Wow, what a nice Saturday we had! As I explained Friday, my husband took me on a little private railroad car excursion on the Silver Splendor Dome Car, down to San Diego, where the weather was picture-perfect and we ambled nonchalantly along the waterfront, communing with the ocean, the ships, and the multiple henna tattoo stands.

And as promised, on the train ride down, I had my one cup of CAFFEINATED coffee, y’all!

Note the logo on the cup – “Currently Caffeinated” – so appropriate!

The rest of the trip I switched to decaf, but then when we were on the way back, I had a slip – oh noes! and had a glass of Diet Coke, and no, it wasn’t the caffeine-free version. And believe me, I paid the price next morning as I staggered around the house in a fog. So I’m either gonna have to stick to “no caffeine EVAH!” or use it medicinally, like one cup per day. Of course, the problem with that is I can never stick to “just one cup a day,” so it’s probably gonna have to be the stricter alternative.

Sigh! Oh well, speaking of being in a fog, I really should get to the weigh-in, huh? Okay, let’s get to it toot-sweet!

204.8

Look what’s on my plate!

And what was on MY plate (and my husband’s) for our brunch on the train was a delicious serving of French toast, sausages, and fresh* fruit (strawberries, melons, etc.), as well as real butter and maple syrup! (*okay, the fruit was probably frozen at first, but still, it was yummy!)

This was definitely a SPECIAL special treat, since (a) I gave up high calorific breakfast foods when I started this diet and (b) um, remember all that stuff I wrote about Meatfare and Clean Monday? You know, Lent? But we decided to jump through a couple of self-created loopholes: “It’s Saturday,” and “it’s a special occasion.” Which, technically speaking, aren’t loopholes so much as they are rationalizations. But hey, whatever works!

(And btw, we’re definitely not the only Christians who make these compromises: see here and here for some other amusing confessionals!)

So all in all, it was a very special day! And if you’re in Southern California, I definitely urge you to check out LA Rail and book your own private rail experience – it’s really a lot of fun! I’ll finish with a few more pictures from the trip … enjoy!

The Silver Spendor (left) and a Pullman car (right) also run by LA Rail, waiting at the San Diego station

John Caestecker, owner of this particular rail car – he and his family restored the whole thing themselves! Note the turquoise color on the walls – that was inspired by a blouse his wife Heidi was wearing!

Hubby Steve at the beautiful Santa Fe train depot in San Diego!