The Road to the Final Four: Part 2 - April 2 - 4, 2019
The Road to the Final Four: Part 2 - April 2 - 4, 2019
We had a leisurely wake up in our hotel suite in Woodbridge, Virginia. Breakfast downstairs wasn't the best, but it was included, so I had coffee and an English muffin while Jeff enjoyed what he said was a very good bowl of oatmeal. We had plenty of time, so I did my last blog entry while Jeff read the paper. Then off we went to the Amtrak Auto Train station in Lorton - about a 30 minute drive away. We checked our car in - #139 (although there was no rhyme nor reason to the numbers, and there were only 90 total cars on the train), made our way into the station with our overnight bag, checked ourselves in, and then settled into a wait until the 2 p.m. boarding time.
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They called us for dinner promptly at 6:30, and although we did not accept the first call, we did head in upon second call.
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Many passengers complain about the "shrinking service" on Amtrak, and I agree that there is less and less each time we travel. Dinner was limited to four choices. Jeff got the petit filet, which came with salad, baked potato, and green beans as well as a dessert -- he chose cheesecake with strawberries. I chose the vegetarian lasagna bolognese, which also came with salad and (surprisingly) green beans. I chose the chocolate lava cake with ice cream and savored two bites -- delicious!
We sat with a mother and college-aged daughter from Long Island who were moving to Florida to start a new life. It took them a while to warm up and chat, but before long we were sharing dog pictures and chatting up a storm. It was a very pleasant way to spend an evening.
Back to the room we went for some much needed sleep. Jeff was soon snoring away while I tossed, turned, dozed a bit, and then began the cycle all over again. Morning finally came, we went to the dining car again for our "continental breakfast" (at least there was decent coffee), and then settled in to wait. The train got to Sanford, Florida about an hour and a half early, but because the crew didn't get in until 8:30, we had to wait on a siding before they could pull into the station for unloading.
Although our car was nearly the last one off the train, it wasn't nearly as long a wait as last time, and we were on our way by about 10:15 a.m. We decided to try to catch a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game, so we headed for St. Petersburg, arriving just in time.
It was a bit of a "yawner" -- score was 0 to 0 after nine innings even though the Rays had ample opportunity to score. We decided to head for Seminole Heights at the end of regulation (as they call nine innings), but we did listen to the game and heard the Colorado Rockies hit a home run, which ended up being enough to win the game.
Lots of traffic made the trip back across the causeway very slowwwwwww, but eventually we found our way to "The Old Ola Bungalow," our home-away-from-home for the next five nights.
The house was built as a duplex in 1926, making it two years older than our craftsman style farmhouse. It sports narrow pine wood floors - this one stained darker than ours, and ours are in better shape than these. Ours has a bit more style than this one too (although I do love the fireplace in this house).
The place is very much a "shotgun" layout. You enter through the shared front door, and then our place was the unit on the right. The door goes into the living room with the dining room behind that, the kitchen behind the dining room, the bathroom behind the kitchen, then a bedroom, and finally a second bedroom/laundry room.
Jeff always brings his piano on our road trips, and as I am typing this blog, he is entertaining me with gentle music playing in the background. He set up here in the dining room. You can see the "funky" decor in the chandelier above the dining table and the funky bar in the corner. There is room to sleep six in this place, so those two extra seats come in handy for the larger groups that choose to stay here.
Through the back door there is access to a shared deck and fenced in back yard, making this a very pet friendly rental. It's very comfortable.
After settling in a bit, we decided to walk to a neighborhood restaurant instead of eating in (too tired to go grocery shopping and then cook). We went to a place call The Front Porch.
We sat on the front porch, just behind the tall plant to the right of the entrance ramp. The sun had set and we were at dusk. We ordered beer (Jeff) and the house chardonnay for me and enjoyed a relaxing meal. Jeff got the Southern Pot Roast (which I tasted and which was delicious), and I got the Thai Chicken Salad, which was also yummy.
The meal was really quite delightful, and relatively inexpensive. The key lime pie that Jeff had for dessert was beautifully presented, but did not look like a piece of pie at all. However, it was tasty.
Soon it was time for the short walk back to 5901 N Ola. It was a lovely evening for a walk and it felt good to stretch the legs after being cooped up on the train all day. So ... back "home" we walked ready for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is another day! And the beginning of a new blog post! Final Four is almost here.
The auto train is quite a marvel. Each of the car carriers is "double-decker," meaning that two cars can be stacked on top of one another. When you check your car in, an Amtrak employee walks around it taking a video to ensure that a person doesn't claim damage that was pre-existing.
The last time we rode the auto train, there were close to 500 passengers and well over 200 vehicles. This time it was pretty empty -- about 160 passengers and 90 vehicles. There was only one seating for dinner - 6:30 - so we had a bit of time to get settled into our "bedroom" accommodations. We had decided a few train rides ago that we would splurge on the bedroom sleeper instead of the far cheaper "roomette." The roomette has a narrow upper "bunk" with a contraption to keep you from rolling out of the bunk in the middle of the night. It's not easy to get in and out of -- believe me, I've tried it. The roomette also does not have either a sink or a toilet, so you have to walk down the hallway to get to the shared bathroom. The bedroom has a sink, toilet, and even a shower (we've never tried it).
This makes into a "double" bed (smaller than your standard double, but bigger than a twin, and is reasonably comfortable. There is a bunk above, but we never have them make that up. The toilet is off to the left, and functions quite well.
After settling in, we trekked over to the lounge car (which was adjacent to our sleeper) - where, interestingly enough, there were very few other passengers. The bartender and another guy (not sure what his job really was) had just completed "Amtrak School" and this was either their first or second trip. We had some drinks and chatted a bit before the first call for dinner came.
Many passengers complain about the "shrinking service" on Amtrak, and I agree that there is less and less each time we travel. Dinner was limited to four choices. Jeff got the petit filet, which came with salad, baked potato, and green beans as well as a dessert -- he chose cheesecake with strawberries. I chose the vegetarian lasagna bolognese, which also came with salad and (surprisingly) green beans. I chose the chocolate lava cake with ice cream and savored two bites -- delicious!
We sat with a mother and college-aged daughter from Long Island who were moving to Florida to start a new life. It took them a while to warm up and chat, but before long we were sharing dog pictures and chatting up a storm. It was a very pleasant way to spend an evening.
Back to the room we went for some much needed sleep. Jeff was soon snoring away while I tossed, turned, dozed a bit, and then began the cycle all over again. Morning finally came, we went to the dining car again for our "continental breakfast" (at least there was decent coffee), and then settled in to wait. The train got to Sanford, Florida about an hour and a half early, but because the crew didn't get in until 8:30, we had to wait on a siding before they could pull into the station for unloading.
Although our car was nearly the last one off the train, it wasn't nearly as long a wait as last time, and we were on our way by about 10:15 a.m. We decided to try to catch a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game, so we headed for St. Petersburg, arriving just in time.
It was a bit of a "yawner" -- score was 0 to 0 after nine innings even though the Rays had ample opportunity to score. We decided to head for Seminole Heights at the end of regulation (as they call nine innings), but we did listen to the game and heard the Colorado Rockies hit a home run, which ended up being enough to win the game.
Lots of traffic made the trip back across the causeway very slowwwwwww, but eventually we found our way to "The Old Ola Bungalow," our home-away-from-home for the next five nights.
The house was built as a duplex in 1926, making it two years older than our craftsman style farmhouse. It sports narrow pine wood floors - this one stained darker than ours, and ours are in better shape than these. Ours has a bit more style than this one too (although I do love the fireplace in this house).
The place is very much a "shotgun" layout. You enter through the shared front door, and then our place was the unit on the right. The door goes into the living room with the dining room behind that, the kitchen behind the dining room, the bathroom behind the kitchen, then a bedroom, and finally a second bedroom/laundry room.
Jeff always brings his piano on our road trips, and as I am typing this blog, he is entertaining me with gentle music playing in the background. He set up here in the dining room. You can see the "funky" decor in the chandelier above the dining table and the funky bar in the corner. There is room to sleep six in this place, so those two extra seats come in handy for the larger groups that choose to stay here.
The owner worked hard to maintain the original character of the place, so the kitchen has the original sink and cabinetry. The bath has been updated, but the materials were chosen to mimic what might have been in the house in 1926.
Through the back door there is access to a shared deck and fenced in back yard, making this a very pet friendly rental. It's very comfortable.
After settling in a bit, we decided to walk to a neighborhood restaurant instead of eating in (too tired to go grocery shopping and then cook). We went to a place call The Front Porch.
The meal was really quite delightful, and relatively inexpensive. The key lime pie that Jeff had for dessert was beautifully presented, but did not look like a piece of pie at all. However, it was tasty.
Soon it was time for the short walk back to 5901 N Ola. It was a lovely evening for a walk and it felt good to stretch the legs after being cooped up on the train all day. So ... back "home" we walked ready for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is another day! And the beginning of a new blog post! Final Four is almost here.
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