After a sleepless night

 

February 5, 2012 – morning

Around 6 in the morning, I decided to stop pretending I was asleep.  The main problem last night wasn’t the beds (which were narrow) or the motion of the train (which was jerky), but our neighbors:  Ms. Cackle, her booming-voiced companion, and some their friends who didn’t want to settle down until well after our bedtime.  Even with our door closed, it was impossible to shut out the noise.  Eventually, I drifted off but it wasn’t a very restful night and I figured we might as well get up early.  The next challenge we faced was getting into our clothes because there was no room to stand up with the bunks extended.  After going through contortions, we managed to make ourselves presentable for breakfast.

As we were sitting in the dining car enjoying our continental breakfast, we were noticing how different the landscape looks in Florida.  Through the early morning mist, we could see flat stretches of land, pale sandy soil with scrubby brush and thick grass, an occasional swampy area and then a palm tree.  We even saw our first orange tree of the trip.  The red lights of railroad crossings flashed as we sped through rural areas.  Every so often, a rundown shack appeared out of the haze and tangle of trees.  No inhabitants were in sight, but the carcass of a rusted car and a pastel blue plastic lawn chair added to the surreal quality of the composition.  I thought to myself, if only the train would stop and let me take some photos.  By eight o’clock, the sun was starting the break through the gray soup.  The announcer came onto the loud speaker to tell us that we’d be arriving 45 minutes ahead of schedule.  Time to gather our belongings and try to cram them back into our bags.