I don't think I can compete with the marvelous review of this episode by ExplorerDS6789, but I do have a few thoughts to add.
As he wrote, Laura and Albert have their brand new "best" friend, you know, the guest who is apparently a dear friend to both of them even though we viewers never saw him before. Dylan has a dream—to someday see the ocean. When his nosebleeds are diagnosed as leukemia the boy knows he will not live long and tells his dear friends that he is going to set out to see the ocean, sort of his one-item bucket list.
Albert insists on going with him, figuring Dylan needs help. Laura, decides to join the party and leaves a note—without saying anything about what they specifically are doing. She hides it in one of Carrie's birthday presents, but Carrie picks that one to open (who'd have guessed) first the next morning and so Ma and Pa have an early start to trying to find their children.
The traveling trio bum a ride off an old junk dealer thanks to a clever set of lies from Albert, to get to the train station in Mankato. Then, the man distracts the goon who beats up people he finds riding on "his train" for free, while the three kids sneak onto a boxcar just before the train pulls out.
Presently a man jumps into the boxcar, presumably from the ladder beside the door, having descended from the top of the train. He immediately seems to be somewhat insane, but when he spots the kids' sandwiches, comes over to steal them. Albert tries to shove him away—giving up 100 lbs to the guy, that was brave, though foolhardy. Albert is about to be thrown off the moving train but he grabs the outside ladder, and while the man is trying to grab him, Laura shoves him and he tumbles onto the ground.
Meanwhile, at Dylan's house, his mother figures out that her son has left to see the ocean. The half dozen paintings he made of ocean/beach scenes were what gave her the clue, I guess. Charles zips to the train station where the old junk man tells Charles the truth.
So, Charles hires a horse. He leaves his wagon behind because it is too slow. When he pulls into the next train stop he just leaves the horse outside the depot. Well, there was no check-in counter from the Hertz Rent-a-Horse Company.
Charles finds them near the train at the stop. When Dylan insists on continuing, Charles decides to make it a foursome. Only trouble is, he spent most of his money on the rented horse, so he can't buy them tickets. But, he has no problem with riding in a baggage car with the children, so they sneak back onto the car.
Later, while Charles naps, Albert leaves the boxcar, via the ladder and the roof, and enters a passenger car where he pretends to be buying food for his aunt. Albert gets sandwiches, eggs, and a container of milk, which he stuffs into a bag he has brought, then takes off without paying.
He gets away from the vendor, but the train guard spots him atop a car. The guard enters the boxcar just as everyone is about to eat. Before the guard can do anything more than threaten him, Charles turns into Rocky Marciano and KOs him in about 30 seconds of the first round, without the big guy getting in one punch. While the man lies on his back, conscious, but bleeding, Charles explains the great significance of their journey and why nobody was going to stop them.
Ending Spoiler: The gang arrives in San Francisco. Immediately, they see a carriage where one man tells his departing passenger that he is about to check out some property along the coast. Charles goes over and asks for a lift, and the man happily provides it. In increments, we hear the man publishes a newspaper, is Mr. Hearst, and his first name is William. Not only does he give them a free ride to the ocean, but he is so impressed with their story, he insists on paying Charles for the use of that story in his newspaper.
Interesting show, but there are so many problems with it that I cannot give it a high score. It was too easy for them to traveled over 1800 miles. There was no changing trains, and they encountered just one railroad guard on the whole trip. The carriage ride to the beach was too much.
I also couldn't accept that Charles was willing to go along in the boxcar. He did this while knowing that his family did not expect him to be gone that long, coupled with the knowledge that when they get to the Pacific, they'll have to think about how to get back home. Remember they still don't have money for tickets, and, based on what Charles said, spent his last money on the food Albert stole. He certainly had no way of expecting to come up with money the way he did.
I just couldn't fathom the way Laura and Albert ran out from the coach to the beach and then stopped about 15 feet from the edge of the water and stood there, while Charles brought up Dylan so he could go into the water, all alone. It's a big ocean. They didn't want to feel the water, check to see if it really is salty? That doesn't seem at all believable.
By the way, who in the 1860s named their kid "Dylan" anyhow? With all those flaws, I cannot give it more than a 5, which to me means it is watchable and interesting to a point, but not all that good.
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