Today is Saturday, January 12th and we are finally going to Disney World!! After all the holidays and cold weather and sicknesses, we are soooo ready to go.
This is the 10th Autotrain trip (one way) for Rachel and me and the 8th for Jerry and Elizabeth. We definitely are liking the Autotrain!!
So we leave at our usual time around 12 noon and drive to Lorton, VA arriving around 12:45pm. However, there is a LOT of traffic and it is totally blocking Lorton Road, a main intersection to enter the station as well as to get on I-95. We have never encountered this much traffic before and my first thought is that 'something' has gone wrong. This is more than just heavy traffic, although our train is also full.
After an hour of waiting on the side of the main road, we are able to check in and inquire what happened.
Unfortunately, the northbound train from FL only arrived at 12 noon (3 hours late), Amtrak is short staffed b/c of the rampant flu going around and the Coach Lounge car broke down along the way and they were not able to fix it but had to off-load that train car before allowing any new passengers on board.
So 300+ people arrive to get off the train right as 462 people start arriving to get on the train. UGH!!
While waiting to board, we ate sandwiches in the terminal and Elie played with the other kids. Rachel slept on the floor ...hmm, what is up with that?
I give great KUDOS to Amtrak -- they did an awesome job moving everyone and everything around and we actually left on time! We went straight to the lounge car to claim a booth.
What a relaxing way to travel!! Elie and me
Rachel and Jerry
I mean, can you really beat this -- spread out in a booth, drink some wine or 3, play games, watch scenery.
Oh, and did you check out my lovely nails?! Yes, I got them painted a fire engine red (or hot sexy red as Jerry calls them!). I did a gel nail this time which was supposed to last about 2-3 weeks. We'll see...
This is the part of the trip that is so fun!! I mean, as we look out on I-95 and see the traffic or the bad weather or imagine ourselves cramped on a flight or in our vehicle, we are always so thankful that we are on the train. This is really fun!!
Or so we think ...
As we are playing games, snacking and talking ... Rachel announces, "my stomach hurts. I feel like I'm ...."