Remember how we decided not to fly to save some money? Well… let’s just say we didn’t save that much. I’ve always dreamed of taking a cross-country train trip to Washington State one summer — it just sounds so fun and relaxing. But before committing to three days on a train with the kids, I thought we’d try a shorter trip first. The Auto Train from Florida to Virginia seemed like the perfect test run — one night on board and we could take our car with us!
We slept in at the hotel, grabbed a late breakfast/lunch, and headed to the station super early (the website said that’s how you get the earlier dinner time). Luckily, a kind lady at the station had set aside dinner reservations for families with kids, so even though the 5 p.m. slot was technically full, she made sure we had a spot. We waited about an hour before boarding and settling into our family size room. It’s meant for four people, but since we had a little kid in our party, they let us book it — two can fit on the bottom bunk if needed.
Dinner was its own little adventure. Each table only seats four, so Jeff sat with Cohen and Lydia while I sat with James. Honestly, dinner with James was such a treat. He was sweet, calm, and thrilled to have my full attention. The food options were simple — mac and cheese for James, steak for me — but both were surprisingly good. In fact, the Auto Train steak ended up being the best meal of our trip! Still makes me laugh.
When we got back to our room, the beds were already set up. Our plan had been for Cohen and Lydia to share the small bunk, Jeff to take the top, and James and I the bottom of the longer bunk. Of course, that didn’t happen. James insisted on sleeping on an upper bunk, and Jeff gave in. That meant Jeff and I had to share the bottom bed, which did not go well. I think I got maybe two hours of sleep total. Things improved a bit once I flipped around to hold Lydia’s hand, and Jeff and I switched to sleeping head-to-toe.
