Scenes from a Roadtrip (Read 8,374 times)

[André DiMera]

Chapter 22

Over the next several weeks, Ciara and Claire traveled through the west coast of the U.S. They went to Portland, Oregon, and met up with Chase and Aiden once more. They traveled down to California, seeing all of the sights that they could, including the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco was a particular favorite spot of theirs. After that, they took a boat trip to Hawaii, and traveled the islands for a week. From California, they next went to Nevada. Among the stops there was Las Vegas. Though, neither one was old enough to play the slots, they enjoyed seeing what it was like, as well as watching the shows. Afterwords, they went to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. They took a camel ride down and back. Then, they traveled back north for a while to Wyoming. There, they went to Yellowstone and looked around at things. Then, they made their way into the mountains of Colorado, which is where we meet up with them.

CAR
CIARA: A mountain railway?
CLAIRE: Yep.
CIARA: What is that?
CLAIRE: Well, this is just a guess, but I think that it's a railway which climbs mountains.
Ciara rolled her eyes. Claire laughed.
CIARA: I gathered that, smarty. What I mean is, how does that work? Surely an engine's wheels would slip and the slope would be too steep.
CLAIRE: Their wheels don't slip, and don't call me Shirley.
CIARA: But, how does it work?
CLAIRE: It's called a Cog Railway.
CIARA: What does that mean?
CLAIRE: You know what a normal engine's wheels look like, yes?
CIARA: Yeah.
CLAIRE: Well, the driving and breaking wheels on this railway have little spokes, or cogs, which fit into tiny holes along the rails, and keep the engine from slipping. They help the engine stay on the rails when going up, but also help it to break when it's going down and stop it going too fast. It's also known as a rack-and-pinion rail.
CIARA: Ah, I see. Sounds cool.
CLAIRE: It is. When I was a kid, my parents and I stopped in Wales for a few months, and there was a similar railway there.
CIARA: Nice.

PIKES PEAK – MANITOU SPRINGS, COLORADO
The girls had gotten their tickets and were waiting in line to get on board a train. They looked up in amazement at the huge mountain standing before them.
CLAIRE & CIARA: Whoa!
CIARA: So, this is the tallest mountain in the U.S.?
CLAIRE: No, but it's the tallest mountain that a person can safely go up.
CIARA: How high is it?
CLAIRE: 14,114 feet.
Ciara whistled.
CLAIRE: Yep. and we're about to see why. Are you as excited as I am?
CIARA: Definitely. Let's go!
A railcar had just pulled up into the station. Ciara and Claire got in, as did the other passengers who were there. Then, they set off up the mountain.

[heroicmuse]

I loved the banter almost as much as the excitement of going up a super tall mountain!

[Kpatch]

Ciara and Claire are hitting all the high points! High points, get it?

[fluffysmom]

The railroad ride sounds fun and scary all at once.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 23

PIKES PEAK
The train was slowly going up the mountain. Before getting on the train, Ciara and Claire had both grabbed information leaflets and were reading through them, while also looking out the window. A train going down the mountain passed them. On their other side, was a large waterfall.
CLAIRE: That's Minnehaha Falls.
CIARA: Cool!
The train went through a small, natural gateway.
CLAIRE: Whoa!
CIARA: If I'm reading this correctly, the gateway is called Hell's Gate.
The girls shivered.
CIARA: I mean, it's just a natural rock formation. But, still, the name is creepy.
CLAIRE: Totally!
They saw mule deer, marmots and several other animals on their way up the mountain. After a few hours, the train finally made it to the summit.

SUMMIT STATION
Claire, Ciara and all of their fellow passengers walked in.
CLAIRE: Are you as hungry as I am?
CIARA: Definitely!
The girls waited in line to get some food. They had been told when they got there that if they wanted food, they should get in line as soon as they could, as the food service closed twenty minutes after they got there. Luckily, the girls were able to get some food, and walked around, taking in the majestic mountains of Colorado.
CLAIRE & CIARA: Wow!
CIARA: This is so gorgeous!
They walked over to the north side of the mountain, which featured a huge drop-off.
CLAIRE: I take it that this is the Bottomless Pit that they mentioned in the station when we first got here?
CIARA: Looks that way, yeah.
Claire gulped and took Ciara by the hand. Ciara squeezed her hand.
CIARA: Hey, you're okay.
CLAIRE: I know. I'm not scared of heights anymore. Not really.
Ciara put her arm around her.
CIARA: Come on, let's go take a look at High Altitude Research Station.
The girls went inside and looked at all sorts of information about Pikes Peak. After spending quite a while, they heard one long whistle from the engine.
CLAIRE: Ten minutes to get back.
CIARA: Let's go.
The girls went to the restroom, then came back, boarded the train, and started on their way down the mountain.

PIKES PEAK DEPOT
So, the girls took the long journey down and were now back at the main terminus of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
CLAIRE: That was so cool!
CIARA: I loved it! Did you see those mountains?
CLAIRE: I know! So beautiful!
As they made their way back to the car, Ciara's phone rang. She picked it up.
CIARA: Hello?
Pause.
CIARA: Oh, hey! I was hoping you would call!
Pause.
CIARA: Yeah. We just got done at Pikes Peak.
Pause.
CIARA: Okay. Sounds good. We'll meet you there.
Pause.
CIARA: Bye.
Ciara hung up her phone.
CLAIRE: What was that all about?
CIARA: We're gonna go visit one of our cousins.

[heroicmuse]

Ooh which cousin I wonder? Also wonder if Marlena's family is still in Colorado.

[Kpatch]

These girls get around!

I'm wondering which cousin also. They have lots.

[fluffysmom]

The train trip sounds beautiful. The girls are having the trip of a lifetime.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 24

CAR
Ciara and Claire were driving along, on their way ti visit a cousin.
CLAIRE: So, which cousin? We have, like, 50.
CIARA: We do not have 50.
CLAIRE: Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. 40.
Ciara and Claire laughed.
CLAIRE: Seriously, though. We have a lot of cousins. Which one are we gonna visit?
CIARA: You'll see.
They pulled up just outside a house.
CIARA: This should be the place.

HOUSE
The girls got out of the car and knocked on the door.
CLAIRE: Nice house, at least.
CIARA: Yeah, it's pretty big.
The door opened to reveal Eric.
ERIC: Hello, girls.
CLAIRE: Uncle Eric!
CIARA: Hey, Eric.
Claire and Ciara hugged Eric.
ERIC: Good to see you both! But, I'm not your uncle.
CLAIRE: It's good to see you, too. And, you technically are.
CIARA: How is he your uncle?
CLAIRE: my mom is his half-sister.
ERIC: Oh, yeah. How is Belle?
CLAIRE: Last time I talked to her, she was good.
ERIC: That's good. Well, come in. Come in.
Eric led the girls inside his house.
ERIC: Honey, we have guests.
Jamie walked in.
JAMIE: Hi.
ERIC: Jamie, you remember my younger sister, Belle?
JAMIE: Vaguely.
ERIC: Well, this is her daughter, Claire. And this is my Aunt Hope and Uncle Bo's daughter, Ciara. Girls, this is Jamie Caldwell Brady, my wife.
CLAIRE: Nice to meet you.
JAMIE: You too.
Jamie and the girls shook hands.
CIARA: Oh, yeah. I think my parents and I were at your wedding. But, that was years ago.
ERIC: You know, I think you might have. Either way, Jamie is an old friend of my sister, Sami.
CIARA: Cool.
ERIC: So, how are you two?
CLAIRE: We're good. How are you?
ERIC: Really good.
JAMIE: Good, thanks. How was Pikes Peak?
CIARA: It was awesome!
CLAIRE: So cool! We loved it!
ERIC: How long are you guys in town for?
CLAIRE: Not sure, really.
CIARA: Probably a couple of days. We're gonna go down to Colorado Springs tomorrow and see that cattle ranch you mentioned.
ERIC: Very good.
JAMIE: So, are you guys hungry?
CLAIRE: Yes.
CIARA: Yeah.
JAMIE: Well, let's go have some dinner.
ERIC: Sounds good to me.
The four left for dinner.

[heroicmuse]

Oooh so my guess was right about Marlena's relatives being in Colorado still, though I didn't expect it to be Eric. I hope we will see more of him and Jamie!

[fluffysmom]

Seeing Eric and Jamie was a surprise.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 25

NOTE: Because of the length of the audio clips in this chapter, the chapter itself is shorter. Enjoy the audio clips!

THE FLYIN' W RANCH - COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
The girls had had fun with Eric, and getting to know Jamie. They stayed over night with them, and spent most of the next day there. Around the middle of the afternoon, they left to go to the Flyin' W Ranch in Colorado Springs. They had found out that there would be dinner and a show, so they were excited to see what it would be like. Shortly before dinner was about to begin, a man got up on the stage and began making announcements. Click here to listen to them.
The man's name was Scott Vaughn, but most people refer to him as Scotty. When Scotty was done with the announcements and got off stage, the tables were dismissed one by one. Eventually, Ciara and Claire got their food and sat down.
CIARA: Man! Scotty was right! That plate gets hot really quick!
CLAIRE: The food's really good, though!
Ciara nodded in agreement. After dinner, Scotty and a group of about three other men got up onstage and began the show. The following two links are excerpts from the show:
Never Forget Your Anniversary
The Mississippi Squirrel Revival
There were several other stories told, and a handful of songs sang throughout the night. The girls quite enjoyed the experience, and were very tired by the time they got back to Eric and Jamie's house that night. They had had a great day!

[heroicmuse]

Ooh looking forward to hearing these clips later when I get home! Thanks André DiMera!

[gapeach]

Loved the welcome speech and the songs!

[fluffysmom]

Fun chapter. I'm looking forward to listening when I'm on the laptop.

Will there be previews André DiMera?