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M-Y Family trip report, day 1: "The Adventure Begins"
Cast of Characters: Mom (me), Dad, DD (age 10, turning 11 on this trip) and DS (age 6.5)
Dates : November 4 - 20
Being a family of night-owls, we sleep late, get the van packed and don't leave NJ until 4:30 p.m. The first leg of our trip is a short one. According to mapquest it will take us 3 hrs from our home in Camden County to the Hampton Inn, Woodbridge, VA. With only one bathroom break, torrential rains and traffic around Washington, it takes us 4 hrs. But at least the mapquest directions are accurate and we have no problem finding our hotel.
We check in, put our luggage in the room, and start hunting for a place to eat. One of the places being promoted in the hotel brochure is the Super China Buffet on Jefferson Davis Blvd. It's nearby and still open, so off we go. As Chinese buffets go it is not too bad. I am impressed that even though it is long past the usual dinner hour the food does not look like it has been sitting around for hours.
Upon returning to our room we decide to change into bathing suits and head for the pool. It is now 10 p.m. and the pool is open for another hour. We swim for about 45 minutes then decide to return to the room.
We spend the next few hours watching TV, reading and taking advantage of the free in-room wireless Internet connection. While relaxing I hear a sound every mother dreads: "Mommy, I don't feel good" followed by a rush to the bathroom. DS, who was perfectly healthy just an hour ago is now feverish and vomiting. He spends the rest of the night dozing fitfully in my arms.
M-Y family trip report, day 2: "Riding the Rails"
In spite of having an 11 a.m. wake up call, housekeeping is knocking on our door at 9 a.m. I am not amused. DS has not slept well, which means neither have I. Thankfully, there have not been any further vomiting episodes. He still feels warm, but claims to feel fine. What kid on his way to Disney World would admit being ill?
It is at this point that we abandon our plan to travel coach on the auto train. I call Amtrak and find that for a couple of hundred dollars we can upgrade to two standard sleeping compartments. This will put us close to a bathroom, gives us some privacy, and keep DS from passing along whatever he's got to everyone else in the coach.
We pack up and leave our room at around 12:30. The Lorton Amtrak station is only two exits up I-95 from our hotel and we make it long before the 2 p.m. check in time. We spend time just exploring the station and snacking from our small cooler. The prices of food in the little cafe are ridiculous ($7 for a sandwich), so we decide to skip having lunch there.
We board the train at 2:30 and find our sleepers without difficulty. In a few minutes our attendant, Linda, stops by. She tells us all about where to find the bathrooms (there are 3 of them, all just a few feet away from where we're sitting) and the shower (next to the bathrooms). She makes notes about which dinner seating we've chosen, what time we would like our beds set up and tells us to signal for her if we need anything. She also mentions that until 4 p.m. there are free snacks in the lounge car.
(Side note regarding bathrooms on trains: They are small. They are very, VERY small. If you are a large person or claustrophobic you could have problems with these bathrooms. You have been warned. I asked our attendant if the train had any accessible bathrooms. She said the only ones were in the accessible sleeper compartments. The accessible sleeper compartment in our car was occupied. More about this on our return trip)
Leaving DS with Dad, DD and I head for the Lounge. The snacks are: veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, and some mix of pretzels, doritos and cheese curls. We each fill a plate and I also take a glass of the complimentary chardonnay. DD has thought of her sick little brother and taken a few extra things she thinks will appeal to him.
We read, we play games, we look out the window. Around 5 O'Clock DS falls asleep, curled up on the seat opposite me. He awakes nearly 2 hours later, just in time for dinner.
One of the services available in the sleeper car is to have your dinner served to you in your sleeper, skipping a trip to the dining car. This is what we decide to do for DS and I, while Dad and DD choose to make the trek to dinner.
I had chicken marsala. It was accompanied by a tossed salad, mixed veggies, rice pilaf, rolls & butter and cheese cake for dessert. It was all excellent. They also served wine with dinner. I was brought an entire bottle of chablis. I restrained myself and had only two small glasses.
DS only picked at his chicken fingers. He didn't touch the accompanying mac & cheese, only sipped at his chocolate milk and ate barely half of his ice cream. A sure sign he is not feeling well.
When they returned from dinner, Dad declared that his entrée, beef tenderloin, was also excellent.
At 9 p.m. DD and I leave the once-again sleeping DS with Dad and head for the Lounge car. They are showing the movie "The Terminal" starring Tom Hanks.
When we return from the movie it is time for bed. We opt to leave the upper bunk unmade. DS doesn't want to sleep up there and there is no way I'm going to. I had little hope of sleeping on the train and I am not disappointed. Even after we figured out how to put a Big Mommy and a little boy both in the same narrow bunk, the moving of the train has me hanging on for dear life. Not that there is actually room to fall out of bed, there is about 6inches of space between the edge of the bed and the door.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8
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