JoyUnspeakable

We are about an hour away from our destination. I’m having breakfast with the girls. I think I’m the only one who had trouble sleeping (despite drinking nearly a whole carafe of wine). It’s a bit humid on the train, and it was hard for me to get comfortable. Maybe because I’m about six foot tall. Hopefully since Marie and the girls got good sleep we will be able to do something fun today; we can’t check in to out timeshare until 4.

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Location:Reams Dr,Petersburg,United States

It’s dinner time. Selections on the menu appear pretty good. We will see when the food arrives.

So far, the kids watched a movie on my iPad, played with some cut-out paper dolls, and have been doing pretty good.

Marie took a nap. And I worked on an iPhone app that I’ve been working on for a long time.

The train ride is bouncier than I expected. It’s not easy to walk around from car to car. I think I’ll sleep really well tonight. Especially if I finish this carafe of wine with dinner all myself.

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Location:Reams Dr,Petersburg,United States

There is a small play area for the kids to kill time waiting to board.

We are on board now. Would have been nice to know that they had plenty of airplane pillows and blankets for everybody instead of packing my own. Oh well. Good to know they have free trail mix in the dining car!

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Decided to skip the Apple Store until Florida. Not enough time to go before hand. Just got to the station now.

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Location:Virginia 600,Lorton,United States

It’s pretty crowded here in the train station. Fortunately we got here early enough to pick our dinner meal time. (choose between 5, 7, or 9 – we chose 7). I think last time we had to take the 9pm dinner.
We just finished eating our hoagies. Unfortunately, I left the bag of chips in the car, and once you leave the car, you can’t get back to it. Oh well.
I forget when boarding time is, but I can’t wait to settle in. Fortunately, once you check in, you get reserved seats. I was worried it was a free-for-all an we wouldn’t be able to find four seats together. But we should be good.

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Location:Henry G Shirley Memorial Hwy,Springfield,United States

It’s a 3 hour drive without stops or traffic. We were supposed to get to the train station by 1pm. I wanted to leave by 9am. We didn’t leave until 9:30am. I hate being late/off-schedule.
1 hour 35 to go. It’s 11:56am. And we still need to stop at the Apple Store. Stressed.

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Location:Pottstown Park,Downingtown,United States

First of many. We stopped at Wawa.

Location:Pottstown Park,Downingtown,United States

It’s 8:30am. Didn’t get much sleep. I’m guessing it was the big, strong cup of coffee that I had around 8pm last night. I kept thinking about things I needed to pack.

Marie just got in the shower now. Was hoping to leave by 9am. Not sure if that will happen.

This morning, I packed a bunch of stuff. Went to CVS to pick up some meds for Marie. Went to Wawa to top off the gas tank and pick up three Shortie’s for lunch when we get to the train station. Still need to stop at the bank – they weren’t open yet. And we need to stop at an Apple store along the way to pick up an Apple bluetooth keyboard to make it easier for Marie to use her iPhone. I think there are like five Apple stores right by the train station.

I’m worried about how much stuff we plan on bringing on the train. I’m not sure how much room we’ll have, or what the rules are on how many carry-ons per person. It feels like we’re gonna have a lot of stuff, but it is a long train ride, and we have two little girls to entertain. Gonna be a long day!

It’s Wednesday night. Late.

Tomorrow, my family leaves for Orlando. I’ve barely started packing.

Marie says she has the kids’ clothes and stuff ready to go. That’s good. She’s out playing poker right now while I sit at home watching the kids, loading movies on the iPhone and iPad, printing out coupons from the Entertainment Book on-line services and timeshare and hotel reservations.

We’re not necessarily going to Orlando for a vacation. Marie is involved with the NFB – the National Federation of the Blind, and they’re having their National Convention next week. It will be the first time that we go to it. Marie has opted to purchase a table at the Exhibit Hall so she can sell Herbalife at the convention. That’s making the trip a whole lot more complicated, but she’s passionate about selling Herbalife, so whatever makes her happy.

Earlier this week, I brought the van in to the dealer for an oil change, and to have them check on a weird rumble. They say the weird rumble was that I need a new transmission. Are you kidding me? I leave this week for Florida! They said they would call it in to the extended warranty. I thought that had expired two months ago. Who knows? They were supposed to call me back to let me know if it would be covered. They didn’t call me back, so I’m taking the van to Florida anyway. I figure as long as I make it down there, then I’ll figure out how to get home later. Hopefully, there won’t be any issues! Pray for me!

At least I’m not driving the whole way down. We’re taking the Auto Train down, and plan to drive home.

So, here’s the schedule: Thursday we take the Auto Train down to Orlando. We stay in Orlando for a week. Then we drive to Charleston, SC and spend a night there. Then we drive somewhere and spend a night. Then drive to Williamsburg, VA and spend two nights. Then drive home. Works out to be a nice two-week vacation. I love two-week vacations.

Well, I guess I should try to put some stuff in the van so I don’t have to do it in the morning.