It is Friday and we are taking the bus to Healy. We will stay overnight and work the train from Healy all the way to the port of Whittier. This will be long hours but a fun trip, as these passengers are headed for their cruise. They’re at the beginning of their vacation. I’m ready to serve drinks all day long and cash in on some great tips too.

We arrive at the rail yard, clock in, and catch the bus. We get paid for this trip.

When we arrive in Healy, we take our bags to our room and catch the shuttle over to the other employee dining. Which is about a ten minute trip.

This dining area is luxurious in comparison to our employee dining. As we can eat at this location, we enjoy it and vow to do this more often.

I enjoy fresh fruit including grapes, peaches and pineapple. My main course is rice and grilled chicken breast. This dining area even has plates instead of the school lunch trays. It makes a difference for me, this little joy. I go back for more fruit.

When we finish, we catch the shuttle back to our lodging and head to the employee bar, grabbing a drink before bed. During training, returning employees talked up this bartender. It sounded like he’d give you a great deal. Not always charging for every drink. But I definitely am paying full price of every drink I’ve had. So I’ve switched to what I’m calling a Skinny Margarita. Which is a shot of tequila. Saving money and calories on the limes.

As the sun is now setting around 11pm, it’s imperative to keep an eye on the clock. The dark of night isn’t going to signal bedtime like it does back in Denver. (Side note – it doesn’t get pitch black of night here right now. Even around 1am, it’s more of a dusk).

Tomorrow is a busy day and we retire to our twin beds, falling asleep with the TV on.