Pulling from one of my earlier posts that I took an Amtrak trip up the east coast. I had to make a stop to see some very important people and I was introduced to Benny Vitali’s in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. It’s home of the Virginia Slice. The slice is two paper plates long. The whole pie is 28 inches. Now that is some pizza! I am sure there are other pizza pies in the world that are larger, this was just one I had experienced for myself. Of course they have other things than pizza, but this was worth the trip and stop over.
Recently, I decided to head to a local place here in the Orlando, Florida area, It’s called Kitty O’Sheas Irish Pub and Buffalo Bar. For anyone who visits the Orlando, Florida area in and around the Walt Disney World Resort area, this is where you will find Kitty O’Sheas.
Red Caboose Motel entrance taken from the Strasburg Railroad in 2004.
After the previous post from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, the next part of my Railroad vacation was bringing me back to a place I had visited back in the summer of 2004. It was a family trip back then to the southern part of Pennsylvannia, that trip including a day in Strasburg and Gettysburg, PA. That trip the family and myself were staying in York, PA, which had made travelling to each of these areas easier. Gettysburg was to the West and Strasburg was to the East. It was on the trip to the East in Strasburg that I had the chance to experince the “Amish Country, ” which is a very peaceful place to visit for sure. Strasburg, PA is also where I decided to make a mini vacation and visit once again. So thinking back on that trip to 2004 is where I got the inspiration for the full day I had planned in Strasburg/ Ronks, PA. I wanted to recreate the day I had with family for memory purposes, and that was the plan, but the only challenge was that I needed a place to stay!
I will be the first to admit that I am a shutterbug and in this case I am so glad that I am, looking back in to the photos that were taken back in 2004, I had stumbled across a photo I took of the Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant, which is the first picture posted with this post (Just up above).
Picture of the Red Caboose Motel taken in 2017
Seeing that photo in the photo library I was sold and that is where the real inspiration behind my railroad trip was, to look at the trains from the days past, ride on a real live running steam train and stay in a CABOOSE! I remember when I had seen the hotel the first time from the Strasburg Railroad that it was a neat place back then but now I was gonna stay there! Continue reading “Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant – Ronks, PA”
This post I am gonna share my experience with you on my first visit to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. I have always had a love of railroads and trains, steam engines more specifically, I had recently heard about this museum through a couple of venues, the latest would be the museums YouTube page, The Museum’s web link is here. The Museum’s YouTube channel really gave me a lot of insight to the history of the museum and a lot of handy information to plan my trip.
Waiting in line to head into the B&O Railroad Museum
Engine #1 – American Freedom Train
I arrived at the museum approximately 30 minutes before the main area had opened to the public. I decided to stop for a coffee before hand and let the excitement build for the days adventures. Driving into the parking lot it was nice to see some railroad rolling stock and a bunch of engines that had once been used by the railroads themselves. The one engine that had caught my attention was engine number 1, she’s a steam engine and had a banner on her entitled “American Freedom Train.” Continue reading “Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum – Baltimore, Maryland”
Arrival at Orlando Amtrak Station to start a vacation
So this post is one that is a writing in progress as I am starting the post from my seat aboard Amtrak. This is about the 8th trip I have been on since I have moved to Florida and each trip gets better and better. Taking these trips aboard the train is one of the many reasons for me starting the blog and to share my experiences with the world not only on Amtrak, but other experiences as well. There are a lot of railroad fans out there and travelling by train is a great experience in my opinion, well as long as one comes prepared due to the length of time it can take to travel from one destination to another.
One of my first trips on Amtrak was the use of the AutoTrain when I moved to Florida oh so many years ago, which I plan to write as a post in the future as to my experience on the train. The one thing I can say about riding the rails to one’s destination can be a long one, but if one comes prepared the trip isn’t half bad. In this modern age of smart phones and local entertainment watching the scenery pass by, Amtrak does have wifi aboard the train, considering that the train itself is using a cellular connection and if you get into a very rural piece of country there could be temporarily be service interruptions. Before I make a trip on the train I hit up the grocery for some snacks to bring along and a few bottles of water just to make sure I have provisions. The train does offer a snack car that has things like chips, sodas, coffee, candy bars, and microwaveable stuff at a cost to the passenger. Some long distance trains have a full dining car (it’s always good to check Amtrak’s website on the particular train number just to be safe. If it is a commuter train (like in the North East Corridor, Washington, D.C. to Boston, MA is where this will be more commonplace) there is just a snack car, from my experience. Continue reading “Amtrak Train Trip – Train #98 – Silver Meteor – Orlando, FL to Fredricksburg, VA”
People have said all good stories start with “Once upon a time.” However, here are going to be experiences shared on adventures that I have already taken or will be taking as time goes by.
Over the years, I have had the chance to visit some interesting places. I plan to revisit some of them because of what the place means to me and show it some love. We live in interesting times for sure and why not seize it and share. Sharing is caring.
With this beginning post I am kicking off my own blog to share with very close friends of mine and the world. And with that I hope you have your overnight bag packed because there are a lot of things planned and a lot of things to be shared …
