I hesitated to write about the accommodations for employees. But it’s part of the experience. And it’s my opinion. So I’m going to touch on this briefly.

The employee housing is past where the passenger’s disembark. After all the passenger’s have exited the train, we begin our cleaning and closing paperwork. We have roughly 30-40 minutes before we arrive at our location. From there we will ride a bus a short distance to the employee housing.

Many of my coworkers compare the accommodations to college dorms. Simple rooms with twin beds and a common bathroom. As I attended community college, I can’t say this is true. It does remind me of going to church camp in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado as a kid. Think lots of dark brown wood and paneling mixed with brown carpeting.

Let’s just say I’m spoiled as an adult when it comes to traveling and accommodations. So this was a shock for me. As humor is my coping mechanism, I start cracking jokes about being in a work release program. Laughing sure does soothe the soul.

We settle in and head down for dinner, which is an assortment of enchiladas. School lunch style trays and lunch line. I inquire about what I can eat being Celiac. I’m told the chicken enchiladas, rice and the veggies are all good. Avoid the bread. (That is ALWAYS what restaurant employees tell me. And can I say that I already know this? Haha)

The food isn’t bad. It isn’t great and it’s definitely not hot. I’ve worked in food long enough to know the heat lamps don’t really keep the food as hot as I like it. So I pick at it enough to know I won’t be hungry.

We go and clean our trays off, following the directions for waste, as they donate the food scraps to a pig farm. Then we head to the bar located across the hall from the dining area.

It’s nice to relax with an adult beverage after a work day. Employees laughing and chatting. I’m pleasantly surprised to be treated to a freshly squeezed lime margarita.

After a short time, we head upstairs for a good night of sleep. It’s an early 7:10am bus ride to the train in the morning.

(For reference I took a silly picture of the food. The rice was tasty. The employees are friendly and I appreciate that.)