Try Taking the Train

Slow and Easy:

After a lifetime of work, retirement is the time to enjoy your family and really live out your dreams. Whether by enjoying hobbies, volunteer work, traveling or whatever else interests you.

Those who travel can take a cruise, travel by air, bus or car. The method Elaine and I prefer ....whenever possible..... is by train.......Our travel is usually from Northern Indiana to Pittsburgh or Washington D.C. and we’re able to catch the train in South Bend, Indiana at about 8:30 in the evening......and after a good nights sleep, we arrive in Pittsburgh at about 4:30 the following morning........ fortunately, the hotels allow for early check in.

When traveling to Washington, we depart South ‘bend at 8:30 in the evening and arrive in Washington the following day a little after lunch. We could fly it, but we’d rather not have to go through the hassle. We could drive it but we think it’s really dangerous on the turnpikes and toll roads and we never know what the road conditions or traffic is going to be like.

No.....we’ll stick to the train. Elaine brings those blow up neck pillows for each of us along with eye masks and ear plugs. The best part of our train trip is the food. Elaine always brings a little wine.....some crackers, cheese and cookies. She also brings some cereal for the following morning. We could eat our meals in the dining car, but for such a short journey, we think it’s more fun to bring our own.  
    
Another part of train travel we enjoy is the people. We take cards and it’s easy on the train to find someone to play with and if not, the people are just great. So nice and friendly.......When we first started traveling by train, we wondered why more people didn’t choose that form of travel. Today though, the trains are pretty full. I don’t know if it’s the downturn in the economy or just that more people are realizing how really nice it is. That’s why we reserve our seats as soon as we know the dates we want to travel.

The towns you pass are so interesting on the train and we have gone back to visit some of them. Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia is one such town. Each time the train stopped there, we would agree that some day we wanted to visit. So the next time we went to Washington, we drove and stayed in Harper’s Ferry for a couple days.

That’s what I like most about retirement. When the opportunity presents itself to see or do something interesting or exciting........you can do it.

We retired at the age of 55 and have never regretted that decision. Thank God we had the Steelworkers union to negotiated such a good benefit.

The next time to travel..........consider the train for a fun journey.