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| - I have always wanted to travel by train, and I regret that it took me till I was 34 years old to finally experience it. I surprised my wife a couple months ago with a round trip adventure from Charlotte to NYC on the Amtrak. I should mention I won the round trip tickets for two on the auction site bidoncharlotte.com for only $200.00 total. This site is updated quarterly by the local radio stations and multiple businesses participate with their local deals, so keep an eye on it.
Our experience with the Amtrak is best described as laid back. The train ride was going to be 12 hours long, so I decided we should depart CLT at 2AM so we could sleep the majority of the way. We arrived at the station, parked our car, hoping parking was free (it was), stepped out with our luggage and entered the station. We had our tickets printed out already, and stepped into line. The man never announced the departure, just began leading this line onto the train. No one checked our baggage, there was no hand raping from a TSA agent, just walk in and board your train, I finally had to start a conversation with an Amtrak employee to just make sure this was the Crescent train we were suppose to be on. He said yes and told us to pick out our seats. We put our bags overhead and sat down, still haven't shown anyone our tickets and off the train goes. Around an hour later the guy stops by and asks for our tickets. We oblige and he stamps it, and that was the entire process.
Having flown for so many years, I felt like we were getting away with a crime. This laid back procedure surely wouldn't fly on our return trip from Penn Station in NYC of all places, I was wrong. In Penn Station on the way home, they post what train to board on 15 minutes before its departure, you board yet again with no bag checks or pat downs, and they check your ticket like 30 minutes after the train has left. I could never shake the culture shock of that feeling compared to flying, but it was so convenient and relaxing. My only regret was not packing liquor, I guess next trip I will.
As far as the train experience itself, you get large wide seats with built in leg reclining via a side lever. The drop down eating trays from the airplanes are there, and the best perk of all your very own wall outlet with two plugs. The views in the morning are beautiful, traveling through all the small quaint downtown and mountain ranges. The train does stop at every station along the way, but usually only for a couple minutes.
We thought 12 hours would be almost unbearable, but we were surprised how fast it went being able entertain ourselves with electronic devices at all times, sleep together in our double seats, and have the ability to get up and explore or stretch whenever we wanted. The snack car is nice, for drinks, sandwiches, or candy. On the way back we made a dinner reservation and it was very nice to be able to sit down and eat a full dinner with beer and desert while watching the countryside pass by. (See photos)
After the experience we both agreed we would do that again anytime we found a deal, but that 12 hours was about as long as we would be willing to spend on board. Luckily Washington DC is only around 8 hours away, so I believe that will be our next train voyage.
Big fan of the Amtrak now, the low hassle and freedom on board totally outweighs any of the seediness that comes with this form of low income travel.
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