I like train travel, which is why I found myself, on New Year's Eve, looking at the Amtrak website for a trip to Florida.
Let me assure my readers, it's an imaginary trip.
I've ridden the Auto Train, which runs from Lorton, Virginia to Sanford, Florida, several times. The first time was with my spouse and son. The other times were just with my spouse.
Last year's trip in January was exploratory, to find a place to rent for snowbirding. I was planning to retire in April, 2020. We signed up with a real estate agent after a long talk with him. We visited the inlaws of one of my cousins and found another possibility.
We rode the train home, thinking of past trips home on the train, and confident we would make snowbirding happen.
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| Dunedin, Florida, January 2020 |
Enter COVID-19. That Florida trip was the last travel (except for two trips this past summer to Ithaca, New York, an hour from where we live) we would indulge in for who knows how long.
Our lives, like everyone else, have been shifted to a different track.
It's a track that can be boring, or full of terror (depending on the day) but it is definitely different than how I planned to spend my retirement.
So, about that trip to the Amtrak Auto Train portion of the website. It's definitely different, and I know something of what to expect from reading this person's experience riding a train in California.
One thing that pleased me was that there was a real time indicator on the website indicating how full the train was (and, I understand the train runs, when "full", at 50% capacity). But still, we decided against our "imaginary trip".
It was nice to dream, though.
We didn't know what was going to follow in the next months, just as we don't know what will happen in our present 2021 in the next few months, too.
Right now, all we can do make the best of the train track we've been shifted onto, and learn its lessons. We won't be snowbirding this year. Maybe not next year, either.
But, for now, we must stay safe, so we can enjoy the tomorrows on this new track.
Sunny Florida sounds nice right now, but I don't think I'd want to live there, what with the political climate. I read it's the "in" place for the up and coming GOP. You have family though, so that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I've ridden the train.
...travelling is a thing of the past for me now, hopefully it will return in the future.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with doing a bit of daydreaming. Who knows? Maybe next year at this time you'll be back to planning to snowbird.
ReplyDeleteliving in Florida, I understand why you'd like to come down in winter - ours are so mild. Wishing you bright sunny days
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