Amtrak Adventure
Bottom Line:
A great idea, poorly executed.
You might remember that the kids and I rode the Amtrak from Dallas Union Station to McGregor (near Waco) Texas this past weekend. It was certainly interesting.
First of all, the train ran three hours late on Friday afternoon. We had taken the DART light rail down from Plano and had allowed an hour between trains. This left me with three backpacks and two kids for four hours on a Friday afternoon in Downtown Dallas.
Additionally, the train car itself was dirty. We spent most of our time in the lounge car which had an upstairs area with sofas and lounge chairs. Downstairs is a fast food area with tables. I moistened a napkin with water and attempted to wipe down the table where we ate our mediocre cheese pizza (which Trey loved). The napkin was quickly black.
The attendants on the train were rude and we were clearly an inconvenience to them. The food was bad and expensive. One of the things the kids were looking forward to was eating in the dining car. We were unable to get a reservation.
Having said all that, I do enjoy train travel. I've done a great deal of it in Europe.
Our fellow travelers were of great interest to me as well. There were basically two groups of people on the train. There were those, like us, who were traveling the train for the novelty of it. There were several sets of grandparents with grandkids. Then there was a whole other set of folks who were traveling the train due to the cost factor. There was one little girl (probably 4 or 5 years old) that came and sat with us, played cards and shared our mediocre pizza. She was with us for over an hour before a group of adults walked through the car and waved at her. They were, apparently, her family. They didn't seem at all concerned that she was sitting and sharing food with strangers.
Finally we arrived in McGregor.
For the return trip, I came equipped. We had purchased a package of bleach wipes and proceeded to clean the entire lounge car. We purchased an assortment of child amusement items. Playdoh....crayons....coloring book....paper....army men.
The lounge car turned into to Romper Room on Rails. We had probably 8 kids engaged in various activities. When we got off the train we left the toys with the children.
I was glad to have done it, but I think I'll wait to take another train until I'm in Europe.
A great idea, poorly executed.
You might remember that the kids and I rode the Amtrak from Dallas Union Station to McGregor (near Waco) Texas this past weekend. It was certainly interesting.
First of all, the train ran three hours late on Friday afternoon. We had taken the DART light rail down from Plano and had allowed an hour between trains. This left me with three backpacks and two kids for four hours on a Friday afternoon in Downtown Dallas.
Additionally, the train car itself was dirty. We spent most of our time in the lounge car which had an upstairs area with sofas and lounge chairs. Downstairs is a fast food area with tables. I moistened a napkin with water and attempted to wipe down the table where we ate our mediocre cheese pizza (which Trey loved). The napkin was quickly black.
The attendants on the train were rude and we were clearly an inconvenience to them. The food was bad and expensive. One of the things the kids were looking forward to was eating in the dining car. We were unable to get a reservation.
Having said all that, I do enjoy train travel. I've done a great deal of it in Europe.
Our fellow travelers were of great interest to me as well. There were basically two groups of people on the train. There were those, like us, who were traveling the train for the novelty of it. There were several sets of grandparents with grandkids. Then there was a whole other set of folks who were traveling the train due to the cost factor. There was one little girl (probably 4 or 5 years old) that came and sat with us, played cards and shared our mediocre pizza. She was with us for over an hour before a group of adults walked through the car and waved at her. They were, apparently, her family. They didn't seem at all concerned that she was sitting and sharing food with strangers.
Finally we arrived in McGregor.
For the return trip, I came equipped. We had purchased a package of bleach wipes and proceeded to clean the entire lounge car. We purchased an assortment of child amusement items. Playdoh....crayons....coloring book....paper....army men.
The lounge car turned into to Romper Room on Rails. We had probably 8 kids engaged in various activities. When we got off the train we left the toys with the children.
I was glad to have done it, but I think I'll wait to take another train until I'm in Europe.
posted by Catherine Banks at 9:59 AM
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