Our epic journey by train
This might not be what some would call an epic journey (it’s not like we were traveling to Mordor, after all), but for my daughter and me, it was quite the adventure.
With the exception of yearly trips to Mississippi in my twenties, I can count how many times I have left Florida on my fingers, and have a few to spare. As for my daughter, this was her first long trip and the first time out of state. So I thought, why not take a train!
This choice was both everything I had hoped and everything I feared. So rather than try to fit it all into one post, I decided to split it into three: the trip up, the visit, and the trip back.
The trip up
There is something pretty amazing about riding on a train, watching the world stream by. Having so much unfilled time, a luxury that most of us rarely have, I had planned to write. But, you know what they say about the best laid plans. Still, there was a lot of fodder for the imagination. I had not considered just where railroad tracks are usually found. They travel through the more industrialized or derelict parts of a city. They cut through forests and backyards. Their stops used to be the bustling centers of a town; now they are historic districts in varying degrees of decay or restoration. All the left-behind places, the forgotten places.
There is so much I did not get pictures of. Piles of trash, dumped and forgotten: a bathtub, an old chair, a tricycle long outgrown. It is disheartening, maddening even, to see such things. But as a writer, there is another side to it. Every place is a story, little vignettes that flash through the mind as you pass by. A girl trudging through the sugar sand as she passes the red skeleton of the tricycle, half hidden in the scrub. A dark silhouette, tucked in the shadows beneath a stairway.
One of the bigger mysteries I saw was in the Virginia woods (I think it was Virginia). We would pass by these tall, red brick towers tucked back in the trees. They must be old because the forest had already reclaimed them. Sometimes I even saw walls of the same red brick, peeking out from the ground around them, making me wonder what more a little digging would uncover. If anyone knows what they are, please leave a comment. I would dearly love to know!
“Okay, Cari. But what about the train itself?” you ask.
To start, the train was delayed just over an hour. But there was an air-conditioned lobby and plenty of benches outside, so the wait wasn’t too bad. We were in a sleeper car, and when we were first boarding it felt a little claustrophobic. The halls seemed very narrow, only a little wider than my shoulders, so that I had to move down them at a slight angle. When I saw the roomette, it looked tiny, which, truthfully, I had expected. But the halls weren’t really as narrow as they seemed. And trust me when I tell you that I was happy for the closeness when I was walking around while the train was moving. The same goes for the roomette; once we were inside, it felt more roomy. There was not much room for stuff, though, and I wish I had known then what I know now. I would have certainly packed differently. Actually, I had a hunch while we were still waiting in the lobby, so I ended up rearranging stuff between our cases. I am glad I did because we ended up checking the larger case. There would have been zero room for it in the roomette!
The toilets and showers were not what you would call roomy. And let me tell you, trying to use them while the train was careening down the tracks was an adventure in and of itself! There was a toilet in the roomette, but to use it… Well, let’s just say some acrobatics were needed.
The food was tasty and included in the price. The dining car was comfortable and had great views. They also had a cafe car if we wanted a snack between meals.
Actually, despite what I mentioned before, there were some fantastic views to be had.
Because of the delay, we missed our connecting train in Chicago. That was a bit of a stress, but they got us on another one with little fuss (just a long line). And Union Station was something to be seen.
The trip up was an adventure! But before you go buying your tickets, I would definitely wait until you read what happened on our trip back.
Next post, The Visit.
Idyll Dreams & Nonsensical Things 