AMTRAK'S AUTO TRAIN--WAY TO GO!

“This is going to be an ADVENTURE!” we declared as we decided to try Amtrak’s Auto Train to Florida. In 1996, I’d taken a glorious train trip out west with Michael and my mother—great lounge car, great dining car and service—so reminiscent of the movie Holiday Inn that I forced my reluctant and totally embarrassed family to sing “Snow” in the dining car!

Anyway, the Auto Train begins its journey in Lorton, VA, right off the I-95 just 20 minutes or so south of Washington DC. Check in is a cinch for the car and then for us. At check in, we book our dinner reservations for 7 o’clock. The station’s waiting room is spacious and comfortable. We explore a bit and read our books. The train is scheduled to leave at 4 PM, but we leave early because everyone is on board.

Our seats are in the Lower Level, a spacious car with no pass through from car to car. It seats 12, unlike the regular seating and pass-throughs upstairs, but there are only eight of us, four traveling together. Lavatories are right outside the door to the car, and the folks upstairs have to come down to them. They do that without disturbing us.

Seats are spacious, close to first class airline seats with plenty of leg room, footrests and leg-rests, a nice recline, pillows and blankets. I make myself comfortable, and within five minutes of leaving the station, I’m asleep. When I wake up at 5 PM, we’re leaving Richmond, VA. Rob gets glasses and ice from the lounge car and pours Jack; our companions bring down drinks and free bowls of snacks from the lounge car, and we get to know these people from Lancaster, PA and Columbus, Ohio. The man from Columbus originally hailed from Washington Heights. Me too. We laughingly recall Orchard Beach, Krums, Alexanders, Loew’s Paradise and Dykman Street. Small world, isn’t it?

The sun slowly sets in the west. There are houses we pass with big wrap-around porches and columns—southern homes silhouetted against the sun. It is a miniature scene from Gone With The Wind. As we pass under an overpass, I wave to a boy and girl standing on the side of the tracks. Rob laughs. “Ulysses,” I say, from The Human Comedy.

Scenes change as the sun sinks lower. How different from driving to Florida! I am relaxed; there is the gentle chug of the train’s wheels creating a hypnotic effect in tune with the sun. I enjoy my sippin’ whiskey. Life is good.

At 7 o’clock we head to the dining car and sit with Rob and Mary who actually live within an hour of us. They left their truck and trailer in Lorton and are taking their Honda Gold Wing for a ten day ride in Florida. The couple is our age and assures us it’s never too late to get a motorcycle. Hmmmmm….

Dinner is tasty—we both select short ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans, wine and apple pie à la mode. Unlike my prior trip with linens and china service, here the tablecloth is vinyl and the dishes are disposable. Only the cloth napkins remain. No one sings “Snow.” I’m told that the service I remember is available in the special dining car for those who booked sleepers.

We skip the evening movie in the lounge, preferring our car where we plug into our iPods (Rob’s is bluegrass; mine is very different) and make ourselves comfortable. I’m reading Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, getting deep into other people’s thoughts through her stream of consciousness. The train’s chugging music becomes part of my own rhythm. We’re in North Carolina when I look out the window to see the thick blackness broken horridly by a huge fire. A house is consumed in vivid oranges, reds, and yellows. I can even see the jet streams of water coming from the fire truck’s hoses. I crane my neck, pressing against the window to see life’s drama from afar as we pass protected.

There’s a real treat this evening—a lunar eclipse. We watch its stages. We’ve the time to keep checking. It’s something else a bit special for everyone in the car, and it offers lots of opportunities for discussion.

Gradually the train’s hum becomes a lullaby blending with my iPod’s sweet music. Next thing I know, it’s morning; my battery is dead! But I wake up to palm trees! For me that’s the biggest thrill in Florida. We’re late getting into Sanford, Florida, trip’s end outside Orlando, but we agree this is definitely a good way to come south.

At the station we are met by Hugh and Carol. Hugh is a friend from high school. He inadvertently caught up with me some years ago via the internet; he was playing chess with my cousin! Well, this meeting is very special. We have not seen each other in 42 years!!!!!! The four of us have breakfast together and spend a terrific time trying to catch up and learn about one another. I think we hit it off rather well, and I expect that we will see them again ASAP. What’s 42 years anyway—just a blip. But how great is that a way to end the trip? See, it is an adventure!

Please see my travel tips for hints on using the Auto Train.