The Trip of a Lifetime

I had to share a conversation I had with my 80-year old father this morning by phone and he asked me to share this with you. 

"I had a dream tonight that really impacted me so much and I couldn't wait to tell my wife. Part of me was so excited to share the experience that I didn't want to miss out on any of the details as it happened. In fact it stayed with me so much and most of the dreams I have, I barely remember them when I wake up. So this one felt like I had to share it before I forgot. 

In my dream, I shared that my wife had gone on a small trip so she wasn't with me, and I was all alone. I had a ticket in my pocket for a trip I had been planning on going on for quite some time to visit Lake Tahoe. Today was that day. I packed what I needed for the trip and hurried to the train station. Upon arriving, I went to the ticket booth to find out what I needed to do to ensure I didn't miss out on the trip before the train left. I was informed I would need to present the ticket to the conductor on the train to make sure I was on the right train. As I was walking I saw the most gorgeous train, gold in color and it seemed as if light was emanating from inside. Almost surreal. The color was unlike anything I had seen before and that just made me all the more anxious to board. 

I could see a small line of people waiting to board, so I joined them anxiously awaiting my turn. I saw two of my friends that I volunteer with and told them to save me a spot while I was waiting for my ticket to be validated. Two men in front of me, started arguing with the conductor about the price of the ticket and how so much planning had gone into the trip. Yet one thing was required prior to boarding, and it was to share this trip with others before you got to go. These men felt it was too foolish to share their trip as they wanted to keep this special trip a secret and so it wouldn't be over crowded. 

The conductor pointed to another train headed for Las Vegas that didn't have the same requirements and in fact was actually much cheaper. Like this trip, it was all expenses paid, but they would get quite a bit of their money back, so they both wholeheartily agreed to change their plans. I watched as they hurried to board the other train, talking back and forth about how much money they were saving so they could use that to play some of the casino games and maybe win big. 

Finally it was my turn as I handed the ticket to the conductor and shared that I had told several people about my trip encouraging others to join me. I even motioned to the friends that we waiting for me on the train who had saved me a seat! The conductor smiled and punched my ticket and I sat with my friends as we talked about what awaited us in Tahoe. The trees, the beauty of the crystal clear blue lake, and just getting away from life to take an anticipated vacation. 

I heard the whistle of the train announcing that we were leaving and I loved that we had seats in the 360 viewing compartment so we could see everything as we moved along. The brilliant colors and shades of green from the many types of trees. The way the sunlight played among the branches. The colors were simply beyond what I could express as we spoke to one another about what we were seeing, as if for the very first time. The view captivated us for some long, that we arrived before we knew it. 

The train employees told us our bags would be waiting for us in the rooms, and there was no need to burden ourselves with carrying them. All we needed to do was check in with the front desk to receive our room keys. To our surprise and delight, we were upgraded to suites, with surpassing views and balconies for us to sit back and enjoy the view of the lake! We realized we were all quite hungry and went to the restaurant at the hotel and as promised, there was no charge as we had paid for it all in advance when we booked our trips. 

The menu was filled with all kinds of wonderful meals, from the thickest cuts of the best steaks, to fresh seafood and lobster. The desert bar was filled with anything you could possibly imagine. As we were enjoying our meal, the television programmed was interrupted by a special report coming out of Las Vegas. 

The city was enduring a record heat wave that they had never experienced in the history of the city. In fact most of the streets were empty due to the high heat so most guests had stayed in the coolness of the hotels instead. The number of hotels placed such a high load on the electrical grid, that the power plant had exploded. Yet that was not the worst news as firefighters rushed to the scene to put out the fires. 

Inside the hotels, with no power, and high temperatures outside, the doors had sealed the guests inside. With no air flow, things began to get warm. People started to panic and tried to get out of the hotel. People were passing out from the heat and many died from being trampled or pushed by other guests trying to flee the hotels. Even firefighters and rescue personnel were struggling to get people out. 

And then I woke up. "

I'm not even sure what all of this meant, but I felt I needed to share it with my family. 

What do you think my dream meant? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts