A Tale of Two Blisters (TR 07/26-08/09..VB and OKW)

[tiferetsix]

It was the best of times (mostly), it was the worst of times (blisters, pain of) it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief (in magic) , it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light (and heat and humidity), it was the season of Darkness (and thunderstorms); it was the spring (summer) of hope, it was the winter (summer) of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us (except for huge tour groups from Brazil); we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way. We were all going on Space Mountain.......

(my apologies to Mr Dickens)

And now, without further ado, is my..........drum-roll please.....trip report.

Featuring:

dh. mild mannered and extremely easy going. in desparate need of a vacation. one where he needn't do anything but sit around a pool nursing a frosty beverage.
ds. 10 and easy going. mostly.
dd. 7 and not so easy going. has her daddy wrapped round her little fnger. and she knows it.
and me. compulsive planner / organiser. not very good at lying around a pool with a frosty beverage. (Suppose we need to drive somewhere later????) Although put said frosty beverage in my hand and I tend to calm a little.​

So, early early on Saturday 26th July we depart from PA to Lorton (Virginia? West Virginia?? not sure which) to catch the auto train. Last check in for train in 2pm. According to the GPS it is a 3 hour drive. So we leave at 6am......

Hmmmmm.........

An uneventful 3 hours later we arrive at Lorton. WAY too early. And head off in search of breakfast. Eventually find a Dennys. Tucker up and head back to the car and back to Lorton. We are 5th in line to check in for the auto train. Tell dh (who is bemoaning the sleep he could have had) that we will probably be first off the train at the other end. And start attempting to keep the kids amused.

Evil gift store at station attracts kiddies attention. Full of all the rubbish evil gift stores sell. DD wants to buy ugly plush penguin (why? we are going to a world where plush creatures ooze from every ride exit. why a penguin??? why now???????) DH tells her we will buy it on the way back if she still wants it.

Eventually board train. Which leaves early. Yeah! Everyone at the proper level of excitement. (Train also has power sockets at every seat so we can keep gameboys charged for the duration)

Stare out of the window for a while. Then its time for our dinner sitting. Decide against rushing with the initial stampede and wait for the second call. Then discover why there was an initial stampede. Amtrak had issued too many tickets for the 7pm dinner and there aren't enough seats. Eventually get seated and settle upon Beef Goulash. With mashed potatoes. And vegetables. Hmmmm, where to start on this gastronomic delight??? Well the potato wasn't real potato. And the goulash could at best be described as beef in gravy. Feeling less than full we return to our seats for a very long night.

I am too tall to comfortably sleep in a sleeper seat. My legs have to be bent and its not good. Slept fitfully in 30 minute sessions throughout the night until heading down to the the lounge for coffee at 5.30am. Find all the clever people sleeping here wrapped around tables. Feel jealous. Drink coffee and stare from the window trying to work out where we are. Eventually see a building marked Savings Bank of FL (or something like that). Hurrah. We are in the sunshine state.

Eventually rest of train comes to life. Guards announce we will be arriving early. At about 7.30am. But that the station won't be open until after 8 so we'll all have to sit on the train.

Joy.

Finally deboard the train and join the crush of people anxiously waiting for their cars. Waiting. Waiting. (Crikey its hot) Waiting. People start to thin out. Amtrak person announcing cars lets us know theres only about 30 cars left. Waiting. Waiting. 10 cars to go. Waiting. Waiting. 3 cars to go. Then finally, ours. The car before the last car. (Gave dh my "don't you DARE say a word" face).

Plug the address at Vero Beach into the GPS and off we head.

.....to be continued

 

[tiferetsix]

So we start the drive down blindly relying on the GPS. And then we realise something quite important....our EZ Pass doesn't work in FL. Heading rapidly toward a toll booth and I start scrambling around for cash......find enough to pay (just) and then a few miles later hit another. Bad mommy moment. In my handbag is a birthday card for my daughter from my mother. I know there is cash in the envelope. Desparate times call for desparate measures and I break into the envelope. Hanging head.

Anyway pretty uneventful drive down, we start ignoring the GPS just before Cocoa Beach and hit the A1A. A brief stop for Boogie Boards and Sand Castle making equipment and we get to VB at about 1pm. And obviously the room occupancy gods were smiling on us that day because our room was ready. Hurrah. Because after 16 hours on a train we all need showers. Pretty badly. (tmi?)

(Oh and its raining. Pretty heavily. Now I KNOW I should expect rain every day in FL in the summer but last year we were spoilt rotten and I think it rained twice throughout our entire vacation.)

Anyway rain eventually clears and we all head in the direction of the pool. VB pool is great. Kids love the slide. And get very excited at the prospect of the organised Water Slide Races. DH finds the refreshment stand and is soon clutching a frosty beverage and looking happy. Few more frosty beverages and we check out the beach. DS loves it. DD gets knocked over by a couple of waves and decides the pool is more fun and not as "messy".

Nice dinner in the restaurant onsite. Signed the kids up for the fishing class the next morning and an early night for us all (no-one slept well on the train).


As an aside here are my top tips for travelling by auto-train.

1. Bring your own pillow. Amtrak tell you they supply you with a pillow and a blanket. And I guess they do, IF you live in a world where pillows are six inches square with the merest hint of filling.

2. Bring your own blanket. As with the pillow, the Amtrak blanket is sized for Barbie dolls rather than humans.

3. Bring your own food. And DO NOT order the Beef Goulash thinking "hmmm that sounds yummy".

4. Bring a large bucket of patience. There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, more frustrating than arriving at your destination and having to sit on the train while you wait for the station to open.

5. Do not expect to sleep. If you can contort yourself into a position that it is possible to sleep in you will still have to deal with the constant juddering of the train, the never ending opening and closing of the doors, people walking up and down (and stumbling into you as the train judders) and snoring from your fellow passengers. Because the people who can fall asleep in a coach seat on Amtrak are the same people who have mastered snoring at a decibel level second only to a DC10 landing on your head.

Of course you could not be such cheapskates as us and buy a sleeper car!!!​

 

[winkers]

I love your title!

And the ode to Dickens...........while it might have made him turn in his grave, he was surely smiling while doing it!

 

[ILuvCrush]

I'm in!!
your TR so far is hilarious!!!!

We took the Auto Train once too (we're also in PA approx 3-3&1/2hr away)
b/c DS is too chicken to fly!!
Our experience was really similar...got there too early, arrived in FL before the station opened...waited til nearly last to get our car!!!LOL!!

However I had the chicken and rice...which was pretty good..considering I think it's all precooked and microwaved!!

Can't wait to hear more!
Paula

 

[jmskinner]

I'm in!

Isn't that the way it always is. You think, "hey, first to get here, first to leave". Everytime, we end up being the last!