What to do for 88 hours

88 hours is how long it takes to get from San Fransisco, CA to Orlando, FL by train.  To give a better understanding of how long 88 hours is, it's just over 3.5 days in length.  One way!  And that's assuming there are no train delays, which I hear Amtrak is notorious for.

So that brings up many important questions:

• What to do?
• Where to sleep?
• What to eat?
• Where to get water?
• Is there WiFi?
• What kind of train is it, anyway, and what is there at a reserved coach class seat?
• Can I take a shower?

What to Do
This was probably the easiest question to answer, as anyone who has ever been on a long car ride has faced a similar condition: boredom.  For some, sitting around reading all day sounds extremely boring.  Not so to me.  I quite enjoy reading, and I have loaded up my phone with several book series I have yet to read, and quite a few old ones I have read, just in case the new stuff is bad.

But I don't want to read all day for 4 days.  So I downloaded movies from my Vudu account (www.vudu.com) to watch on my laptop.  The best thing is that once they are downloaded on to your laptop, you don't need an internet connection to watch them*.

*For those unfamiliar with Vudu, it's a video streaming service that, after creating a free account, allows you to upload those digital copies that come with most DVD/BluRay discs.  You can then access them from anywhere with an internet connection via your online Vudu account.

Which brings me to another point I was not terribly sure about:

Is There WiFi?
Sadly, no.  Some trains do have WiFi, but the particular trains I am going to be on do not.

So, what can I do about that?  Lucky for me (and most people with a smart phone these days), I have a tethering app on my phone that allows me to create a mobile hotspot, thus providing me with internet access of sorts.  I probably won't have great service in some of the flyover states, but in major cities and suburbs I should be well covered.  Make sure you have an unlimited data plan, or know about how much data you plan to use if you go this route!

Where to Sleep
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I could not afford a sleeper car.  So for those who go on long, over night trips, you sleep in your seat, which does recline.  How much it reclines, I am not entirely sure.

Amtrak has this interesting chart picture posted on their website, depicting reserved coach seats:

Are There Bathrooms on the Train/Showers
Yes, there are!  And from past experience of close friends/family, I hear there is a changing room of sorts in addition to the restrooms located on the car.  Also from the same sources, the restrooms are single person rooms, so not like a traditional womens/mens room with multiple stalls.

Yes, there are showers! However, to the best of my knowledge, you must pay for a sleeping accommodation (like a car, roomette, etc) in order to use the shower.  Luckily I don't plan on breaking a sweat or working out too much and I don't smell after only a day (at least, no one has complained!) so I should be ok.  To combat odors and dirty hair/face, I'm going to take dry shampoo and facial cleanser towelettes.  A bottle of spray isopropyl alcohol will also kill the bacteria that cause the bad smelling odor (spray this on any clothing, etc to help combat stinky smells!).


Where to Eat/Drink
On the long distance trains, they do have a dining car.  According to the Amtrak website:

On long-distance trips, passengers are asked to make reservations for lunch and dinner. Reservations are taken in 15-minute increments for a more pleasant dining experience, assuring passengers of receiving quality service from Amtrak staff and preventing the Dining Cars from becoming overcrowded during peak meal times.
After boarding, a dining car staff member will go through the train asking passengers to select a preferred time for dining. Reservations are taken during each meal's service hours, except for breakfast. Passengers will be seated as they present themselves at the dining car. If the dining car is full, names will be taken, and passengers will be called in order from the lounge.

So I will have to let people know how this goes!  I have found a menu online, so I know what to expect for food/prices.

Here are some good links if you are curious about what kind of food the different trains offer and their prices:
Amtrak (quick menu glance)
Amtrak (menu and prices in PDF format)

Other good news: you are allowed to bring your own food onboard!  So I know I will be bringing plenty of snacks, as I am a fairly picky eater.  I will post more about what snacks I plan to bring in a later post.

Lastly, after doing an extensive search on the internet, I found that most people agreed there is a water fountain on board you can fill up water bottles at.  Some people said the water tasted bad, others didn't mind it at all.  So a note to those picky water drinkers:  consider bringing a water bottle that filters water.

What Kind of Train
Here is a fairly decent chart that depicts some of the differences in a reserved seat on the different types of train:

I will be on either a viewliner train or a superliner train the entire time.  The differences between the two are not that big.  Another excerpt from Amtrak:

Short / medium-distance trains and single-level / Viewliner trains offer reserved coach seating featuring wide comfortable seats with fold down trays and many other amenities.
Famous for the bi-level sleeping cars, the Superliner trains also offer coach seats on both levels. While most passengers ride in the upper level for a panoramic view of the passing scenery, the lower level coach seats provide convenience:

• well-appointed restrooms within the car and

• accessible seating for passengers with mobility impairments.

I think I covered all my topics mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Stay tuned for more information on my upcoming trip!