8:10 first train ride of the day, Taking the F train from my local station,
transfer at Jay St for the A train that takes me right into Penn Station.
My parents are coming with me to see me off.

We arrive at NY Pennsylvania Station at 9:10 am, and head towards the Acela
Lounge. Since I have a sleeper car upgrade, I am traveling first class and
this is one of the amenities. My train leaves at 11:08. Inside the Acela
lounge is also free internet whether via pc or Wifi., as well as
complimentary hot and soft drinks with some cakes for noshing

There are about 4 other people waiting for the same train as I am.

At 10:55 am I board the train and into my sleeper room. But I won't unpack
and break out my entertainment for the trip, Columbo seasons 5 and 6 on DVD,
and my laptop to go online and track my trip via gps software.

At 11:10 am (my time) I feel the train starting to move out. We board the
train underground, but see a little sunlight as we clear the station before
we hit the tunnel that connects us with New Jersey.

11:34 am, we are leaving Newark, and I am heading to the dinning car. As I
mentioned before, riding first class, the meals are comped, just leave a
tip. I am the first one in the dinning car for lunch, I ordered cheddar
cheese angus burger which just comes with potato chips, no deep drying on a
moving train for French fries. They only serve Pepsi on Amtrak trains and
stations. I order a diet coke, like a good programmed consumer I am, but
corrected and given a diet Pepsi. I open the can and pour it into the cup
fill of ice they gave me. I notice the table cloth is getting wet. It turns
out the plastic cup was cracked, so I yell for another cup fast :)

The cheeseburger is served very hot and tasty :) We stop at Trenton at
12:06 pm. I get settled in my car for the next 5 hours till dinner by
watching 'excuse me sir, just one more thing' :)

Philadelphia 12:45 pm

Wilmington 1:10 pm

Baltimore 1:57 pm. I always love this sign by the train, pointing out which
direction Washington DC and New York is. Big sigh of relief, heading in the
right direction :)

2:38 Pm, we are pulling out of Washington DC and see the sights, The
Capital, Smithsonian, Washington and Jefferson Memorials. The stop here in
Washington is the longest as we switch motive power. When we left New York,
we were using Electric locomotive with tops speeds of 110 mph. At
Washington DC, we switch to a diesel locomotive. Our top speed is about 70,
but in the south when we are running ground level with a crossing gate
every couple of minutes, we will run only about 30 to 40 in some stretches.

Alexandria, 3:30 pm. Here we pass a structure which is a George Washington
Museum, forget its real name, a Masonic temple or such.

Richmond 5:20 eating dinner, salad w/ light ranch, lamb shank, mash
potatoes, carrots, all served very hot, fast and good :) I had the mudpie
again for dessert, disappointed, but the only thing they have that I like.

Petersburg 6:11 pm

6:58 crossed into North Carolina, according to my GPS software.

7:37 pm Rocky Mount, NC. There is some old preserved equipment in the
station, a coach and diesel locomotive, ACL (American Coast Line)

Raleigh 9:04 pm

I don't know why, the excitement of the trip maybe, but I always find it
hard to sleep on the trip down. I am able to get my laptop online for a
couple of minutes and say hi to Joyce in the TMFL chat room, and posts a
message to the group saying so. I am even able to respond with a hello from
Train 91 :)

I do loose track of where we are as I do try and lay down to try and sleep.
No cell phone signals and my GPS receiver cant lock onto a satellite to tell
me where I am.

4:10 am Savannah, a Sherman returns to Georgia :)

7 am Jacksonville, eating breakfast consisting of apple juice, breakfast
scramble which is scrambled eggs, pork sausage, cheddar cheese sauce, and
French toast. I taste this for hours after, probably more due to anxiety
then bad food.

9:12 Deland, two more stops :)


10 am Winter park, Now comes the longest part of the trip for me, 20 more
minutes to Orlando. I pack everything up and they take my large piece from
the room and get it ready to take it off the train.

If you look at the photo at Penn Station of my luggage, I have two pieces,
one being the backpack which contains all my valuables, such as important
paperwork and electronics. This backpack I take to the dinning car with me
when I eat. The large piece is about 28 inches tall, 18 wide. They see me
approaching the train with it and always comment that maybe I should check
it, but I never do and its sits nicely on the other seat in the car. It is
just about wide enough to be able to be pushed through the passage way, any
wider and I would be in trouble.

I don't know if it's just me, or we seem to just be coasting :) We are going
very slow as we are passing multiple crossings. Some without crossing gates.
On the left hand side of the trains forward motion, we pass Church Street
Station and a full preserved steam engine with passenger cars, so I know we
are very close to Orlando Station.

10:20 hello Or-lan-do :)