Another Big Christmas Surprise

Lukey and Kenzie have been dying to take a long distance trip on Amtrak for many years.  Last Christmas, we were booked to take Amtrak to Manhattan with Lukey and Kenzie but our train was cancelled as we were waiting for it to arrive in Waterbury.  It was cancelled due to flooding here in Vermont and, at the last minute, we decided our only option was to drive down to Manhattan instead.  That means Lukey and Kenzie missed out on a huge part of last Christmas' surprise trip.  That Amtrak travel was supposed to be the highlight of the trip but it was cancelled!

They were definitely sorely disappointed but we still had a great time in Manhattan at Christmastime.  That train cancellation really put a big damper on the trip though which we were reminded of constantly during the long 12 hours in the car contending with heavy rain, traffic, and detours in a cramped car rather than a long train allowing us to get up and walk whenever we felt the need.  Having to stay awake long enough to drive the whole way was no picnic either.  I am no fan of driving.  Yeah...  driving was great when I was a teenager but I quickly realized just how boring and monotonous it truly is.

With Lukey and Kenzie's cancelled Amtrak trip in mind, Sheila and I started planning another trip for this summer way back in November although we had been talking about it privately for months.  

We've had to cancel trips to Dayton and the US Air Force Museum at least twice in the past ten years so we're long overdue for a trip there.  That first cancelled trip was actually to attend a ceremony unveiling a plaque honoring me at the museum.  My health was not well enough for that trip though.  

A couple of years later, we attempted another trip to Dayton and the museum but that ended up in another cancellation, once again but not surprisingly, due to my poor health.  Actually, we've had to cancel a lot of trips in recent years due to my health so it is no surprise that we had to cancel a couple of trips to the midwest too.

So, back in November after months of discussing logistics, we decided it was time to book another trip to Dayton.  This time, however, we quietly decided to take Lukey and Kenzie with us so they could finally experience a cross-country trip on Amtrak.  After getting the go-ahead from Liza, their mom, we arranged the whole trip but decided to wait until Christmas to tell the kids.  

Rather than just telling them we booked a trip and that they'll be joining us on Amtrak in roomettes, we chose to figure out a way to surprise them like it was a last second thought.  

We kept one of my presents under the tree as though we had missed it when we were handing out presents and then waited until things settled down after we ate dinner.  When things were a bit quiet, I opened my remaining gift which was a book about the aircraft at the US Air Force Museum.  When I opened it, I said, "HEY....  a book about the Air Force Museum in Dayton" so that everyone would know what I had in my hands.

I paged through the book for a few seconds and then said to Sheila, "you know...  we should book an Amtrak trip to Dayton for my birthday...  either before my birthday or after..."

The room pretty much went silent, probably waiting for Sheila's response.  Sheila waited a second or two then said, "Yeah...  we're overdue for a trip there" and then excitedly added, "we should do that."

I think Lukey's mouth dropped open at this point at the mention of Amtrak before he finally said what we were hoping either he or Kenzie would say...  and, dripping with a little bit of envy, he said "uhhh...  we want to go on an Amtrak trip..." probably hoping we would invite them to come with us. 

I quickly responded saying, "okay...  let's go!"  Adding, "well, really, I guess it's up to your mother."

Liza quickly added, "It's fine with me."  

This quick exchange of short statements all happened so quickly that both Lukey and Kenzie seemed stunned.  I think at this point they were both wondering whether this was a joke or perhaps we were just teasing them.  

Once we started talking about the places we planned to visit and the cities we would travel through along with the cities where we would have overnight layovers, they seemed to understand that this trip is real and they would be coming with us.  Still, they were surprisingly quiet as though they were still not completely sure we were being serious.

Sheila let them know that we had already booked everything for them to join us...  multiple trains, hotels in Manhattan, Cincinnati, and Dayton, rental car, figuring out subways and Ubers, as well as all the possible places to visit and things to do at our destinations.  

A little bit later, after sitting at his new drum kit for a bit, Lukey asked what cities we would see and what states we would pass through during our journey.  Still...  both Lukey and Kenzie seemed a bit reserved like they were guarded in case we were still setting them up with some elaborate joke.  Of course, maybe one of the sticking points for them is they need to get through the school year before they can finally board Amtrak as first class passengers.  I think that as we get closer to this long June train journey, they'll get more and more excited though.

We'll need to get with Lukey and Kenzie about clothing...  it will be hot out and they will be away from home for about two weeks which means a lot of sweaty shirts, socks and underwear with no way to do laundry.  That's a lot of shirts, socks and underwear to have on hand that fit them properly so we'll probably need to buy some clothes this spring.  

We'll be traveling down to Manhattan in Business Class on The Vermonter train.  Business class seems to get a bad rap nowadays but we definitely prefer Business Class on The Vermonter.  The seats are much larger and plusher.  There is far more room.  It is more quiet than Coach.  And, the cafe is right on the other end of our car.  So, until they change this to a newer car that eliminates some or all of these advantages, we prefer it.  I have no idea why people think it is even close to comparable to Coach.

Here are a few photos from previous Amtrak journeys...



The Cardinal now has "updated" trains called Viewliner II.  Generally speaking, we're happy with the updates to the Viewliner II Roomettes but the differences really are minimal.  There is really only one big plus to the II Roomettes.  (They finally removed the stinky, open toilets that were in the previous Roomettes.  God...  that was disgusting and the stench was nauseating.)  I still feel like the interior design and style of this new train is very dated, rather cold, and ergonomically poorly designed.  There is certainly no style nor class to these new Roomettes.  It is the same old poor design sans the stinky open toilet.

They updated Coach to be more like a bus or a commuter train which we do NOT like in the least.  Recent CEO's of Amtrak seem determined to sabotage Amtrak's allure and nostalgia.  Long distance train travel should always be nostalgic and warm yet with modern creature comforts.  It should be different than all other travel just as it has been historically.  Buying new Coach cars that resemble sardine-can aircraft, buses and commuter trains is not the direction to go.  Regardless, they did make one big change to the II Roomettes that make it more comfortable so, for that, we're happy.  The rest of the changes or "updates" in the Roomettes are really no more than lipstick on a pig.

Early the next morning, we'll make our way back to Penn Station to get on Amtrak's Cardinal train to Cincinnati (the Viewliner II).  We have two roomettes for this leg of our journey.  The Cardinal is a Viewliner train as seen in the photo below showing Nan walking toward me.  


The next few photos show some of our times in roomettes on previous journeys...




This next photo was shot in the Sightseer Lounge.  Unfortunately, The Cardinal does not have a Sightseer Lounge so we'll just have to watch the scenery from our private roomettes and the Dining car which is okay, I suppose.  I just feel that all Amtrak long distance trains should have a Sightseer Lounge.  


Below is a photo from the Dining car.  This was back when all of the long distance trains had exceptional meals in their Dining cars.  Dining was shutdown during the pandemic and has not yet returned to normal on The Cardinal so we'll be sorely missing that.  We'll still get free meals but these meals are sub-par from a very limited menu.  Now they are more like boxed lunches or a gas station breakfast sandwich.  Long distance trains must have a full kitchen and a full kitchen staff!  Amtrak, take note!!!  I'm not going to get into it here but what we experienced on The Lakeshore Limited for "dining" is absurd and a tremendous waste of resources.  That is not the way first class dining on a long distance train is meant to be!  Unfortunately, I think we'll be experiencing a very similar dining experience on this Cardinal train.


This photo below shows the view as we approach the US Air Force Museum.  In this photo, you can see Liza, Adam and Sheila up in front of me during our last visit there.  The museum has a big theatre so we'll probably stop in for one of their films...



The next couple of photos were shot in the Memorial Park outside the Air Force Museum...





Inside the museum during our last visit, Liza and Adam got to play around with spacesuits as well as an MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) simulator...  I put together the composite image below from photos I shot when they were playing around with spacesuits...  I got the Earth background from NASA's public domain images...  I really like this image!



The Air Force Museum is significantly larger today than it was when we last visited.  There are now four huge hangars full of aircraft.  Honestly, I have no idea how we are going to manage to get through this entire museum during this upcoming visit.  When the museum was a quarter of its current size, it used to take me more than a day to wander through.  We might need to squeeze in another half day in an attempt to catch a view of a few select displays that we had missed during the full day visit.  When I lived in Dayton, I visited the museum very often and there always seemed to be something I hadn't seen before...




Here, I captured a photo of Liza capturing a photo...



And, below Liza is landing a model plane on a runway...



LOL...   this sequence of photos wasn't planned but it is funny seeing this crash landed aircraft right after the photo of Liza landing a model plane on a runway!





We hope to visit some of the sites on the Aviation Trail.  Below is one of the Wright brothers' bicycle shops on this trail in downtown Dayton...



This is what is left of the Wright brothers' childhood home...  also on the Aviation Trail and just two blocks from the bicycle shop in the above photo...



Below is the Wright Brothers' Memorial (also a stop on the Aviation Trail).  When you climb to the top of all these steps you have a nice view of Huffman Prairie which is now the location of one part of sprawling Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  

This prairie is where the Wright Brothers refined their aircraft particularly the first powered aircraft.  About 80 years later, after the beginning of my college years on what used to be Mitchel Field (an old pilot training base on Long Island named for General Billy Mitchel) and at the Merchant Marine Academy, I started my flight training on this same prairie...



Another place we hope to visit again is Carillon Park which is a historical park in Dayton.  Below we have another one of the Wright Brothers' bicycle shops.  Also located in this park is the Wright Brothers' National Museum as well as many Dayton historical landmarks that had been moved to this park...









Depending upon the weather while we are in the Cincinnati area, we hope to visit the zoo too.  We don't get to do that around here.  If it's rainy, I doubt we'll want to be walking around the zoo so, hopefully, the weather will be good while we're there.  

Here are a few photos from our last visit to the Cincinnati Zoo...







Below are a couple of photos of Liza and Adam on the merry-go-round at the Cincinnati Zoo...





We'd also like to visit the Newport Aquarium again which is right across the river from Cincinnati...



Here is the view of Cincinnati from behind the Newport Aquarium...



So, we're really looking forward to this trip!  We're riding the train from Waterbury to Manhattan...   staying the night at the Midtown Hilton...  then, the following day, riding the train from Manhattan to Cincinnati.  

We are scheduled to arrive in Cincinnati in the middle of the night so we booked a room at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati so we can get a few extra hours of sleep.  We arrive in Cincinnati in the middle of the night so we have to wait for the rental car company to open anyway so we might as well be comfortable in a hotel and get a few more hours of sleep while we kill some time.  In the morning, we'll pick up a rental car and then drive less than an hour to our hotel in Dayton.  

While in Dayton, we'll be staying at The Marriott at the University of Dayton.  We'll be in Dayton for a few days, showing Lukey and Kenzie around, before heading back to Cincinnati to visit the zoo and the aquarium.  We have reservations at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati again.  And, of course, we'll be getting on The Cardinal train in Cincinnati to head back east.

This photo, below, is of the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati (their photo, not mine)...  I've been at this hotel a few times way back in the 1980s with friends...



And this photo below is of The Marriott at the University of Dayton (their photo, not mine)...





The Cardinal will take us back to Manhattan where we will spend another night at the Midtown Hilton then hop on The Vermonter train the following morning for our ride back to Waterbury.  

Hopefully there will be no train cancellations for this trip so that Lukey and Kenzie can experience a long distance Amtrak train in a roomette!  Of course, we're also hoping for good weather and no other problems.  Wouldn't that be nice for a change?



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