It’s getting hot down here, or what I like to call the universal sign to us northern folk. Migration season is upon us. We usually head to Florida in early fall, or whenever you need to heat the house. When you avoid going outside due to heat and humidity down here, it is the universal sign in reverse.
We are still working on the best mode of transportation, to get ourselves and our cars back and forth. Our first year, we took the auto train from DC area to Orlando area. This was during covid. We were sequestered in our “roomette.” The linen closet is roomier. Take into consideration that spouse and I both are over 6’ tall, with corresponding girth Between the discussion about who got the top bunk, all 5’10’ of it, and the town crier in the lower bunk, announcing every 30 minutes “I can’t sleep”. My husband’s new mantra was, “never again, never again” This mode was a non-starter.
Another year, we decided to leave one car in Florida, and drive up together. Yeah, on paper that sounds good. Share the one car. You and your spouse are now joined at the hip 24/7. Every day there is a negotiation as to who gets the car. Eventually you just do all the errands together. This is not for the faint hearted. For years I have food shopped for the entire family. A spouse will pick up an item (if you send a picture and GPS aisle coordinates) but never the whole shop. I can do a complete shop, cleaning supplies included, in under half an hour. My husband was more of a meanderer. He strolls the aisles leisurely, pinching, and sniffing the produce, climbing into the dairy case, checking for the best expiration date. (I have always taken expiration dates as suggestions). He even strolls down the dog food aisle. We don’t have a dog. Comparison shopping and perusing the weekly flyer, an educated consumer, who knew? Besides the more obvious drawbacks of constant companionship, keep in mind that the one who drives picks the music.
The following year, I took the train, and He drove home by himself. He was thrilled. He planned an East Coast steak and 5-star hotel tour on his way home. We are not talking about Longhorns, or Golden Corral. He knows where every Ruth’s Chris, Capital Grill, and steak joints where the bill tops a third world country’s GNP. Likewise with hotel accommodations. You won’t find him in any Knights Inn, even though they offer free breakfast for the princely sum of 79.99 per evening. He also enjoyed the peace and serenity on his travels, as there were no arguments regarding music choices, or breakfast plans. He really loved arriving 2 days after my arrival, knowing I would have unpacked the car, aired the place out, and picked up food and beer. Meanwhile, back in my suite on the train (aforementioned roomette) things were just heating up. The train lost an engine, so we had no electricity for quite a few hours. A loss of electricity on a train translates into no air conditioning, non-working bathrooms, and no bar car. The windows were hermetically sealed, so no fresh air was available. Meanwhile, my spouse was enjoying a night cap at the 4 Seasons. All was well until that month’s AMEX bill arrived. This is still a sore subject, so let us move on.
This year we are trying a new configuration. We are both taking the auto train back. I booked the family suite, with private bathroom. It sleeps four, but given our dimensions, I think we will fit. I have done a cost analysis, and realized even with the suite, it was still cheaper than the east coast steak tour for one. As a bonus we can unpack the car together, and food shop separately. Let’s see how this works…….or tune into Dateline, “Murder on the Snowbird Express”.
