We left the hill with a new sensation. Instead of regret in ending our rural idyll, returning to our suburban home, we were full of anticipation leaving the mountian retreat to begin an adventure. This would be our first real trip since retirement. The long awaited road trip to explore the country as we had often discussed. In preparation, I had traded up my fourteen year old pickup truck on a newer model. A truck cap over the bed provided added storage for the tools and supplies we might need during a couple of months away. While our first stop was to be a birthday visit in our old haunt, we were ready to purchase a travel trailer for the long haul across the states.
The drive South to Annapolis was smooth. The new truck handled well but there still was a learning curve on our part. Backup has been reversed, beyond first rather than fifth gear. New feature, a backup camera with the display integrated into the rear view mirror. Very convenient and a great boon to the hesitant operator like myself. Parallel parking is the norm on Annapolis streets and the backup camera continually came in handy.
k for a day at Procom but they were moving to a new facility. Packing and unpacking was not what he had had in mind. Instead he ended up rebuilding Rebekah's doorway, the molding and door latches of which had been damaged. How? Well that's another story... Francis was very disturbed by Rebekah living in a substandard situation with a broken entrance. A trip to the hardware store and our supply of tools put the door to right. Have dozuki will travel. In any case while I caught her up on the laundry and made sure G was collected from daycare on time Francis was the carpenter. Somehow retirement has led to traditional roles for the two of us.
There were several people we really wanted to see during our short stay, former neighbors and coworkers. We ended up meeting people for meals out. An afternoon we happily spent at the "swamp" with Margaret and Beth. At a pizza shop Francis had frequented while at DNR we met up with Rina and Erin. Finally, Jeff and Diane invited us to dinner for Francis' birthday, a lovely gesture. We asked if others could join us. Only Lars and Laura showed up. In fact they all showed up before we did. We were hoping Rebekah could get out of work on time and retrieve her son. She had to work until past nine. 
We had closed down the restaurant before she got home. Gabriel behaved like most hyper toddlers. He wanted to run laps through the restaurant and play hide and seek. While Francis exulted between two of his favorite females and Lars and Jeff discussed politics, I spent an awesome hour convincing Gabriel that proper behavior in a grown up place meant quietly sitting in one's seat. He curtailed his wails for his Mother once he accepted she would be even more annoyed than we were about his running around. G finally gave up, sat down and amused himself taking photos of Francis and snipping scraps of paper with my folding scissors. Whether it was the meal or my attention divided between large and small people, my entree seemed muddled. O'Leary's in Eastport is still the only "dinner out" in Annapolis. When we return in April we shall reciprocate there.
We had closed down the restaurant before she got home. Gabriel behaved like most hyper toddlers. He wanted to run laps through the restaurant and play hide and seek. While Francis exulted between two of his favorite females and Lars and Jeff discussed politics, I spent an awesome hour convincing Gabriel that proper behavior in a grown up place meant quietly sitting in one's seat. He curtailed his wails for his Mother once he accepted she would be even more annoyed than we were about his running around. G finally gave up, sat down and amused himself taking photos of Francis and snipping scraps of paper with my folding scissors. Whether it was the meal or my attention divided between large and small people, my entree seemed muddled. O'Leary's in Eastport is still the only "dinner out" in Annapolis. When we return in April we shall reciprocate there.
Having concluded our domestic and social activities, it was time to pack up and take the train. Rather than drive the 1000 miles to Fl we had booked space on the Amtrak autotrain. Last year I had calculated the vehicular and accommodation costs and concluded it was cheaper to take the train. There is no comparison between 24+ hours trapped in a compact car with a restrained toddler and being whisted along the rails with the freedom to wander between the rail cars. Instead of a day and night of nerve racking wails we experienced a happy giggles along the corridors and a child charming bananas from the bar man. Francis wouldn't wail of course but a day and night of scowls and grumping driving along 95 could be as nerve racking.
Off to Va. The autotrain has just two stops Lorton, Va and Sanford, Fl. The process is slow but efficient. You drive to a booth, receive a number placard, leave your vehicle in a loading area, go inside the terminal, receive a boarding pass and wait. Eventually the cars are loaded and you board to your assigned accomodations. The auto loading process is fascinating. Both cargoes, the human and vehicular are double decker. The lower car deck is at platform level while the upper deck has a ramp. Two train lengths together, the lower level is filled back to front and then the upper. There is an inexplicable sense of excitment as the cars disappear into the long cavern and the train staff remerge minutes later for the next. It can take two hours for five hundred or more vehicles to be stowed away. About the time one bores with the loading process, the conductor calls for human loading. There is coach seating, with seats resembling barcaloungers, and sleeper cars, compact space capsules for two to four.
We had booked a roomette, each takes up half the width of the rail car, with just enough space for two facing seats with a fold away table. In the evening the attendent turns the seats into a lower berth and makes an upper berth appear from the ceiling. With radio piped in, temperature controls, windows into the train corridor and to the countryside streaming by,it is the civilized way to go. A wine and cheese reception, dinner and breakfast are provided.
Off to Va. The autotrain has just two stops Lorton, Va and Sanford, Fl. The process is slow but efficient. You drive to a booth, receive a number placard, leave your vehicle in a loading area, go inside the terminal, receive a boarding pass and wait. Eventually the cars are loaded and you board to your assigned accomodations. The auto loading process is fascinating. Both cargoes, the human and vehicular are double decker. The lower car deck is at platform level while the upper deck has a ramp. Two train lengths together, the lower level is filled back to front and then the upper. There is an inexplicable sense of excitment as the cars disappear into the long cavern and the train staff remerge minutes later for the next. It can take two hours for five hundred or more vehicles to be stowed away. About the time one bores with the loading process, the conductor calls for human loading. There is coach seating, with seats resembling barcaloungers, and sleeper cars, compact space capsules for two to four.
While you can have meals served in your compartment, congregating in the dining car provides not only an opportunity to explore the train but also an oppotunity to explore your fellow riders. Both the trainstaff and the travellers can be fascinating. Fonda, who served wine in the afternoon and evening and coffee in the morning, was a seventeen year veteran with Amtrak. She, like the rest of the attendants, had had to earn her spot on the Autotrain. At breakfast and dinner, Kyle, was our waiter. The smiles, he and Fonda displayed, and the warmth in their voices truly made us feel welcome on the train. Our sleeping car attendant, David, struck the perfect balance between concern for our needs and respect for our privacy, just what one would wish of some one wandering into your bedroom.
On this trip I discovered that the meals served to coach and sleeper were different, potroast versus steak, baked versus chicken piccata, cod versus crabcakes. Hmm, if the coach meals are as good as the sleeper's there will never be class warfare in the dining car. The food is definitely on the caliber of a restaurant I would return to, our steaks were perfectly cooked with a piquant morel and wine sauce. Admittedly the wine selection was limited, just two whites or a single red. 
There were more options for dessert, ranging from a ponderously rich flourless chocolate cake to a simple scoop of ice cream or fruit. In the morning there is a continental breakfast, cereal, fruit, pastries, juice, tea or coffee. Throughout the trip there is self serve coffee, tea and cocoa and fruit and snacks in the bar/lounge car. There are even two showings of a film in the evening. Trains are the civilized way to travel. Would we find RVing to be as civilized?
There were more options for dessert, ranging from a ponderously rich flourless chocolate cake to a simple scoop of ice cream or fruit. In the morning there is a continental breakfast, cereal, fruit, pastries, juice, tea or coffee. Throughout the trip there is self serve coffee, tea and cocoa and fruit and snacks in the bar/lounge car. There are even two showings of a film in the evening. Trains are the civilized way to travel. Would we find RVing to be as civilized?