FL Day 1: Training Our Way South

  We were only rained on a little bit on our way to the train station.  Enough to worry us but not enough to cause any problems.  The station was a lot closer than I thought it was.
  The little carts they have for the motorcycles are really neat.  Those scoops in the front hold the front wheel while the back sits in that groove.  Then a bunch of strapping is added and hopefully the bike is secure.

  We did a quick lunch at Chipotle before settling into the wait area until it was time to board.  There was even a slight delay so they kept saying to ignore the recorded lady who kept telling us to board.
  I was excited enough about riding on the train that Bill upgraded us to one of the sleeper cars.  That means that we won't get to eat dinner with the rest of the gang, but it will hopefully mean that I will sleep better.  I was worried about sleeping while sitting up.  I will get to try that on the way back.

  It was really cool to get to see the inside of the vehicle cars.  I think it would have been really cool to drive up into it, but I understand the need for the motorcycle carts.  I didn't know that they were two floored, but it makes sense to get as many as you could.

  This is what it looks like entering our little room.  It is a lot deeper than I thought it was going to be.  There is another sleeper option with just two chairs and a fold down bed.  The two chairs turn into a bed.

  You can see the second bed and our closet from this angle.  The couch folds down and becomes a bed, it wouldn't be too hard to fit three people in that room as long as two don't mind getting friendly when they are sleeping.

  We even have our own toilet and shower!  It is pretty cool even though we probably won't be using the shower.  It is very similar to what an RV or boat would have.  It is very smart.
  There are 15 people cars, 16 vehicle cars. 8 motorcycles, 5 of which belong to our group.

  We spent most of our pre-dinner time sitting in the bar cart.  Most of the guys were playing Hearts while I knitted off to the side.

  Nothing to complain about so far.  I really like train travel.  I was even able to get the rest of my steps in for the day, you can't do that in a car and you can't easily do that on a plane.  I even talked to a crocheter who saw me knitting on the way back to her seat from dinner.  It was so sad that she forgot her project at home.

  We also had a conversation with this guy who lived in New Jersey for 60 years and is now moving to Florida.  He then proceeded to drunkenly tell us more about his life than we cared to know about.

  Dinner was quite good.  I also got the cheesecake for dessert.  The green beans were meh, but the potato wasn't dry and the beef was also well cooked.  The mushroom gravy was my second favorite part, after the baked potato.

  The conductor came to the bar car we had been in earlier and was hanging out.  When Bill and I showed up with a deck of cards, the conductor decided to show us some card tricks.  He was really good and I could have watched him all night.

  We then went downstairs to the lounge area to play more cards but ended up talking for a while and just hanging out instead.  It was a lot of fun and when we got back to our room our seat had been converted and the top bed pulled down.  I picked the top bunk because it meant that I got to climb up the ladder.