These are some of the things Ive learned during my recent vacation: 1. 26 hours is a LONG time to be a on a train! (This was how long the longest stretch of the trip, from Washington DC to Ft Lauderdale, lasted). The trip as a whole took two and a half days each way, so I dont recommend train tripping if youre in a hurry to get somewhere. 2. Florida is a HUGE state. You dont know realize how big is it until youve travelled down the entire length of it. From Jacksonville at the top of the state, to Ft Lauderdale, is a 10-hour trip by train. The funny thing was that, despite all that time travelling in Florida, I never saw the ocean until the day after I arrived in Ft Lauderdale. 3. There are two things that are fantastic for keeping your sanity on long train rides (as well as long road trips and airline flights) if you dont have an ipad or other electronic gadgets to keep you busy): MP3 players (I dont have an ipod) and crossword puzzle books. The crossword puzzle book especially came in handy during a nine-hour layover in DC and a six-hour layover in Chicago on our way home. And yes, train travel can involve some pretty long layovers, as well as arrival and departure times at odd hours. For example, we got on and off the train in Newton, KS at 3 am -- the only time of day that trains come through there. And when its a little town thats the closest to where you live, you really dont have many options. 4. Ive discovered that I can handle sleeping fully clothed in a coach seat for two nights in a row, even though Im usually a very light sleeper who doesnt sleep well in scrunched up positions. I also discovered that lounge cars are also good places to sleep if you want to be able to stretch out. Quite a few people actually do this at night on trains. However, since people are allowed to carry on conversations in there, it may not always be the quietest place to sleep. But one night I heard something really pretty -- an old man with an amazing voice singing some kind of Irish song on a harp. It was the kind of thing that really added some spice to an already adventurous trip! 5. If youre going to dine at an authentic Cuban restaurant in South Florida, its a good idea to either learn some Spanish beforehand, or take somebody along with you whos fluent in the language. I wanted to try some authentic Cuban food while I was down there, so my niece and I went to a little restaurant in Key Largo. The menu was printed in two languages, some of the items were not fully described, and the waitress could barely speak English. However, Im very adventurous when it comes to food, so I ordered an appetizer platter with no idea what I was getting. Thankfully, it turned out to be pretty good! 6. Walking down the aisle of a moving train can sometimes be like walking through a fun house with moving floors, and it can sometimes make you stumble and sway like a drunken sailor. But for me, that was part of the fun of train travel! 7. In South Florida I could almost forget that it was October, it was so warm and everything was so green, and there were flowers blooming everywhere. I felt as if I was in the land of perpetual summer. However, I saw some things at local stores that I never expected to see -- things like flannel PJS, footie pajamas, and earmuffs. I thought, Who on earth wears this stuff in Miami? Im guessing that there are probably people there who are super-sensitive to cold, who freak out when the temp hits 70. For me, the temps have to get down into at least the 40s before Ill even consider donning flannel nightwear, so I really cant understand how 70 can be cold weather. 8. I have always dreamed of visiting Miami, and its turned out to be an even more amazing place than I ever imagined. The citys nickname is The Magic City and it will always be a magical place for me. I would love to live there, since its got pretty much everything I want in a city -- lots of beauty everywhere, a nice climate, a ton of multiculturalism and just about every kind of ethnic restaurant you can imagine, lots of different beaches you can go to, relatively close to Orlando (OK, I know its still three hours away but thats much better than 1200 miles), and lots of exciting things to see and do. Now that I think about it, the Midwest lifestyle is not really for me. The Midwest is fine if you want a place thats quiet to the point of boring to raise a family and living in an exotic locale really doesnt matter to you, but as a single woman with no kids and the kinds of personal interests that I have, I would like to live in someplace thats prettier and has a little bit more excitement than Wichita, KS, offers. I also find it interesting that I was born in Miami county, KS, so maybe Miami is meant for me after all! However, Miami is by no means a cheap place to live, so I would have to get a REALLY good job if I was going to survive there -- and I would also want to be able to enjoy all the things around the city, not scrimping and scraping just to survive. However, if God intends for me to live there someday, He can make it happen!
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 06:36:29 +0000
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