Finding Southern Hospitality After Long Train Ride

A vacation trip should be both an adventure and a learning experience. Maybe they’re the same thing.

We had both on our recent trip to Charleston and Savannah. We now understand and appreciate Southern hospitality more. We also wobble when we walk. Let me explain.

For months, Catherine and I had tried to figure out a trip somewhere. So, when some friends in Denver suggested we all meet in Charleston, South Carolina in early May, we took the bait. They would fly out and we would arrive by train. Then, at their suggestion, we added a couple days in Savannah, Georgia on our own.

Passenger train service to cities the size of Red Wing is rare, so why not use it? Catherine loves riding the train, maybe from the romance novels she reads. It certainly was the adventure part of the trip. You can’t be in a hurry when riding Amtrak, which must yield the right of way to freight trains. Sodelays and long layovers are common, along with some other drawbacks which I’ll get to.

America is a huge country where many states are larger than European countries. Riding the train provides views not seen from a car or plane. Our round trip was almost 3,000 miles. And that’s over just half the country.

Amtrak uses the same rails as freight trains. You see both beautiful countryside and the backside of every town you pass, where freight is stored in the warehouses that maintain America. You see trash, abandoned buildings and rust.

Snugly secured freight doesn’t require a cushy ride, so Amtrak passengers must endure the same shakes, rattles and rolls while walking down an aisle or using a restroom. Signs suggest things to hang onto. This is where my wobble developed. The loss of balance can last for a few days. 

We left Red Wing two days ahead of the couple flying from Denver, riding coach to Chicago, and in sleepers to Washington, D.C. and Charleston. I had the upper bunk bed which includes a heavy-duty harness attached between the bed and ceiling to prevent rolling off.

Two people can’t stand up at the same time in the aptly named roomette. A family room is better, about the size of a walk-in closet. These rooms are still better than coach on a long overnight ride and include meals (microwaved) and access to the well-appointed lounges at large stations like Chicago and Washington. Wi-Fi was not available onboard so a good data plan was a must. Our room between Chicago and Washington had just one outlet half-way up the wall. 

An eight-hour layover in Washington allowed us time to tour both the Capitol building and the National Archives which were within walking distance of the impressive Union Station. On our return trip we had time to take a trolley ride around “The District.” It seemed like mid-summer there.

Washington should be visited by every American to see the multitude of massive neoclassical buildings where our laws are legislated, administered and adjudicated. See the buildings where money is printed, taxes collected, history recorded (museums) and lobbyists connive. You could spend months there and never see it all. It truly is a “circus.” Everywhere you turn something is going on. We saw a group of handicapped people riding motorized wheelchairs protesting for better housing than simply being sent to rest homes.

We arrived in Charleston at 5 a.m., much too soon to access our Vrbo apartment. So, we checked our luggage at the station and took a Lyft to town. Having failed to notice when the Amtrak window would reopen later in the day, I had to wait 90 minutes there to get our luggage. I visited with a Black 82-year-old jazz pianist while I waited. He was there volunteering as an interpreter for the many immigrant Latinos arriving daily.

Charleston has a lot of shipping business, away from downtown, which is clean and geared for tourists. A narrated tour around town helped, as did a tour of the Charleston Museum. We visited Fort Sumter, where the Civil War started, and took a narrated ferry tour of the bay. We even rode a bike taxi. Charleston is second only to Las Vegas for the number of weddings held there. Many groups of young women, dressed to the nines, were enjoying bachelorette parties.  

A plantation tour clearly showed how poorly slaves were treated. Parts of several movies have been filmed there, showcasing its beautiful lane of live oak trees with Spanish moss. Various crops, like strawberries, are grown there. Samples from the first crop tasted great. 

Savannah is a slightly smaller, grimier city. That’s likely because the shipping industry is located near downtown so trucks mix with tourist traffic. The city’s numerous squares (neighborhood parks) were charming as were the many ornate houses. A tour of the Savannah Museum is a must. We saw locations where some of the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” was filmed.

The long train ride home provided time to reflect on it all. Southern hospitality seemed genuine. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Race somehow seemed less of an issue than here. These two cities have survived wars, hurricanes, fires, and now years of pandemic and politics. Despite everything, they’re moving on, determined to enjoy America again.

And that made me smile.