FOMO stands for Fear of Missing Out. Living in Florida, you are surrounded by people who love to tell you their travel tales. How their trip to Greece was so inspiring, how REAL Italian food is so much better in Rome, how that safari to Africa was the trip of a lifetime. Not to mention the 22 cruises they have already taken and plan to take three more by the end of the year.
It would take an extraordinary person to listen to all their adventures and not feel like you need to get onboard the travel train to a more exciting life. Well, since I obviously am not an “extraordinary” person, I didn’t want to miss out on any of it. So, I tried it all…train, boat, car, plane in the space of two months this summer (don’t know how I missed the Greyhound Bus).
The train would be my first adventure. I was so certain that I would love seeing the country through the windows of a train as I relaxed with a good book that I bought the special…10 train segments anywhere in the U.S. to be completed within 30 days. Having watched Orient Express movies many times, I had visions of relaxing in my luxurious bedroom suite and going into the dining car in my evening gown to dine with all the other intriguing travelers…ok…not really!
Arriving at the Tampa Union Station headed to Union Station in Washington, D.C., it didn’t bother me that the train was an hour late. The fact that it was a typical June day in Florida with temperature in the mid-90’s making the station more than a little uncomfortable, adding to that having the over 30 children with adults from a church group who could not contain their excitement of seeing all the sites in Washington for an hour and a half, did not diminish my expectations of what it would be like when my daughter and I boarded that Train 92!
Train 92 finally arrived, and everyone bound for Washington was ushered into certain train cars. My enthusiasm began to fade as I envisioned what it might be like to travel for almost 24 hours on a train with elementary aged kids. Luckily, that excited bunch was given their very own car while we were told to move to the next car. After boarding and finding the only two unoccupied seats left, I noticed why these seats were not taken, there was no window to look out. I mentioned that to one of the women in uniform, and was essentially told, “Too bad. If someone gets off, you can move.”
At the Jacksonville Amtrak Station, some people did get off, and their seats had wonderful window views…just in time for riding through the darkened night. I rationalized that it didn’t matter because tomorrow would be hours of watching the beautiful countryside of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia…it would be worth it all.
Then that same train employee who said we could move if someone left, looked irritated as she approached our seats. ” Who told you that you could move your seats?” I explained that there were no assigned seats, and she had said we could move when someone got off. In addition, I mentioned that I had told the person checking our tickets in Jacksonville, and she didn’t have a problem with it. To which that employee said, “Well, I’m in charge of this car. She works for me.” I was beginning to wonder if I had mistakenly gotten on a prison train! And my impression was reinforced when she made an announcement that it was not the people working on that train’s responsibility to “pick up after ya’ll cause we’re not going to do it.”
I failed to make a reservation for the dining car in time, so the evening meal was comprised of a hamburger (which wasn’t half bad). The Orient Express this was not, but the windows and tables in the cafe car were large enough and a welcome change from the confines of the coach seat. I was just happy that they didn’t offer me only bread and water after my changing seats debacle.
The night seemed to last forever probably because sitting up all night in a train with a whistle that blew at every railroad crossing and stopped at numerous small town train stations throughout five states was not something I saw in even one of the Orient movies I’d seen. Looking over at my adult daughter twisted into a pretzel shape in an effort to find a comfortable sleeping position, sent a reality check about those nine other train segments I’d purchased prior to my maiden voyage.
Arriving at Union Station in Washington, D.C. almost two hours late meant that the rental car office was closed. No other transportation could get me to our hotel which was on a military base in the area. Of course, they didn’t allow anything but private or rental vehicles through the gates. Running like crazy people through Union Station, up three flights of stairs, we managed to find a rental car office that hadn’t closed yet.
Washington, D.C. was truly a great adventure seeing the museums, sights and sounds, wonderful restaurants, and impressive buildings and historical sights. Three days later, we were back to reality. All aboard Amtrak Train 91 headed south for another almost 24 hours. Those other eight train “segments” I purchased did not seem so attractive to me now. I had to admit that I got what I deserved after listening to all those people recounting with great enthusiasm their trips and wishing I could have their exciting, wonderful lives.
Don’t judge me because many of us in this country buy into FOMO only to realize, no matter where you roam or stay at home, you will never miss out if you love your life wherever you are. However, in my defense, I had already purchased a cruise to the Bahamas before the train trip which I was absolutely certain would be a blast, but that’s another story!
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