All Aboard the Auto Train!
Drive or fly? Those are always the options when we travel from Florida to visit my family in Pennsylvania. But one day, my husband got this crazy idea, and said why don’t we take the auto train. My typical rolling of the eyes and look of bewilderment meant one thing, he was going to prove me wrong and show me how this train would make our lives easier and dare I say a little more awesome.
Packing for our annual visit to Northeast Pennsylvania always stresses me out, why I have no clue. It might not be a budding metropolis, but it has all the same stores as Sarasota. However, I always feel I must pack day clothes, night clothes, summer clothes, winter clothes, the medicine cabinet and let’s not forget the shoes, close toe shoes, sandals, sneakers, etc. I know you moms are feeling me! Well, when you are packing for the auto train guess what, you can pack as much as you like! You don’t even need to pack in suitcases, tell your kids to pack their stuff and throw it in backpacks and garbage bags for all you care. You pack your car, and the stuff stays in the car! No weighing suitcases, or telling your daughter no more art supplies, just put it where it fits and away you go.
Our home is a little over 90 minutes from Sanford, Florida, where you will board the train. The train going North to Lorton, Virginia, leaves daily at 4pm. That meant no early wake up to head to the airport. We took our time packing, ate a good lunch, then drove to the station. Pulling up to the train station I felt a little uneasy, really, why didn’t we just fly or continue driving north and find a nice hotel to sleep at halfway? I think it was the unknown and newness to auto train travel that had my stomach doing flips. In no time I knew that this was going to be a family experience we would not be soon forgetting, good or bad.
We left our SUV with an attendant that would load it on to the train. He was polite and gave us time to make sure we had our overnight bag, phones, chargers and whatever else we thought we needed. Next, we headed into the station to get our seat assignment, here’s where it gets tricky, especially if you are a traveling family. We did reserve our accommodation online but weren’t sure if we booked the correct one for a family of four. Well, we didn’t and now we know. The ticket agent gave us our options and told us we could switch if we wanted, but we weren’t hearing any of it and stayed with our original room. The “suite” we had wasn’t sweet. I guess we heard family bedroom and thought that’s what we want, but nope, the family bedroom did not include a bathroom. We had to use the public restrooms down the hall from us, however because we were the only people staying on our floor, it didn’t matter too much this trip. We learned that next time we would get two adjoining rooms with private bathrooms, and on the second floor. Although walking up the spiral staircase to go to the café and dining car was fun for the kids, I could have done without it.
When our train pulled out of the station right on time, it was pouring rain, and I was happy to not be driving in the storm or waiting for a runway to clear. Your ticket also tells you what time you will be eating dinner in the dining car. We opted for the second seating that way we were able to go have a snack in the café car and watch towns zip by from the panoramic windows they offered before it got dark. The snack bar is stocked with candy, and your usual snacks but also has wine, beer and mixed drinks for sale. We made our train trip a no phone zone, except for mom’s pictures of course. We brought cards and Uno and talked to travelers and workers to pass time. We learned a lot; did you know Central Florida is home to the biggest orchid farms?
I wasn’t expecting too much from dinner service, I was thinking airplane food on a tv dinner tray. Boy was I wrong! The dining car was set up with linen tablecloths, well dressed servers and a menu that included fish, pork and beef dishes. We were served salads, the main course of our choosing and dessert. After dinner we went back to the café car and played a few more rounds of cards before heading down to our “suite.”
We walked into our bedroom with all the beds turned down. Remember we choose the wrong room, well another reason this didn’t work for our family, two big beds, two little beds. This might be ideal for a family with toddlers or smaller kids, but my 10-year-old is the same size as this 5-foot momma! Let’s just say sleeping was not the best, I felt like goldilocks in the baby’s bed. I don’t know if it was the excitement or the rocking, but we were all fast asleep by 9pm, or at least 3 of us were.
Waking up the next morning, we were already just two hours away from our stop. After getting dressed, teeth brushed and showered, we headed back up to the dining car. Breakfast service doesn’t require a seating time, you just show up. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. There is no menu to order from, but coffee cakes, bagels, juices and hot beverages were provided. It seemed liked a lot of passengers chose to skip this meal, we thought it was great, but maybe getting up at the crack of dawn had something to do with it!
With only an hour left in our ride we chose to go look out the big windows again. This time we got to see a military base, and some cute small towns with cars stopped waiting for us to pass. Now, it was time to go pack up. We got back to our room and all the beds were up and made, which made it easier to gather all our stuff. Each room has an attendant and ours was outstanding.
Before we knew it, we were pulling into the Virginia station. Getting off the train was a breeze, getting our vehicle however could have been easier. The train does have an option of priority load off, that means your car will be one of the first to be unloaded off. It does cost more, and we did think about it. We asked how full the train was and were told half full, so we thought well let’s save the money, how long could it take with only being half full. Well, it took over an hour! Priority spaces are limited and first come first serve, so next time we do know regardless how full the train is we will book a spot online for our vehicle.
Nevertheless by 10am we were on the road heading for Pennsylvania and would be in my hometown in four hours, well that’s if we didn’t make a pit stop in Gettysburg, but that’s for another post at another time. I think the auto train would be a great choice if you were heading to anywhere on the East Coast, or even the Ohio Valley.
I did have my hesitation about the auto train, but after the experience I will for sure do it again! We were pretty much well rested to start our vacation week and we didn’t lose a day traveling but we felt we gained a fun family memory traveling a new way!
So, the next time your required to decide fly or drive, remember the rails could be another option for you and your family! Also, another opportunity for making a wonderful memory!
If you go: