Amtrak - First Truly Solo Vacation - NYC - Bermuda - DC - October 8

Sometimes life really throws a curveball at you and you find yourself picking up the pieces and reinventing yourself.  I think that is what this trip will be about.

My husband and I booked this trip last fall.  In mid-July, after it was all fully paid for, he decided he didn't want to be married anymore after 19 years of marriage, more than 2 decades together.  I have since moved out and I expect our divorce to be final not too long after I return from this trip which has all given me a bit of whiplash.  

With very few exceptions, he had been my travel partner for most of my adult life.  And even the few trips I took alone, he was with me in spirit and through the sharing of text messages and photos.  His photos and edits can be found scattered throughout this blog until this point.  I share this to give you a bit of a backdrop to my mindset and what this trip might come to mean to me.  This trip involves Amtrak, a few nights in New York City, a cruise to Bermuda (assuming Hurricane Milton doesn't re-direct us) on the Norwegian Joy, a few nights in Washington DC, and then an Amtrak ride home.  It really is quite the adventure for my first truly solo trip.

So the night before, I turned up the music in my new apartment, pulled out my suitcase, tried on clothes that hadn't fit me in the past but I thought might fit me now, danced and sang, and had a blast getting ready for this trip.  This is my moment to embrace a single life.

The next morning, I still had a full day to work but planned to leave directly from work so I took my suitcase along with me on my walk to work.  I pass some of the same people day in and day out who are used to seeing me on a scooter so I imagine they did a double take when they saw me with luggage.

Isn't the Pink Muhly Grass beautiful?

After work, I headed to the Amtrak station where my train was projected to be about 40 minutes early.

I was assigned car 2012, room 4 which I had expected to be the bagdorm car (the last one that is half baggage storage and half roomettes) but for some reason, this train had a bit different of an arrangement of cars and so they skipped 2011 and 2012 was a standard sleeper car.  The baggage was a car all to its own without any roomettes.  It was a slight disappointment because the bagdorm cars are Viewliener II cars, the newer model.  They have a little different storage and don't have a toilet in the roomette.  Instead there is a bathroom at the end of each car.  Personally, in this small of a space, I would rather do my business elsewhere but oh well,  I walked a chunk of the train and the only public bathrooms I found were in coach.  I remember how overused those got from my last trip.  The standard sleeper cars on the Amtrak Crescent line are Viewliner Is with the toilet in the roomette.    But I got over my disappointment really quickly as the train car started to move.

There is some storage in a cubby up above but with just me here, I don't know whether I will really use it.  I have no intention of trying to maneuver my large suitcase that high up and I want my backpack more accessible.

The seat lifts up to reveal the toilet.  The top maroon part folds down as a sink.  

All meals are included in sleeper cars and dinner includes an alcoholic drink.  These are the plant based Asian Meatballs which weren't bad.  In my past experience, this line had removed the dinning cars, electing only for a snack car which made cooking elaborate meals impossible so they had switched to a flexible menu of dishes they just re-heated.  Upon walking through this train, I discovered there actually is a dinning car.  I may choose to take some of my meals there instead of in my roomette.

I haven't met my car attendant yet so I decided to tackle setting up my bed myself.  There is a lever that allows the upper bunk to slide down and then a couple straps to help you from not falling out (wish those had been in place last Amtrak trip as I was nervous with the narrow bunk).  It took a little maneuvering to get the straps in place but it all feels super solid.  

Upper bunk

Since, it's just me, I don't need to turn this lower area into a bed so can leave it set up for sitting.

Yes, my paper is blank.  I don't know what to write as my mind is jumbled all over the place right now but I'm sure something will eventually come to me that makes sense.

The train left Birmingham on time at 5:24 p.m. and is supposed to get into New York City about 24 hours later.  So I have a lot of time to read, think, write, and watch the scenery go by.