Have you ever taken a road trip? Do you like road trips? I love to drive and see the countryside. I have always planned when I get older to take a road trip where I just stop every time I see something interesting to explore! Maybe Melanie and I will do that some day.
However, this week we are taking a different kind of road trip. This road trip won’t involve our US roads but our US rails. Melanie and I are getting on a train to ride from Orlando, FL to my hometown (here in the US; being raised in Canada I have one there, too) of Fort Madison, IA.
This trip has been in the works for months. It isn’t going to stop JUST in Iowa (more on that later). Melanie and I will be on this first leg with a lot of baggage but oh we will have fun.
What are the perks of train travel?
One of the perks of train travel is you aren’t doing the driving. You can concentrate on the countryside the whole time. You’re not in the driver seat so the pressure is so much less.
Another perk is you can bring all the activities you want on the train to work on. Melanie and I are prepared with activity books, crayons and pencils (I color and she sketches), books (I am not bringing many “REAL” books but I do have two devices to use my Kindle app), and of course our technology. Melanie has her games she likes to play and I have my laptop which now has thousands of pictures I have scanned to edit and a book I need to finish writing. How much will I get done?
If you’re like me you’ll enjoy the perk of having a restroom nearby and if you’re like Melanie, you’d be thrilled to have a cafe cart coming along on the trip. We are armed with a carry-on of snacks and water but I have told her once a day we will go to the cafe cart and she gets to choose something to eat. Oh the planning (nowadays you can see the menu before you get on).
We are going to try to keep a journal and write about all the important parts of our trip, our thoughts and ideas on the train as well as how we survive the whole experience. Surviving because we will be 2 days traveling up to Iowa. Why? We have always wanted to take a train trip so this presents a great time to do so. I homeschool so we are bringing some school work and leaving others behind. Her education will come along with us on the train. (note: I also am terrified to fly – full disclosure)
So, I hope you enjoy this post and if you have ideas for how to keep a 9 year old busy, comment below. We are hoping to have some spots of Wifi to check messages but mostly I’m looking forward to going old school with no social media.
Happy Trails!