Tashi's Web Photo and Storybook

On the way home, we took the train. Stan doesn't fly because it hurts his ears too much when the pressure changes as the plane lands. It makes him temporarily deaf, too. This is a picture of me and Stan riding in the parlour car (which is the first class lounge car) on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train.

A kind of funny story from the train. We spent quite a bit of time riding in the parlour car. I laid down by Stan's feet next to the wall while he and Becky looked out the windows. There was this lady who came and sat next to Stan who was knitting a sweater. She sat her knitting bag down about a foot or so in front of me while I was just laying by my Stan's feet. Then when the train made one of it's longer scheduled stops, Stan took me outside for a hurry break. When he got up and gave me the "Let's go" command, this lady finally realized that I was there and that I was a real living, breathing dog. She told Becky that she saw my head and front paws, but because the sun was in her eyes and I'm black she thought I was a backpack, but one that had some unique straps since the buckles looked a lot like dog paws. After Stan came back in with me we all had a good laugh, and I was proud that I could be so well behaved that people wouldn't know I was there.

This is Stan and I standing outside the door to the sleeper car we rode in. This was during another one of the long stops that happen every few hours. I always get a chance to go outside and walk around for a minute or two and Stan always managed to find a landscaped area for me.

We spent two days in Los Angeles, CA on our way back. The second day, we rode a bus down to Santa Monica Beach. Here you can see me waiting with Stan for the bus, then riding the bus on our way to the beach.

This is Stan and I walking along the beach. The hazy color around the mountains in the backgroud is smoke from the fires burning around Los Angeles while were there. One of the biggest distractions was the seagulls and the pelicans. Small feathery creatures that walk along the ground and fly around. It was hard sometimes to pay attention to my job of walking with Stan. All of my genes and insticts kept trying to tell me I should go chasing the birds. I must admit, though, that Stan is more interesting than the birds overall. He kept telling me how proud he was of me, and reminding me to pay attention. Stan takes good care of me, so I didn't have too much trouble paying attention to him. He only had to snap my leash a couple of times and that was when the birds were so close Stan could have touched them. Geez, I'm only a little black dog!!!!

Something else interesting happened on the beach. A Santa Monica Police Officer came up and motioned to Stan to come talk to him. He told Stan dogs weren't allowed on the beach. Stan told him I wasn't just any dog, that I was working for him as a hearing dog. The officer asked Stan if he had any kind of license or registration to indicate that. Stan showed him the laminated card that CCI gave him when we graduated. The officer looked it over, gave it back to Stan and told him thanks and wished us a nice day on the beach.

Union Station in Los Angeles has a couple of really nice courtyards. Aside from the grassy spots was this one with a fountain. Stan posed with me for this picture. By the way, the pigeons are just as distracting as the seagulls and pelicans were.

After a full day of walking on the beach, I was glad to get on the train and into our sleeper compartment and relax with my Stan for the last part of the train trip home.