Getting there Part 1

The first step of my adventure is getting there. I'm on the Cardinal Amtrak train headed down to Charlottesville, VA. I got on in Chicago. My friend Renee walked me to the station to say goodbye. I was so nervous. I haven't taken Amtrak in years and i can't believe that it's already time to leave for my adventure. And so my 30 hour Amtrak adventure begins.

    I was assigned to sit next to this wonderful woman, Sarah. She was great company for the extremely long ride and has done a few day hikes of the Appalachian Trail. People came and went but overall everyone was really nice on the train.

    This train has a dining car and the food is actually pretty good. I've been indulging in the nicer foods. Dinner was salmon with a white wine sauce, green beans, garlic mashed potatos, and strawberries. Then the following morning a cheese omelet, cresant, and potatoes. I had a few other snacks along the way but it was nice to break up the long ride.

   I found that i had a hard time sleeping, the seats were not good for sleeping in a well as the other passengers snoring and talking, it was quite cold in the car and the train blows it's horn every few minutes. People came and went with the stops all night. Not much sleep was had. In the morning i found out there was a short leg rest that I could have used!

   In the morning we arrived in West Virginia, it was beautiful after seeing nothing but flat land. There were mountains everywhere and we followed a few rivers for the rest of the way. There were waterfalls coming down from all of the mountains we passed and the tunnels were my second favorite thing. We must have passed through a dozen or so tunnels at various lengths.

   By the end of the trip Sarah got off shortly before my own stop and it felt great to walk around and freshen up in the restrooms at the station.

   My boyfriend, Ken, is in the Navy and stationed in Virginia. I had a 6 hour layover before my second train and he was able to get a half day off to spend that time with me! It was such a wonderful way to start this trip. We got chocolates, went to a cheese market, drove around and found a small nature preserve with a trail which we hiked (yes, hiking before the hiking trip), then we ate a wonderful dinner at this place called Orzo. I would highly recommend stopping here for lunch or dinner if you are ever in the area because everything i put in my mouth was so deliciously perfect. Then we had to say our goodbyes because the next train was ready for boarding.

  I was surprised at how many people knew about the trail in the town. A guy at the chocolate shop through hiked the trail a few years back. I suppose the towns closer to the trail know more about it than other places in the country. Most people i talked to about the trail back at home haven't even heard of the AT.