile, as he took his case out and a bag. “I told you that we would make it to Fort Bragg!”
“Indeed,” Cheerilee sighed. “And we are 3 hours late now!”
Will shrugged. “Well, the journey beats the destination, that’s what they say!”
Scootaloo tapped her mother’s shoulder. “It wasn’t much of a journey,” she whispered in her mother’s ear.
Cheerilee laughed. Will looked over to the two of them in confusion. “Something funny?” he asked.
“Oh no, not at all,” Cheerilee replied quickly. She had to think of a response or else look a bit odd. “We were...erm...”
“Discussing what to get you for Father’s Day!” Scootaloo covered quickly.
Will shrugged. “Well, that’s sure nice to hear. Come on, let’s get these cases indoors and checked in!”
The lobby of the hotel was nice and spacious. It was painted cream on the inside, in the typical style of an American chain hotel, and there were palm trees and a desk inside, positioned against the back wall. Will and his wife and daughter went over to the desk attendant, who was propped up by a high-backed chair.
“Hello?” she said, with a friendly smile.
“William Collins?” Will asked. “I have a reservation for the next 3 nights.”
The receptionist clicked onto her computer, and sorted through the options presented. “Ah, yes!” she said. “Room 343, for 3 nights.” She stood up and indicated over to the elevator. “You’ll need to use the elevator to reach the 3rd floor, where your room is,” she explained. “Then, you’ll need to take a right, then a left, then another right in order to reach your room.”
Will nodded. “Thanks!” he said. “C’mon girls, let’s go!” And he headed off in the direction of the elevator.
Cheerilee stared in disbelief. “Girls?” she asked. “Who does that man think I am, his girlfriend?” And she immediately followed in the same direction.
Scootaloo lugged her case in. “I was assuming he meant me.”
Cheerilee looked down. “There’s only one of you. It would hardly justify using the plural just to refer to one person.”
Will laughed. “What if I was using the Royal Plural?” He then paused, and put his arm around his wife. “Besides, you were my girlfriend once Cheers. Then we got married.”
The elevator clattered upwards, seeming to take forever to reach its intended destination, the third floor. But at long last, it reached the floor it needed, and the doors rolled open.
Will confidently strode out to the left.
“Will!” Cheerilee called. “The receptionist said to go right!”
Will turned around, and walked past her to the right, saying; “Just testing you, honey!”
Cheerilee shook her head. “Honestly, he never listens.” Indicating to Scootaloo, they headed into the corridor and after Will, who had in all likelihood got lost by now.
Finding their room, they put their cases down, and sat down at the table to discuss the next day.
“So, what time do we need to be at the depot for?” Will asked, looking exhausted.
“Departure to Willits is at 11:00 sharp, so it’s probably wise to be there before then,” Cheerilee answered.
“What’s on point?” Will added.
“Schedule says one of the Skunks, if we are lucky,” Scootaloo added.
“Skunk?” Cheerilee was surprised. “Why is a skunk pulling a train?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “A skunk is a gas turbine railcar. They are so named because they allegedly smell bad.”
“I can imagine,” Will sighed. “Considering the time, shall we go out and get something to eat?”
They had a most satisfying meal, and went off to bed to prepare for the next day’s adventure.
Scootaloo was the first to awake the next day, and headed into the shower. The noise was enough to wake the others up, and within an hour of them starting (which was the time of 8) they were ready to go.
This was when the first disappointment hit them. They headed down to the depot to look around, only to see that the promised railcar wasn’t there. Instead, humming in the platform, coupled to three coaches, was an RS-12 diesel locomotive, rumbling away with the supposed departure to Willits.
“Where’s the Skunk?” Will asked.
A railroad employee walked over to him. “There were too many riders for the Skunk to handle, so we’re putting on a diesel working.”
“How?” Scootaloo asked. “Where have they all come from?”
“Track damage on the Willits end,” the employee replied. “We’ve moved all the passengers booked on that train over here by bus.”
Cheerilee blinked. “How busy will the train be now?” she asked. “We booked on this end in the hope that it will be quiet.”
“We’re looking at about 100 passengers.”
Cheerilee’s jaw fell open. “Oh no. My daughter is uncomfortable with large numbers of people around and-”
Scootaloo spoke up. “Mom, I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll just stand on the open-air car.”
“If you’re sure,” Cheerilee replied. “But if at any time you feel uncomfortable, just call me and I can help you, OK?”
Boarding time came at last, and Scootaloo took her position right behind the engine. At the allocated departure time, the cry went up the train: “ALL ABOARD!”
The driver blasted the horn, and Scootaloo started the camera. The loco rolled forward, but moved very slowly, and rolled across the crossing equally slowly.
Even when they got up into the hills, the engine barely revved up. The locomotive seemed to only be running in Notch 2, with barely any sound or speed produced. Well, the line was good if you liked to look at trees, but that was about it. Everything else was quite dull.
Scootaloo sighed. “Shame this isn’t a steam loco,” she said to herself, as the train rolled onwards up the grade.
Upon their return to Fort Bragg, the family were a little disappointed, to say the least.
“That was not value for money,” Will said sadly.
“It would be...if you like looking at trees,” Cheerilee groaned.
“Or listening to diesels doing next to no work,” Scootaloo added.
“We’ll know to avoid this one in future,” Will concluded. “Now, what are we going to do for the rest of our days here?”