I have long since returned home from what was supposed to be a whirlwind trip North, over Labor Day, and ended up being a lot longer than I had planned. But that's the way life is sometimes.
Night two on the ride north was spent at with my friend, Jen, and her husband Rick. They graciously offered a bed for the night, lovely dinner, pleasant conversation and a few too many cocktails! (my bad) The next morning I started out expecting to be in Hooterville, PA by early afternoon.
I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I was in bumper to bumper traffic the entire way from Richmond to DC. I was hateful. I exited 95 and made the rest of my way north on 270 and Rt 15.
Thankfully, my friend was out and about when I got there and I was able to take a shower and cool off--mentally and physically.
We went out to dinner at Nick's in New Cumberland for a fabulous lump crab cake dinner. Heavenly!
The next few days were spent visiting my son and helping him shop for a few things, followed by...you guessed it.... more Crab Cakes.(Gilligan's -Mechanicsburg) LOL I needed to get my fill because as much as I love Florida, they cannot make a crab cake to save their soul. I was treated to a family cookout at my sister's house with all my favorites and finally, dinner at Rock Bass with a friends, where, once again I enjoyed lump crab meat dip! (among other things)
Starting on Labor Day, I began receiving text messages from Amtrak stating that service was not operating (due to the Hurricane) as many parts of track hug the coastline. I was finally able to get aboard on Saturday---3 days after I should have departed.
The drive to the Amtrak station, in Lorton, took about 2 hours from Hooterville. I was checked-in and climbing on board by 4. I booked a coach seat on the upper deck. This is an inexpensive way to travel and my fare was $78 dollars and I believe the car (now loaded with the remaining boxes of my art work) cost $204. The ticket included dinner and breakfast the next morning.
Dinner is nothing special, but it's edible and included in your ticket. Breakfast is cold--but a variety of items: warm bagels, packaged pastries, cereal, bananas, milk, orange juice, coffee and tea are provided.
The seats in coach are very comfortable with tons of leg room. They are very much like your beloved recliner in that they really do recline back and also have a leg rest. Unless the train is extremely crowded, a single traveler can request a row to themselves. Which is fabulous!!!! I bring a comfy pillow and blanket to make it cozy in my row.
The train makes one stop along the way, in South Carolina, to change crews. They also allow smokers and people with pets (grrrr*) to disembark via one specific door. The stop is no more than 15 minutes.
*This is nothing against service animals, this is in reference to people that insist to the conductor walking through that their dog is the best doggie in the world blah blah blah and then the dog proceeds to bark and snap at every person walking past it. Uh huh. Unfortunately, this woman and her two misbehaving boys occupied the rows directly in front of me. UGH
I find that heading to the bar car and getting 2 mini bottles of "Jack" a Coke and a extra cup of ice after dinner is just the ticket to ensuring a decent night's sleep!
Arrival is in Sanford, FL and is about 2 1/2 hours from my house. The drive home was easy and I had the car unpacked, hit the grocery store and had the afternoon to spend at the pool. Ahhhh. Life is good.
Since that time, I've been playing outside as much as possible. We had sunny, Florida blue skies every day for a month. I regained my tan, reconnected with friends here and pretty much enjoyed myself. I am, of course, still working which gives meaning to that Huey Lewis song "Working for the Weekend". I do like my job but it's nothing compared to the weekend!
Last weekend, I had another wonderful 3 days. My friend, Julie, flew in from Texas on Friday and spent the weekend with me. We went to the pool a couple of times, spent a great afternoon on the beach and splashed in the ocean. We followed up these activities with great seafood and unfortunately, not so great seafood. Julie was able to indulge in her favorite beer: Yuengling! I also took her to the one, the only, Big Jim's for the best cheese steak of her LIFE! Yes they are that good and HUGE for a mere $12.
I invited her and her hubby back for a visit during spring training season as despite living in TX, they remain Phillies fans and the stadium is about 20 minutes from my house. (I know, if there are not already enough good reasons for living here)
So there you have it, the past month in a nutshell.
Despite Pumpkin Spice Everything announcing that Fall is here, it's still warm and sunny. The ocean water is still perfect for swimming. The days are getting shorter........but life is still very, very good.
jilly
