The SAM Shortline Passenger Train

The Savannah, Americus & Montgomery Railroad Passenger excursion train,

SAM Shortline for short, in Cordele, Georgia.

The boys woke up very excited about going on a "REAL" train this morning. I was actually really excited too. I remember going on the Heber Creeper as a kid, but it was not closed in like the SAM Shortline. We all got ready to go, and it only took about 45 minutes to get to Cordele. I don't think Hayden stopped talking about the train tracks and trains the whole time we were driving there. He wanted to get right out of the car and get on the train, but of course we had to wait until it was time, and we were asked to board. There were about 210 people on the train that day.

Owen, Chandler & Hayden in front of the HOG train that we rode for our trip. Each of the different passenger cars had a name, and was decorated from that place. We picked the Plains car by mistake and so there as a lot of President carter things all over the walls. Our trip went like this: Leave Cordele 9:30am, get to GA Veterans State Park at 10:00am, leave at 10:05am (just long enough to pick up more passengers), Arrive Americus 11:00am (layover 2 hours for lunch and site seeing), leave Americus 1:00pm, arrive Plains 1:30pm (layover 1 hour 15 minutes for site seeing, which in my opinion was about 50 minutes too long :) I'm not a fan of President Carter ), leave Plains 2:45pm, arrive Americus 3:15pm (drop of passengers only), leave Americus 3:20pm, arrive GA Vets state Park (drop off more passengers), leave State Park, arrive back in Cordele 4:50pm.

Hayden watching another train pass by before we can get on the track. This train runs along the same track as normal trains, so sometimes we had to stop and wait for one to pass us, or a train would stop and let us pass it. It was really neat. Walking on a train reminded me of my recent bus trip to the temple. I needed my bus legs to walk as the train rocked back and forth. I was nervous about riding backwards, so I picked a seat that faced forward. But on the ride back I decided to ride in the same seat, to see if I wouldn't get sick, and I didn't. It was really fun. There is a concession stand and a souvenir stand in one car on the train. And also there were bathrooms. Which I think was an interesting experience for all of us, especially with the boys.

This is a bridge as we passed over a part of a lake. I am guessing it looks like the one we were on. I tried to see it by looking out the window, but of course there were no side rails, so I got a little nervous. But the kids thought it was really cool to be right on the water.

This is the famous Windsor Hotel in Americus. It was originally built in 1892. It is a real working hotel and has 53 different choices of period style guest rooms and even has a honeymoon suite. The inside of the hotel was absolutely beautiful. It has been restored with over $8 million of luxury and modern conveniences.

This is the atrium inside the front lobby of the hotel. This picture does not do justice to how absolutely gorgeous this hotel is. I think the chandeliers are beautiful also. I wish I had a room big enough in my house for one like that. The light paint and the dark wood look very good together. It was so pretty I thought someone was going to come and tell me I was not allowed to take pictures. That is what happened to me at Pebble Hill. I took a picture of something in there, and the tour guide told me we were not allowed to take any pictures inside the home. OOPS! No one said anything here, so I snapped away.

This is Hayden in an old fashioned telephone booth that was in the hotel. The boys each had to get in and play with the telephone. I just thought it was funny so I tried to get a few pictures of them. My grandma used to have a modern day version of a phone like this that hung on her wall for years. We used it as her phone for a long time.Alright here is Owen, he actually picked up the receiver and was pretending to talk on in. Although he was too short to talk into the mouth piece since it was on the wall.Ok, now here is Chandler trying to reach the mouth piece. Little did I know it is really a working telephone. It calls the front desk. When we were walking back to the hotel to catch our trolley ride back to the train I picked up the phone to listen if it did anything and it made some clicks, then I noticed on the shelf it said on a note, "House phone lift to call the front desk". I sure hope my kids weren't calling the front desk and then hanging up. This is the Rylander Theater. It was built in 1919, and opened in 1921. It was called the finest playhouse south of Atlanta. The theater was closed for 40 years before receiving an extensive restoration, and re-opened in October 1999. The theater seats over 600 on three levels. And the restored theater looks just as it did in 1921. The theater now runs shows 280 days per year. They don't do movies any more, just live plays, musicals, etc. And most of the shows are for children, and summer camps. The camps are all free due to the number of grants they receive.

This is a totally restored 1928 Moller Pipe Organ. It's one of only two theater pipe organs in Georgia theaters, and was donated by a private organ lover. The keys don't work, only the buttons make the individual instruments. The organ was made originally for silent films. that organ was amazing. The tour guide would press the buttons and different instruments that would play from the pipes behind some shutters. It was awesome to listen to the songs play, and all the sounds it could make. I was totally in awe.

This is a picture from the front of the stage. There are three levels, but not many sit on the very top level. Being in this theater reminded me of the Majestic movie, with the old theater in there. I love that movie, because I have always thought it would be neat to buy an old theater to fix up and play old movies or new movie in an old theater. That is one of my dreams to go on my bucket list. :)This is Chandler in a photo op they had outside one of the stores. Everyone had to get in, and then I became the step stool for about 5 minutes until my leg started to fall asleep. Lots of kids kept needing a boost, so I just knelt behind it and let them climb up to get their pictures taken. It was fun and funny, my ice cream was melting and I was trying to stay upright and not fall over with a kids on my knee.

Plains was our final stop. Plains, Georgia is the home of President Jimmy Carter. We were there for an hour, and my dad and I were discussing that it was about 50 minutes too long to have been there. The town was just one strip of stores that had almost everything in them with Carters name on it. we could have walked to see his home and other places, but the kids were really worn out by this time. And you could buy peanuts just about any way you wanted them. They were boiled, fried, salted, peanut butter, peanut butter ice cream (which we had, and was ok. I don't think I would buy any to take home if I could, but we ate it). We just got back on the train after getting ice cream and slowly each of the kids took a nap. That is one good thing about the rocking of the train, it helped the kids to fall asleep.Here's Hayden for his moment in the spotlight in the Plains peanut.

Owen is doing the same. Say Cheese Owen! What cute peanuts I have. :)

Then of course it was my turn. I wasn't going to take one, but the kids really wanted me too. I tried to get grandpa to get in one, but he said he would rather not. So didn't force him. It was fun though. Here is our final picture we took by the sign that said Plains on it. Hayden and Owen were OK with me taking the picture. But Chandler was playing the pout card, and didn't want to do anything else. So he's not smiling at all. Won't that be cute for him to see later when he's grown up with kids of his own that pout and he tells them he never did. NOW IT'S ON FILM!

We really had a good time with grandpa. It was so much fun to find things to do with him here in Georgia that are close to home, and that we had not done before. The weather was nice and hot, but we still enjoyed ourselves. And it was a break from the same old of home. I felt almost like I was getting a mini vacation, since I don't get those very often.

Until next time...Hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did. This is like my online scrapbook & journal. Amy, Chandler, Owen & Hayden