rafinmd

Oops on the double photo. The second one was supposed to be a typical car tag: Roy

Friday, November 4, 2022, Leave home and board Auto Train I left home a little after 8:30, possibly earlier than I should have but we had morning for so the extra time was probably a good idea. I spent a lot more waiting and confused. partly due to my skewed memory and partly due to some Amtrak inconsistencies. There was actually morning fog but traffic was no worse than a normal day. I had mis-remembered the station location, thinking it was almost an hour south of the Washington Beltway but it was less than 10 miles, and despite a couple of stops I was at the station about 10. My boarding pass indicated they started taking cars at 11:30 but when I got there nothing was moving, and they were not accepting cars until 12:30. About noon a guy came around, and indicated I could check in at the desk in the terminal and I got a boarding pass and 5PM dinner reservation. Also, unlike other trains, they pay no attention to tickets, you give them your name and that is all they use. I returned to the car and the line moved pretty quickly once they started. The first stop was a booth where the guy took my name and stuck a magnetic number on my door. I moved forward about 100 yards where I was told to leave keys in the car, window down and took my carry-ons to a waiting luggage trolley and headed into the train hall. I stopped in the train hall only briefly and went out to a courtyard to do some work on my laptop. The wifi worked ok out there but working on the laptop was almost impossible in the bright sun light so I went back into the train hall until about 3:15. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/trainhall.jpg I went out to the platform to wait for boarding to start. While waiting I watched a bit of the car loading process, as the cars were driven on to car carriers via ramps to the upper and lower levels. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/loadingl.jpg A couple of motorcycles were loaded, placed on a small trailer pulled by a garden tractor. My car boarded about 3:40. I am in roomette 4 on the upper level of the car. It consists of 2 seats facing each other and a table can fold down between them. It is small, about 1 meter wide and 2 meters long but it does the job. At night the seats drop together to form a bed and a second bunk drops down from above the window. It is very basic but there are also more elaborate rooms. There is a toilet about 10 feet away and 3 more on the lower level. We started moving about 4:30 but only briefly as final assembly was completed and we started moving in earnest about 4:45. The first call for dinner came almost precisely at 5. As I was walking to the dining car the Conductor gave us a bit of information. We have about 19 passenger cars (coaches, sleepers, dining, and lounges) and 30 car carriers. I think today we have 248 vehicles on board, quite a full train. The Dining car was 3 cars ahead of me, one car ahead of the lounge. Meals are included for Dining Car passengers. Unlike most Amtrak trains the Diner serves only Sleeper passengers, coach passengers cannot buy a meal. They have a café which I think has only food that can be micro waved. I was seated with a young couple and a very small (I think under 1 year) child. It was quite a challenge for the mother to deal with food with just one hand, although near the end the father took the child, letting mom eat in peace. The father went to OCS in Quantico, so our journey brought back memories. My choices were chicken tikka, and Ice Cream for desert. Dinner was about 40 minutes. Near the end of the meal the sun was setting on the other side of the car. I am finishing the post before the attendant puts down the bead and will probably head to bed about 10, Roy

Today's sunrise is from my 2012 Crystal Symphony cruise that started as a disaster due to Superstorm Sandy. November 4 was our first port, Key West; Roy

Today's sunrise is from my 2012 Crystal Symphony cruise that started as a disaster due to Superstorm Sandy. November 4 was our first port, Key West; Roy

Running way early at McDonalds a mile from the station. Still a little over an hour till 11:30 checkin. Roy

Shutting down my last laptop and out the door. Roy

Shutting down my last laptob and out the door. Roy

Thank you for the TGIF (and getaway for me) day, Rich. I do at least try to use my common sense. I hope my work with church and fire department count as community service. My candy of choice is chocolate mints. I don't think the quote is true but a lot of people depend on it. I don't think I have been to Matzalan. I'll pass as usual on the seafood. My alternative is Orange and Radiccio Salad, Chilled Melon Bisque, and Rosemary Roasted Chicken as served on MS Prinsendam October 4, 2017. @kazu reported upsetting news on her live thread this morning. I pray it's at least somewhat manageable. Today’s care list: Kazu severe foot injury RIP Vict0riann Cousin Vicki 10/30/22 Lady Hudson DH dental problem immediately before cruise NextOne recovering from respiratory infection Marshhawk’s friend Sheri in ICU after multiple falls Ottahand7 Sister in Law headed to rehab with bed sores HAL Sailer Sister in Law with aggressive cancer therapy and new blood clot Maarshhawk visiting DMIL with severe dimentia 1Angelcat Botox denial From the rotation: Marshhawk and DH struggling with smoking Quaartzite Cruiser DH post surgery rehab Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney Marshhawk’s friend Jesse with throat cancer and poor attitude Celebrations and Shoutouts: New chair for Kazu Dfish packed Sharon in Charleston 5 days for me (Eurodam 11/9 to 11/20, Auto Train 11/4) 3 days for CraztForCats and segarsmoker (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/6 tp 11/13) 2 days for Lady Hudson (Anthem OTS 11/6 to 11/20) 1 day for GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/5 to 11/12) 1 day for Kazu, 0106, jimgev, Heartgrove and ger_77 (Oosterdam 11/5 to 11/19) Cruising-Along (Nieuw Statendam to 11/5) and Norseh2o (Sirena to 11/18) at sea Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23), and Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea Roy

Is it early morning there now? Roy

Haven't heard from @Lady Hudson for a while. I have her on the list for Anthem of the Seas but have never heard if DH had any luck with his dental emergency. Roy

@HAL Sailer, so sorry to hear about DSIL's latest setback. Roy

I feel the need to travel but do not want to be diagnosed with Covid while traveling, so I did a final pre-test this morning: Cleared to travel. Roy

Today's sunrise is from a combination starting with 2013 B2B on Crystal Symphony from New York to Miami. November 3 was a sea day from New York to our first port, Baltimore: By the way I'm about to leave for a cruise, November 9-20 on Eurodam: Roy

Today's sunrise is from a combination starting with 2013 B2B on Crystal Symphony from New York to Miami. November 3 was a sea day from New York to our first port, Baltimore: Roy

Today is my last day of feverish packing. Tomorrow morning, Friday, November 4, I drive to Lorton, VA and board the Auto Train to Florida. For the next 6 days I will be in 5 separate beds, home, Auto Train, Winter Garden, Winter Haven, and Fort Lauderdale 2 nights. On November 9 I board the Eurodam for a partial Panama Canal cruise, going through the Atlantic locks, turning around in Lake Gatun and returning to the Atlantic. Other stops are Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Colombia, and Costa Rica. I return to Fort Lauderdale November 20 and board the Auto Train November 21, hopefully home November 22. My blog for this trip will be https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/ as well as this thread on Cruise Critic which may be the best place to post comments and questions. Roy

Thank you Rich for the Thursday (my local TV anchor calls it Firday Jr. and I like that). I'm sure there will be lots of celebrations in the Dominican Republic today. If you want to give me a dollar I'll surely take it. I'll pass on the stout. At first I missed the never in the quote but as is it makes a lot more sense. I've been to St. Thomas but I don't think on a BHB. The meal is interesting. My alternative is Honey Pineapple, Rack of Lamb with Cannellinni Beans, and Black Forest Cake as served on MS Prinsendam November 3, 2017: My postings may be at odd times for the next few days, perhaps even until I get back from my cruise: Today’s care list: Kazu severe foot injury RIP Vict0riann Cousin Vicki 10/30/22 Lady Hudson DH dental problem immediately before cruise NextOne recovering from respiratory infection Marshhawk’s friend Sheri in ICU after multiple falls Ottahand7 DB with post-surgery complications From the rotation: Luvteaching DH recovering from fall and facing dimentia Status of St. Louis Sal (7/1) and JAM37 (7/7) Cruisin Terri leak damage and recalcitrant insurance company Sandi’s neighbor Linda recovering at home Celebrations and Shoutouts: Kazu getting out to dinner Progress for Cruisin Terri Cortosone help for Mamaofami 6 days for me (Eurodam 11/9 to 11/20, Auto Train 11/4) 3 days for CraztForCats and segarsmoker (Nieuw Amsterdam 11/6 to 11/13) 3 days for Lady Hudson (Anthem OTS 11/6 to 11/20) 2 days for GTVCRUISER (Koningsdam 11/5 to 11/12) 2 days for Kazu, 0106, jimgev, Heartgrove and maybe ger_77 (Oosterdam 11/5 to 11/19) Welcome home Oceansawqy17 Cruising-Along (Nieuw Statendam to 11/5) and Norseh2o (Sirena to 11/18) at sea Cunnorl (Noordam to 1/2/23), and Horizon Chaser1957 (Zaandam 10/1 to 12/20; Zuiderdam 12/22 to 5/12) at sea Roy

Today is my last day of feverish packing. Tomorrow morning, Friday, November 4, I drive to Lorton, VA and board the Auto Train to Florida. For the next 6 days I will be in 5 separate beds, home, Auto Train, Winter Garden, Winter Haven, and Fort Lauderdale 2 nights. On November 9 I board the Eurodam for a partial Panama Canal cruise, going through the Atlantic locks, turning around in Lake Gatun and returning to the Atlantic. Other stops are Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Colombia, and Costa Rica. I return to Fort Lauderdale November 20 and board the Auto Train November 21, hopefully home November 22. My blog for this trip will be https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/ There will also be a more or less live thread on Cruise critic. Roy

Let's celebrate even a little bit of weight. Roy

@Cruzin Terri are you still planning to do your Christmas Cruise? Also, don't forget to change the email link in your signature. Roy

I've had problems on many platforms. One thing that seems to work several times is logging into www.cruisecritic.com That works. From there I have selected "boards" from the top of the screen which brings up the boards but not yet logged in. From there when I select "Login" it seems to recognize my credentials from the parent website. Roy

I've had problems on many platforms. One thing that seems to work several times is logging into www.cruisecritic.com That works. From there I have selected "boards" from the top of the screen which brings up the boards but not yet logged in. From there when I select "Login" it seems to recognize my credentials from the parent website. Roy

Well, I survived the CC login issue for quite a while but now it is hitting, first at the fire house and now with both my other laptop and my IPAd. I don't dare log out. Roy

I visited Safaga on the Silver Whisper many years ago and among their many failures Silversea got me the tour information too late to book it. I did get curious and a couple years later got to the Valley of the Kings on a river cruise, and that is the way I would recommend to see it, although that was before Arab Spring and between that and my older age now I doubt I would do it again. Roy

Today's sunrise is from a 2010 Med itinerary. I disembarked Crystal Serenity October 31 and walked about 500 feet to the Wind Surf for a cruise to Barcelona. On November 2 we visited Porto Vecchio, Corsica. Roy

Today's sunrise is from a 2010 Med itinerary. I disembarked Crystal Serenity October 31 and walked about 500 feet to the Wind Surf for a cruise to Barcelona. On November 2 we visited Porto Vecchio, Corsica. Roy