Road Trip: South - inalnd trip
Day 1: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 - Lorton, VA
Weather: Low 80s.
Steps: 7,442 (Steve), 3,766 (Linda)
Drove: 149 miles
On our last trip down south - in 2011 - which also happen to be our last real vacation - we took the auto train to Sanford and returned via i95. This year we took the auto train again but for our return, we cut a little further west.
After breakfast at home, we set-up a buffet for the cat and then headed out on our vacation.
We drove to the train station in Lorton from home.
After we checked in at the station, as I am not much of a reader, Linda felt obligated to take a picture of me
reading while we waited to board the train.
After waiting a bit we eventually boarded. Last time we had a roomette. This time we upgraded to a room:
With our own shower (the shower head flex tube is in the image on the left). Admittedly it is a little difficult
to take a shower on a moving train:
Our porter / attendant Ayaz:
A little more space this time. Much more convenient than lat time too. This was the dinner menu
(I took a picture of it so we could read about it and decide what we wanted before dinner started) -
Linda had the lasagna and I had the beef, and we both had cheesecake for dessert:
We had dinner with some strangers, drank a little wine, played some Dominion and went to sleep.
For those who may not be familiar with the auto train: the general intent of this mode of transportation is to load your car on the train (in Lorton, VA) and then ride all the way to Sanford, Florida (the trip is offered in the opposite direction as well). When you disembark, you have your car with you - no need to rent one. There are four accommadations available: coach seating (which is just a seat), a roomette (a small private seating space that converts into a berth), a bedroom (a room with a seat and couch [which converts to a bed] and an overhead bunk, plus a private toilet shower [a small room that functions as both]) and a room that sleeps four (with no bath).