Disclaimer – the post does not involve too much food and I have not been paid by Amtrak to write or promote their services.

You will also need a healthy amount of caffeine as it a lenghty story.

Morning or afternoon, my dear reader. Someone is always awake throughout the World, so I hope this post finds you well-rested and armed with a beverage of your choice as I guide you through our recent journey with Amtrak.

I want to share our almost 24-hour train journey from Washington, D.C., to Florida with Amtrak. While it might be an odd story, I felt compelled to elaborate.

An adult beverage might work in your favor, ensuring you laugh at the right sections, although coffee might be needed if you are reading this post while commuting to work.

My adventure is not as exciting as you might have read (or seen) with Tolkien’s beautiful tales of bravery, battles, love, and life-changing events. But it is an adventure nevertheless.

On the contrary, my story begins as many stories in the US, and perhaps in many other countries, when our young offspring decide to start college/university or move out.

We have reached that time with our oldest daughter, who has decided to move to Florida to live and study, which is a daunting milestone for any parent.

Our kids grow up too darn fast. Sometimes, we don’t want them to grow up or leave, but we can’t kick them out soon enough at other times (generally during teenage tantrums).

Flapping the wings

When I was a young Viking lad, I left the long hut at the tender age of 19, moving a whopping 4 miles away from my parents’ house. Granted, my hometown is small, but I left the safety and comfort of my parents.

Living on my own taught me many valuable and a few useless skills, but it also made me more mature. You learn how to stand on your feet, and you will learn how to survive. Cooking, cleaning, doing school work, and working suddenly became a daily routine.

It is hard to let kids fly off to shores far away from the safety of home and the protection of a Berserker Viking dad. We have some doubts, but we are convinced she will excel.

I’ve witnessed how our kids hoard plates, bowls, and cups in their rooms. We experience their inability to cook a simple meal, even with guidance, and their lack of financial understanding that we can’t just buy everything.

How will they survive independently if they have to cook and clean suddenly?

I support my daughter by letting her purchase and arm herself with a Taser and pepper spray. As a father, it is my duty to protect our kids, even from afar, so I will jump on any opportunity to fly to Florida and kneecap any guy who mistreats or threatens my daughter.

Packing Up

Long story short, this is our daughter’s second college adventure in Florida. The first major was not for her, so she decided to change to a major she was more passionate about. We fully support that decision. If you are unhappy, adjusting your major in the first year is right. You will avoid spending unnecessary money and extending your academic journey.

It means that she has stuff already in Florida, in storage, so we do not need to fill up a UHaul, but she did want to bring her car.

I’m not driving a 10+ year car with 155K+ miles from New York to Florida. There’s no need to put any unnecessary strain on the engine, tires, brakes, etc.

The decision was made to use the Amtrak car train that departs from Washington, D.C.

We would throw a few boxes and a suitcase in her car and drive 5 hours South to Lorton, VA, just outside D.C.

For me, all I packed were the bare essentials, enough for a four-day trip to/from Florida. I traveled light and only brought changing boxer shorts, two socks, three T-shirts, and a toothbrush.

Because of my extremely lean packing, I only brought a backpack for the clothes, an iPad, and the essential Apple product charges. That’s all I need!

It also makes my return trip on Delta Airlines much smoother, as I don’t have any luggage to check in. I hope I brought some deodorant, too!

All Aboard

Lorton, VA, is only a five-hour drive, but we still have to check in and get the car on the carriage.

I asked my mature 20-year-old daughter when we could start the check-in, to which she proudly shouted at 3 p.m. She found the answer on Google using her iPhone, she exclaimed proudly.

I demanded that we leave at 8 am at the latest, giving us enough time to stop for petrol, a toilet visit, and perhaps some lunch.

I’m Scandinavian, and we like to be punctual and ahead of time, much to the opposite of my beautiful South American wife, who likes to be called on the airport intercom for the last passengers.

The drive down to Lorton was relatively uneventful. We chatted and laughed and listened to old-school rock music. The rule is that the driver chooses the playlist, so I won.

I trust her driving, almost, but not enough alcohol can make me comfortable listening to her playlists and her driving skills.

We arrived at the train station at 2:22 p.m. after picking up dinner at Chipotle and tanking the car. We had plenty of time since check-in starts at 3 p.m. – or so we thought.

For the record, I am NOT a fan of Chipotle, but I was overruled by a starting 20-year-old. The food has much to answer for, including flavor and quality, and the cardboard packing will not last long. But you might end up with a friendly case of food poisoning as a “bonus.”

As I pulled into the check-in booth, I glanced to my left and saw a sign that said, “Last check-in is at 3 pm.” I gently tapped my daughter’s shoulder and calmly pointed at the sign. She blushed and blamed Google for being out-of-date.

So, this is a friendly reminder to double-check the check-in time for any part of the journey and not rely on Google to provide accurate information.

We checked in, left the keys in the car, and walked over to the terminal, where a very friendly Amtrak employee checked us in and gave us our boarding pass and sleeper cabin.

The Amtrak staff, a real-time team of Fast & Furious drivers, quickly loaded up to 350 cars, trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles onto the autoracks—a slang word for car carriage. These experienced drivers confidently drove any vehicle to the narrow loading bays. We packed and stacked the cars neatly and secured them for the train ride.

I couldn’t watch the live performance of “Driver” and decided to wait by the passenger boarding area. It’s enjoyable to watch people as they walk by or mentally prepare for a prolonged train journey.

We sat on Lorton Platform 9 7/8 for about 45 minutes before being allowed to board the steam engine—or instead, a diesel engine—a train that would be our home for the next 16-17 hours—or so we thought!

We were allowed to board the train at 3.30 pm, and we walked towards our carriage.

Leaving on a steam engine

Before you consider riding a train from Lorton to Orlando, you must understand that it is an overnight adventure lasting 16-17 hours. Depending on your traveling arrangements, you may be stuck in your cabin or economy section for a long time.

Choose wisely as the knight said in Indiana Jones

And, if you decide to ride the train during a hurricane, like we did, your journey will quickly extend to 20+ hours. We will get to that.

A piece of advice -  spend the extra money on the sleeper cabin.  While it is slightly more expensive, a lot actually, you will soon realized the true value in reserving the sleeper cabin.

The first time we tried the car train, in 2022, I was being a cheap goat and bought the standard economy seats. Little did I know that the economy seat does not lean back enough to get comfortable.

Other passengers do not respect the privacy of other fellow passengers. We sat next to a guy who decided to watch porn for 4 hours without headphones. “Interesting” choice of movie, given he shared a cabin with 20 fellow travelers. He then proceeded to have a FaceTime call with his buddies, who were again on speaker.

This time, Daddy reserved a sleeper cabin for two, which meant we would have comfortable seats during the afternoon and evening and then convert the cabin into bunk beds.

The friendly conductor, similar to the conductor in the Polar Express, greeted us as we stepped into our carriage and kindly informed us that we had two cabins, one each.

This was a surprise, and I had to validate with the conductor twice that we were not charged extra for that upgrade, to which he smiled and said no. It was not booked, so he was in a good mood and gave us the upgrade.

Our cabins were across the walkway from each other, so we could calmly talk while the landscape swooshed by and sit back to relax or watch a movie if we wanted privacy.

The train started to move slowly around 5:30 p.m. At first, it was slow, probably because it had to attach and pull all the car carriages, but after all the railroad wagons had been connected, it started to gain speed.

Within 30 minutes, the train was rolling through the Virginia landscape and hooting the horn regularly. The train’s rumbling and moving can quickly put you to sleep or at least put you into a trance.

I was looking forward to the train ride with my daughter as I hoped we would have plenty of time to talk about her future and me providing some “valuable” parental advice.

Who wouldn’t appreciate guidance on how to live as a young adult, advice on what not to do, and an everlasting lecture on how to earn and save money? We have 16 hours to spend, so we might as well talk about important stuff.

Instead, my daughter decided to pull a selfish stunt and read a book. Nothing says “leave me alone” more than reading an actual book. She then knitted like an older woman, pretending I was not there.

So, I inserted my iconic white AirPods and started Audible to listen to Harry Potter. You can never be too old to listen to Harry Potter.

Onboard the Amtrak “Express”

My first impressions of the cabin were very positive.

The cabin is roughly 3′ x 7′ (perhaps 8′), with two oversized leather chairs and a foldable bed attached to the wall. If that makes sense, one seat faces the direction, and one has the back facing the direction. It has a vast panoramic window that allows us to see the landscape fly by. You have a foldable table between the seats for board games, drinks, snacks, and iPads. It’s a very comfortable and spacious space for two people.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the interior had not been updated since the train was commissioned sometime in the 1980s. My friends at Wikipedia said it was built and launched in 1983, well before the USB cables existed, which explained a lot.

While it was well maintained, there were visible signs of wear and tear, and the electronic features were lacking. You only had access to one double power outlet, which can be challenging with modern technologies like computers and iPads.

And, since I work in IT, the first thing I attempted to use was the onboard WiFi, which was shite.

Browsing the internet or streaming movies was seriously impacted, and I’m convinced the internet was connected using a 56K modem. It was slow AF.

For my older readers, you probably heard the sound of a 56K modem dialing and connecting in your head.

However, everything does not revolve around technology, and we were surprised by the service our conductor offered throughout the train ride.

Around 6 p.m., the friendly conductor stopped by to announce that dinner would be served from 8 to 9 p.m. in the dining carriage. And, if we went, he would make our beds.

This was the first surprise. I did not know the ticket included dinner and breakfast, so the socky Chipotle cardboard dinner was wasted. Or, perhaps we would have a midnight snack.

At 8 p.m., we walked toward the dining carriage, where another friendly Amtrak employee greeted us. I was impressed to see white tablecloth dining, and it had a good selection of dinner and drink options.

For some reason, you cannot decide where to sit when eating on the train. To ensure that all passengers can eat, staff will fill up tables. So, we had dinner with a father and his son.

The food was a lot better than airplane meals. It was nuked beyond Hiroshima, but it at least had flavor and was not volcanic warm. We enjoyed salmon and chicken dinners with a glass of red wine.

After dinner, we returned to our cabins, which had been prepared for the night, with clean sheets, pillows, and covers.

It was still early, around 9.30 p.m., so we chatted about the food we had just had and what to do with the Chipotle dinner. I voted to leave it in the cooler, and eating it after midnight or as a luncheon, aka second breakfast, might be okay.

I uncapped a small bottle of fire whiskey that I had smuggled onboard, making me feel like a college kid sneaking a beer for the first time, and downed it while leaning back on my fancy sleeper cabin bed. This was luxury, like in the old days when people got murdered on the express.

The next few hours were spent looking at the amazing landscape as we passed extensive forests, crossed rivers and bridges, saw naval yards, and visited beautiful residential areas (and some not-so-beautiful). Still, it slowly became a monotonous routine to stare out the window.

I snapped a few pictures of the landscape, hoping to capture an award-winning image from the Amtrak trade ride, but when I looked at my images, I saw a streak of green that resembled The Grinch running.

At around 10 p.m., I decided to call it a day. We took turns visiting the bathroom to prepare for bed and brush our teeth.

The bathroom was slightly bigger than an airplane toilet. You could stand up erect as the wall/ceiling didn’t follow the shape of the fuselage on a plane. However, you still had the same brief horror experience when flushing the toilet, as it sounded like it was going to suck everything into the void.

Nevertheless, I brushed my teeth, washed my pretty face, and smiled at my reflection. I travel light (extremely lean), so no extra gadgets are needed for the Viking to get ready for bed.

My daughter was more organized. She had brought pajamas and slippers and was sitting comfortably on her bed knitting some strange scarf while listening to music through her headphones courtesy of Spotify.

I, on the contrary, do not own pajamas. Instead, I closed the doors to my cabin, pulled the curtains shut to the corridor, and stripped down to my boxers. I didn’t bother with the window blinds, as who could see a semi-naked Viking in a sleeper cabin flying past at 60mph?

I placed my well-sculptured Viking corpus on the “bed,” placed a few pillows behind my neck, and got ready to watch a few movies on the iPad. Unfortunately, and something I should’ve checked before leaving the house, the selected movies had not been downloaded.

With the flaky internet or lack of it, I was at the mercy of games I could play offline or listening to Audible books. I opted for the latter and continued to listen to Harry Potter.

Riding the Debby Express

The train driver spoke on the speakers a few times before 10 p.m., letting us know we might be delayed as we headed toward Hurricane Debby. It could be a rough ride.

If, or more likely when, we met Debby, the train would be forced to slow down due to winds, heavy rain, and the possibility of trees blocking the tracks.

Everything he predicted came through! Here, I thought that only airplanes encountered turbulence. I thought trains were almost impervious to bad weather unless some debris fell on the tracks. We’ve all seen runaway train movies, stopping for literally nothing, so a little rain and wind couldn’t stop a train with 350 vehicles in tow and ten people carrying wagons.

At around midnight, the train suddenly jolted or rocked violently, enough to wake a Viking from a deep slumber. The fields of Valhalla were replaced by the dark landscape resembling the upside/down scenery in Stranger Things.

I could hear heavy rain and strong winds, and it was evident that the train was slowing down to avoid any potential issues with passengers being flung from the beds or seats or spilling hot coffee all over themselves.

I was convinced it was dementors that had stopped the train, perhaps looking for illegal immigrants or escaped convicts. I peered frantically into the darkness outside, attempting to force my eyes beyond my reflection. It didn’t work!

Rain and wind had forced the train to slow down to a crawl. In addition, a tree had landed on the track further ahead, so we were waiting for a crew to speed ahead to remove the tree.

I don’t understand how they knew a tree had landed on the track miles ahead. Perhaps some advanced Amtrak AI entity zooms through the track, and when it detects pressure or some other variant, it sends a signal to the incoming tree. Nevertheless, it was removed.

Since I was sick in 2018, my mind and body have woken up at 6 a.m. I do not know why and do not always agree, but at 5.57 a.m., I woke up and sensed that we were still driving exceptionally slowly.

The captain returned to the speakers, informing the passengers that yet another tree had landed on the tracks. The amazing lumberjacks sprang into action several times, surgically removing the trees from the tracks.

I wonder if they were using the same Stihl chainsaw I have at home and if they have spare chains. Chains can get dull quickly if you cut hardwood and it is moist. What trees do they have in North and South Carolina?

Breakfast at the Amtrak Cafe

At 6.30 a.m., the conductor came on the intercom to announce that breakfast would be served. If passengers went to breakfast, he would convert our cabin into a comfortable seating arrangement.

Of course, my daughter was still asleep. Teenagers tend to sleep in, probably because they stay up too late checking social media or other smartphone-induced addictions.

As such, I decided to find the eatery wagon to sample the breakfast options offered to the sleeper cart people.

Per procedure, the stewardess directed me to a table with space for one more guest, and I was seated with two other men eating breakfast.

We nodded friendly to each other, uttered something resembling “good morning,” and explored the menu. The exciting part of these onboard menus is that they read very well, offering the reader a sneak preview into exotic breakfast options, using French words and enticing toppings.

Ultimately, it was an omelet (nuked imitation egg), a socky croissant with ham and cheese on the side, or a lava-hot (nuked) breakfast muffin with Canadian bacon and cheese.

I chose the breakfast sandwich, hoping the Canadians might know how to make bacon—which they do not. Since when is a pork belly round?

The “bacon” resembles ham more, missing the mandatory fat rind. The sandwich had spent 20 seconds too long in an industrial microwave and was impossible to hold with your bare hands. The “cheese” had melted (and bubbled) and reminded me of napalm, as once it touched your hands, it couldn’t be removed and would slowly burn into your flesh.

I wondered what such a sandwich would do to your insides, but I ignored my natural warnings and slowly digested the breakfast sandwich. It will probably stay in my intestines forever and might baffle future archaeologists when they discover all these weird gelatine blobs in human graves. It’s like nuclear waste that takes millennia to decompose properly.

I chatted with the other travelers and learned that one of them had moved to Gainesville some years ago to escape the hectic life and traffic in D.C. The other dude was leaving Vermont and moving to Florida. What struck me was that he was a snowboarder and avid hiker, and now he’s moving to the Sunshine State! I guess he’s switching out the winter gear for scuba gear and sun lotion.

I said my goodbyes and navigated back to the sleeper cabin to find that it had been converted to a two-seater cabin as he had promised. The curtains to my daughter’s cabin were still closed, but should I expect when it was only 8.25 a.m.?

At 9 a.m., I tapped on her doorframe, demanding that she would wake up, which she did. It took her 30 minutes (which is fast for a woman) to get ready, and I had to escort her to the eatery for breakfast.

Captains log – we are delayed.

We spent the next five hours staring out the window and hypnotized by the moving landscape. I stopped paying attention to details. It was just a blur of scenery and buildings zooming by at 20-30 miles per hour.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to calculate that we ran late due to the storm. Slowing down and, at times, stopping the train will result in lengthy delays.

The question was, how delayed would we be? Would we have to refuel? Would the crew need to get more food and refreshments? Do they need to empty the septic tanks? Should I take a shower?

After spending 18 hours on a train, sitting in the same spot, you tend to build up a sweat. Not because you are running a circle in the cabin but because of the heat and the fact that you share air circulation with other passengers. The air becomes humid or something, which causes you to perspirate. And you slept in the same cabin, too.

The air quality changes over time, and you can smell yourself and your fellow travelers.

I decided to attempt an ancient trick my dad once taught me when we drove from Denmark to Spain, a modern-day car journey back in the 1970s and 1980s. He taught the skill of the secret trucker wash!

Take a cloth, soak it with water, apply some hand soap, and then wash your armpits, chest, neck, and face. There is no need to wash all of your body or lower parts. Removing the outer layer of sweat from select areas of your body makes you feel refreshed, and you can take on the world again.

After a refreshing “bath,” I returned to my cabin and sat in my seat again. To break the monotony of seeing the landscape from the driving direction, I spiced up the next few hours by sitting in the opposite seat and saw the landscape fly away from me. The little joys!

Baco to civilization – Welcome to Florida

After 22.5 hours, the captain announced we would arrive in Orlando shortly. In reality, you do not arrive in Orlando but in the suburbs, in Sanford. It’s similar to the low-cost airlines that fly into New York but land at Stewart Airport, about a 90-minute drive (on a good day) from NYC.

We had been incarcerated for almost a full day (24 hours) and confined to a relatively small living area. The cabin fever was starting to develop, and I wondered how long it would take to get the experience out of my system. I couldn’t imagine being imprisoned.

We made it to Florida!!

The train started to slow down, and the landscape changed from trees and grass fields to houses and warehouses. We were back in civilization.

The train stopped, and just like planes, everybody thought you would get your car or luggage based on when you departed. People stormed towards the exit doors, but we decided to wait for the rush. We also know, from previous experience, that it could take up to an hour to get your car off the train.

Once we were off the train, we went to the waiting area and sat down again. There was more sitting, but at least we could see progress as the Floridan version of the Fast & Furious crew sped cars off the train.

After about 35 minutes, my daughter’s car flew off the ramp and headed towards the terminal, where we anxiously waited.

With me driving, we quickly loaded our stuff into the car and assumed position in the front seats. We had to sit for another 2.5 hours, but at least we could roll down the windows, enjoy AC, listen to music, and stop for refreshments.

Destination Gainesville and the University of Florida were punched into the Waze GPS assistant.

Thank you, Amtrak!

All in all, using the Amtrak car train is convenient and comfortable. We enjoyed the luxury and comfort of the sleeper cabin. The fact that dinner and breakfast were included in the price was a positive surprise.

While driving to Florida from New York is doable, it is highly recommended that you spend 16-17 hours on a train zooming through the landscape while relaxing.

We paid $1200 for two adults, a sleeper cabin, and a car, including meals, snacks, water, and buckets of coffee. At the outset, it appears expensive, but think about the alternatives.

My daughter’s car would likely have reached Florida, but I would not have tested it. Imagine if it broke down somewhere on I-95. The frustration and cost of towing and repair would have been terrible. You must also stop for gas, refreshments, sleep, and meals. The cost will be less than the train ride but less convenient, and the car might not survive.

• 1100 miles, tank car five times at $60 = $300
• Meals for two people: lunch $30, dinner $60, breakfast $30, and lunch $30 = $150
• Overnight stay at motel/hotel = $120
• Miscellaneous expenses (snacks, drinks, etc.) = $100
• Total driving cost = $670

You could also fly to Florida, but then we would have to limit what we could bring of her stuff on the plane and rent a car while getting her situated. Perhaps we need to rent a Uhaul to transport her stuff from the storage facility holding her “old” college stuff. Traveling by air, renting a car, or using Uhaul would probably cost less, and you would arrive much quicker and be productive.

• Two plane tickets from Newark to Jacksonville (one way) = $480
• Premium SUV car rental (need space to move stuff) = $250
• Petrol while in Florida = $100
• Miscellaneous expenses (snacks, drinks, etc.) = $100
• Total flying cost = $930

Overall, we had a great experience and highly recommend using the Amtrak car train despite our journey taking a few more hours than expected. At least we had plenty of free coffee, water, and snacks.

The Amtrak staff provided excellent service with a smile and a friendly attitude. We cannot blame them for the delays. The captain provided regular updates throughout the journey, making sure passengers and staff were up-to-date.

If you plan a trip to Florida, I recommend trying the Amtrak car train.