Sorry I haven't had a chance to post this sooner, but I did want to post a review of my recent long distance trip across about 1/2 of the U.S. I have to thank everyone here for your advice and help preparing me for this, my first, long distance trip.
My girlfriend and I left PHL after a long, nerve wracking few days of preparation for this trip. We would leave PHL on the 19 Crescent. We arrived at 30th Street Station about 1 hour before departure and checked baggage. From there, went upstairs to the Club Acela lounge. I was pacing around like crazy waiting to get on the train!
The lounge attendant greeted us and told us he'd announce when it was time to go down and we could go down the private elevators from the lounge directly to the track.
Although it seemed to take forever, the time finally came and we went to board. I was so nervous to just get on the train so I could relax knowing I was finally on board! Once we got on, we were taken to our room by the conductor and greeted shortly therafter by our sleeping car attendant. Everyone was very nice.
I had a few rail books with me and when the conductor saw that I had Rail Ventures opened up he asked if I was a buff.
It was very pleasant to be finally on board where I could relax and just take in the sights. We went across the many waterways of Maryland on our way to D.C.
I got off in D.C. just to take a few pics of the train.
I know I was anxious to wander around but waited a bit longer till it was about dinnertime. I asked to eat somewhat late so we could enjoy our first meal on the train at sunset. The dining car staff was all terrific on the 19 train. Very funny, and made us feel welcome. We were even able to request to sit alone for our first meal and they complied since there wasn't a full car at our meal. For this, I left a nice tip which subsequently proved to be beneficial because for each meal therafter, we were always offered a table to ourselves. I had the Bas & Thyme Cod which was good, and she had the Cheese Tortelinni. We each had some wine with dinner which was our only expense and it was quite a nice meal setting.
I know I went to bed fairly early that night just from exhaustion from lack of sleep preparing for the trip! I woke up sometimes in the middle of the night and go off in Greenville, SC around 5AM to look around while they loaded up with newspapers, mail, and luggage.
Went back to bed, and woke up for breakfast. We both had the Railroad French Toast which was quite good.
Most of the day I spent gazing out the window at rural portions of Alabama and Mississippi. The only bad part of this trip occurred in Birmingham. We pikced up a crew of about 15 guys all out to have a good time. The bad part was they were already drunk at noon when they got on the train and it only got worse. They had roomette accomodations which meant they were in our car. Because they were all traveling together and they wanted to hang out together, they were allowed to sit in an empty bedroom to give them more room. The only problem was it was next to my room. They were extremely loud, screaming, cursing, and just plain drunk. I'm not one to complain about people being drunk (I know I had a good night on Burboun Street later that evening! :lol: ) but in that setting it was a bit upsetting. When we went to the dining car for lunch (I had the Angus Burger which was exceptionally good and she had the Chicken Sandwich), they were playing cards in the dining car because they couldn't get in the lounge car. That was not a pleasant dining experience. I couldn't really say anything to the attendant since I know he allowed them to sit there. I was able to take a nap and ignore as much as possible, but it was frustrating. It was almost upsetting since we had had such a pleasant experience on our first 22 hours of our first trip.
I woke up and got off to look at Meridan's renovated station.
From there, more gazing and anxious to arrive in New Orleans. We crossed Lake Ponchetrain at dusk which was a nice site.
From here, we spent the night in New Orleans and rented a car to go visit friends and relatives in Louisiana. We would pick the train back up in 6 days in St. Louis, Missouri. More to follow!
My girlfriend and I left PHL after a long, nerve wracking few days of preparation for this trip. We would leave PHL on the 19 Crescent. We arrived at 30th Street Station about 1 hour before departure and checked baggage. From there, went upstairs to the Club Acela lounge. I was pacing around like crazy waiting to get on the train!
The lounge attendant greeted us and told us he'd announce when it was time to go down and we could go down the private elevators from the lounge directly to the track.
Although it seemed to take forever, the time finally came and we went to board. I was so nervous to just get on the train so I could relax knowing I was finally on board! Once we got on, we were taken to our room by the conductor and greeted shortly therafter by our sleeping car attendant. Everyone was very nice.
I had a few rail books with me and when the conductor saw that I had Rail Ventures opened up he asked if I was a buff.
It was very pleasant to be finally on board where I could relax and just take in the sights. We went across the many waterways of Maryland on our way to D.C.
I got off in D.C. just to take a few pics of the train.
I know I was anxious to wander around but waited a bit longer till it was about dinnertime. I asked to eat somewhat late so we could enjoy our first meal on the train at sunset. The dining car staff was all terrific on the 19 train. Very funny, and made us feel welcome. We were even able to request to sit alone for our first meal and they complied since there wasn't a full car at our meal. For this, I left a nice tip which subsequently proved to be beneficial because for each meal therafter, we were always offered a table to ourselves. I had the Bas & Thyme Cod which was good, and she had the Cheese Tortelinni. We each had some wine with dinner which was our only expense and it was quite a nice meal setting.
I know I went to bed fairly early that night just from exhaustion from lack of sleep preparing for the trip! I woke up sometimes in the middle of the night and go off in Greenville, SC around 5AM to look around while they loaded up with newspapers, mail, and luggage.
Went back to bed, and woke up for breakfast. We both had the Railroad French Toast which was quite good.
Most of the day I spent gazing out the window at rural portions of Alabama and Mississippi. The only bad part of this trip occurred in Birmingham. We pikced up a crew of about 15 guys all out to have a good time. The bad part was they were already drunk at noon when they got on the train and it only got worse. They had roomette accomodations which meant they were in our car. Because they were all traveling together and they wanted to hang out together, they were allowed to sit in an empty bedroom to give them more room. The only problem was it was next to my room. They were extremely loud, screaming, cursing, and just plain drunk. I'm not one to complain about people being drunk (I know I had a good night on Burboun Street later that evening! :lol: ) but in that setting it was a bit upsetting. When we went to the dining car for lunch (I had the Angus Burger which was exceptionally good and she had the Chicken Sandwich), they were playing cards in the dining car because they couldn't get in the lounge car. That was not a pleasant dining experience. I couldn't really say anything to the attendant since I know he allowed them to sit there. I was able to take a nap and ignore as much as possible, but it was frustrating. It was almost upsetting since we had had such a pleasant experience on our first 22 hours of our first trip.
I woke up and got off to look at Meridan's renovated station.
From there, more gazing and anxious to arrive in New Orleans. We crossed Lake Ponchetrain at dusk which was a nice site.
From here, we spent the night in New Orleans and rented a car to go visit friends and relatives in Louisiana. We would pick the train back up in 6 days in St. Louis, Missouri. More to follow!
