Riding the Rails

My next bright idea was to take the Auto Train to Florida instead of driving. The longest solo road trip I've done with the kids is 600 miles, and that distance took an entire day. It is doable, but I was a bit leery of an overnight stop with 3 kids at a highway hotel. When I found out about the Auto Train, I was thrilled. Amtrak loads up your car, and then they transport you and your vehicle to Sanford, FL overnight. Meals are included, as are snacks, soft drinks, wine and movies. And the best part is that someone else is driving the 900 miles. All for about the same cost as a hotel, gas and meals if I drove myself. Sold!

We arrived at the station around 12:30 for a 2:30 boarding time, and we killed time watching them load cars, making lots of trips to the bathrooms (with 3 kids, someone always needs to go!) and playing on the tiny playground.

Once on board the train, Chris and Caitlyn quickly settled in with their video games. Caitlyn got a Leapster 2 as an early birthday present, and so far, it is working out great for long trips. I gotta say, as much as I hate how technology is taking over her generation, it was nice to have the two of them occupied.

Lorelei, on the other hand, was an absolute bear! She woke up at 6:30 that morning, and did not take a nap at all. The combination of no nap, new molars and a delay that kept us from departing for 2.5 hours after our scheduled 4 pm departure made for one cranky kid. I felt bad for her, but at least all the passengers were informed that since the train was half empty, we could move anywhere we liked. Unfortunately, the lady behind us preferred to stay put and just complain about the whining. I wanted to turn around and tell her, "Look, woman. The conductor said you could move to any car you want to. Me? I'm her mom, so I'm stuck here, but why don't you take your complaints and get out of here? I'm doing everything I can!"

5 pm rolled around, and even though we weren't rolling anywhere, we were still able to head to the dining car for dinner. I was surprised at the quality of the food. It wasn't great, but it was comparable to Applebee's. And the complimentary carafe of white wine on our table took the edge off my worn-thin nerves that resulted from trying to console Miss Grumpy for 4 hours. The kids all perked up with their chicken tenders, mac and cheese and veggies, and they even consented to try wax beans with the result being that they like them!


After dinner, we tromped back to our seats, and lo and behold, the train began to move!! As we left the station, Lorelei cheered and shouted, "Mickey!!! Coming!!!" Chris didn't talk since he was engrossed in his game, and Caitlyn stood at the window and solemnly waved, "Good-bye, Virginia. I love you, and I'll miss you until July." Great excitement over seeing Belle ensued once I reminded her that Disney lay at the other end of the track.

Around 7, Lorelei hit full scale tantrum mode. She was utterly inconsolable, and I resorted to holding her tightly against me as I rocked and swayed with the train. We stood up and walked a bit, and slowly her screams quieted into the sobbing hiccup cries of a baby who has worn herself out. Blissfully, after nearly an hour of screaming while most of our car was at the 7pm dinner, she fell asleep in my tingling, sleepy arms. I carefully laid her down, and she slept soundly until 4 am, when she woke up for a few brief minutes of toddler conversation.

Chris and Caitlyn fell asleep around 9 pm, stretched out across 2 seats apiece. I curled around the bit of our row that Lorelei left and was able to sleep for about an hour at a time. The mama bear instinct would not let me sleep too soundly due to the fear of strangers snatching my kids from their chairs, though where they would go on a moving train in the middle of the night, I don't know. Then again, the constant waking might have had more to do with the fact that it is hard to get too comfortable when the two semi-reclined positions I had available to me either put my legs to sleep or placed hard metal directly into the small of my back. Maybe next time, I'll spring for a sleeper car.

The next morning brought an early wake-up and continental breakfast in the dining car. Since we were going to be 2.5 hours late arriving, the kids and I got to watch a movie in the lounge, and the girls colored some gorgeous works of art with the awesome princess crayons our friend, Jenny, brought them for the trip.
When we finally pulled into the Sanford, FL station, we were all more than ready to put our train adventure behind us! We clambered down from the car and shuffled into a hot, crowded waiting room to watch for our vehicle. Apparently, karma felt I needed a break after the long prior day with Lorelei because our car was one of the first 20 or so off the train! In no time, we were headed down the road to Orlando, where Mickey and pals await our crew.

Next up--junky plastic Disney toys, dining with dinos and our steal of a deal on lodging!