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Part 2- A Week in Florida
Day 3- Saturday March 22, 2003

Our first day in Delray Beach, Florida started with breakfast at Poppy's. Our first stop was to visit my grandmother (father's side). We talked for the little while, and picked up my little brother, Jeremy, who had arrived by plane earlier in the week. First we visited the local Wal-Mart for some food items and a car seat for David. The next stop was the local Publix by Oriole Village to do our food shopping. While Poppy, my mother and two brothers went ahead to the dollar store, I walked to the Dunkin' Donuts for Iced Coffee. By coincidence, I saw my grandmother and Irv, who she lives with, in the Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robins. She treated me to the Iced Coffees, one for me, one for mom.

For lunch, we went to Sweet Tomatoes, a salad bar/buffet restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner. It's a very good restaurant, down the road from the development my grandparents' live in. I highly recommend it, as it's also a good restaurant for even those who are dieting, as it offers soups, salads, and frozen yogurt, as well as several baked goods, including pizza and desserts. Our next stop was the Boca Raton Town Center Mall, where we went to several stores, including Old Navy, and the Discovery Channel Store. In the Discovery Channel Store, I got a small universal remote. Later, we dropped Jeremy off and Grandma's and went back to Poppy's for the night.

Day 4- Sunday March 23, 2003

Our second day in Delray Beach started with another trip to Grandma Etta's to pick up Jeremy. For breakfast, we went to my Great Uncle Billy and Great Aunt Betty's house (and they really are great). There I began to take my pictures for photography class. After spending a nice morning there, we headed for (Boca Raton's) Town Center Mall. There I had a Subway roasted chicken breast sandwich for lunch. I also had soda and chips with it. Later, we walked around the mall and had Iced Coffee from Gloria Jeans (they're a little pricey, but not bad. There used to be one in our mall, but has recently closed). After, we drove around to take more pictures for photography, and pick up dinner. We picked up Burger King, and made a quick stop at the local Home Depot. We went back to Poppy's next and assembled the fan we purchased for his patio. During the assembly, Poppy left to get a screwdriver and drop Jeremy off at grandma's. Once he returned, we finished assembly of the fan, and watched some TV, including war coverage.

Day 5- Monday March 24, 2003

On Monday, I woke up and had a little breakfast. Later, Poppy picked Jeremy up from grandma's, and left once he returned. We headed to Sawgrass Mills, a large outlet mall. To get there we used the Glades Road entrance to Florida's Turnpike. While there, we visited many stores including KB toys, Polo Ralph Lauren, Rockport, and so on. For lunch, we stopped at the "Hurricane" food court (one of two in the mall). I had a Subway roasted chicken breast sandwich with a coke to drink. After a little more shopping, we had Kohr Brothers frozen custard (the chain originated in Atlantic City, NJ, and I've had it n Ocean City, a lovely beach on the Jersey Shore, which has a stand every few feet). After a long, yet enjoyable day at Sawgrass Mills, we headed for the New (since our trip in February 2002) Costco in Boca Raton. We got a pizza pie for dinner, while my first 48 pictures were being developed. There was a mistake with some pictures, but they quickly re-did those (and were very accommodating, but later I noticed one print was missing). We then dropped Jeremy back at grandma's and went home (by now Poppy's seemed that way to me) to watch TV.

Day 6- Tuesday March 25, 2003 "The Lost Cell Phone"

For breakfast, I had oatmeal at Poppy's, followed by a trip to the nearby Bloods Hammock Groves. I had a cup of their delicious orange juice along with some vanilla ice cream, and a few fruit samples. We also bought some juice to keep at Poppy's. We picked up lunch from Wendy's and brought it back to Poppy's. After lunch, we picked up Jeremy, and went to Boomer's Amusement Park. On the way, I saw the Silver Star #92. I'd gone there before, but have outgrown it. I won David two stuffed animals. After Boomers, we took Jeremy back to grandma's. We then got some sunglasses, and Claritin-D for me, as my allergies had been bothering me. We also picked up iced coffee and a snack from Dunkin' Donuts.

After Dunkin Donuts, Mom realized she lost her cell phone. I checked by Walgreens, while she checked by the car. We then headed back to Grandma's building where mom had seen it. Jeremy looked down near the parking lot but couldn't find it. We looked and found it by calling that once we got there. A nice person had found it, and left it on the trunk of a car, meaning Jeremy didn't really look that hard. The phone still worked, but there was a crack in the LCD, and thus one could not read the left side of her phone. The night ended with pasta and salad back at Poppy's, and watching some TV. I of course watched 24, my favorite show.

Day 7- Wednesday March 26, 2003

Once I woke up, I had a tomato omelet for breakfast. For once, I got up before David. Later that morning, there were a few Palm Beach County fire-rescue trucks at Piedmont (Section of King's Point, where my grandparents live) building L (we were in building D), probably because of a small kitchen fire. Poppy later found out that it was a fire on a 1st floor apartment, in which nobody was home. We had lunch, and then visited my Great-Grandfather Sol, who lived in West Palm Beach. After visiting him, we went to the Palm Beach Gardens Mall. While there, we took David to the Build A Bear Workshop. Later, we had Starbucks Coffee and a slice of pizza. On the way back we hit traffic on I-95. I saw the Northbound Palmetto #90. In its consist were Amfleet II's 25000, 25111 (on my train going south) and Heritage Baggage Car #1800, in Phase V/Vermonter Paint. For Dinner, David picked up Burger King, and I picked up Subway (rather than have Chinese food at Grandma Etta and Irv's). After I finished eating, The Chinese food arrived for Grandma, Poppy, Irv, and Poppy. Next, I watched TV, and then had some ice cream for dessert. We left around 7:30.

Day 8- Thursday March 27, 2003

On Thursday, we basically took it easy. After breakfast, I did a little Biology homework (some teachers just don't know the meaning of a "vacation"). Later, Grandma dropped Jeremy off. At 12:00 we headed to the shops by Oriole for stops at Walgreens and the dollar store. After, we had another enjoyable lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. Next, we stopped at Costco to have them develop the print that they had forgotten on Monday (at no charge). Mom also got her pictures developed. After Costco, we went to Wal-Mart, to get Jeremy another suitcase for his flight home. We then proceeded to yet another dollar store as well as an art store. On the way back we picked up Burger King for Jeremy and David to take back to Kings Point. At 4:30, I brought Jeremy up to Grandma's to say Hello. The ended with some rain, left over Subway for dinner, and watching TV.

Day 9- Friday March 28, 2003, Spring Training and The Last Day in Florida

Friday was our last day in Florida, and perhaps one of the best of many good days on this vacation. At 11:15, Mom, Poppy, David, and I left to travel to the Orioles vs. Mets game at Fort Lauderdale Stadium (former spring training home of the Yankees). The stadium had a small crowd, as few people knew about the game, which was originally scheduled to be played at Camden Yards, but moved to Florida due to lack of ticket sales. Upon our entry into the stadium, we picked up lunch and a few souvenirs. We even got to keep a ball an Oriole threw up into the stands. After 6 ½ innings, David was getting hot. The Mets had a 9 to 0 lead at that point. I believe the final was 9 to 1 Mets. We made a stop at the Festival Flea Market on the way back. David had some McDonalds, and Mom and I got delicious pickles from the NY Pickle Stand. On the way back, we picked dinner from Burger King up for David, and Subway for me. We said good-bye to Grandma Etta (and Irv), and ate our dinner there. Our last day there ended with us watching some TV and packing up the remainder of our stuff.

Part 3- The ride home on the Silver Meteor #98
Day 10- Saturday March 29, 2003

On Saturday, I woke up at 5:45 a.m., showered and got dressed (wearing my Amtrak shirt of course). I also had a light breakfast before we left at 7:15. We arrived at the West Palm Beach Rail Station (formerly the Seaboard Air Line/Coast Line Station). We saw an SUV and a Sperry Rail Service car on the tracks as soon as we arrived. I saw a Tri-Rail train deadhead North to Magonia Park, then return south. The Silver Meteor #98 arrived a few minutes late, probably because of the Tri-Rail train. A different attendant (the one from 9812, we were in 9811), opened the door of car 9811 (the car was 62002- "Autumn View") there was Sean Gilliam, whom I had arranged to meet up with. We had to drag the bags up the stairs ourselves. After we waved goodbye to Poppy, we headed to the (non Temoinsa) "Refurbished" Diner for breakfast. I had eggs, coffee, potatoes and a croissant.

Our consist for Train #98 (MIA-NYP unless otherwise noted) was:
81- P-42 Diesel Locomotive, Phase V MIA-WAS
934- AEM-7-AC Electric Locomotive, Phase V/Acela Scheme WAS-NYP
1751- Heritage Baggage Car (ex-coach) Phase IV (former 1722)
2500- "Pine Brook"- Heritage Dorm Lounge Phase IV (also had been on our train #97, heading south a little over a week earlier, only car with smoking room.) 62030- "Patriot View" - Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV (Refurbished)
62002- "Autumn View"- Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV (As Built) <------------- I rode here
62028- "Palisades View"- Viewliner Sleeper Phase IV (As Built)
8502- Heritage Diner Phase IV (Non Temoinsa Refurbishment)
28004- "Albany Club" Amfleet II Lounge Phase IV (Concept 2000)
25028- Amfleet II Coach Phase IV (Concept 2000)
25073- Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Concept 2000)
25088- Amfleet II Coach Phase IVB (Red Safety Stripe, Concept 2000)
25043- Amfleet II Coach Phase VI (Concept 2000, car not opened until ORL)
1229- Heritage Baggage Car Phase III WAS-NYP (Used to carry Mail)

Around MP 870 on Ridge Siding, south of Sebring, Sean and I headed to the rear (bottom) of the train, which was not open to passengers. He also gave me the consist, while we sat in the lounge. We of course, had to wait for #89 to pass us, the conductor for the coaches, stepped out for a smoke in the mean time. We left Winter Haven around 11:35. For Lunch, I had Pepsi, a Cheeseburger, and some ice cream. We finished at Kissimmee, which we left at 12:39. I caught up with Sean in the Dorm, and we watched the Silver Star #92 pass us. Once again the Vermonter Baggage Car #1800 passed me. I took a step off in Orlando, while Sean and the other Conductor handled the baggage. We left Orlando at 1:37 after a long stop with all of the passengers and baggage being loaded.

The next stop was Winter Park, where Sean and his mother got off, I of course said goodbye. We left there at 1:57. At 2:09 the coach conductor announced that the train was approx 1 hour and 20 minutes late, with an ETA of 5:55-6:05 p.m. into Jacksonville. At 2:36, we left Sanford. I saw the Auto Train, with 832 and 836 at the lead, which we passed after leaving the station, as well as other Superliners and Auto Carriers. When the room was getting a little warm, we had Bill, our attendant reset the compressor on the B end of the car. We left Palatka at approx 3:39 p.m. Because of several signals not functioning we were forced to go very slowly for several miles south of Jacksonville.

We left Jacksonville at 5:37, while we were eating dinner. Fortunately, David woke up from a nap in time for our 5:15 dinner reservation. We sat with an older Gentleman, headed from Orlando to Savannah to meet up with his wife and grandchildren she was babysitting. I had Pepsi, and Filet Mingon with mashed potatoes, coffee and Ice Cream. I enjoyed the meal a lot. 8502 did have a slightly dangling ceiling panel.

We left Jesup at 7:08 p.m. At 8:05 we left Savannah, Georgia at 8:05 p.m. after a brief stop, where I stepped off. Around 8:30 p.m. we had Bill make up the beds. We left Yemassee, S.C. at 8:53 p.m. Yemassee is a shabby looking town. We went to bed around 9:30… or at least tried tow. We left Charleston at 9:45.

Day 10- Saturday March 31, 2003

I woke up around 6:15 a.m. At 6:24 a.m., we passed the Twilight Shoreliner #67, just south of ashington D.C. At 6:30 we arrived at Washington D.C. where we'd switched from Diesel to Electric Engines. I stepped off for pictures and noticed that the baggage car had been added to the rear. Once the HEP came on, we headed for breakfast in the Diner. I had Coffee and French toast. We left D.C. at 7:05. I saw Corridor Clipper (Phase IV) in Ivy City and Beech Grove {Phase VI) in the Station. We finished breakfast before Baltimore. At 7:41 we left Baltimore, I saw several MARC trains parked there.

I changed into clean clothes before Wilmington, which we left at 8:29. Amtrak's Consolidated National Operations Center was visible from the station. We passed either the Bear or Wilmington Shops at 8:34. At 8:37, another southbound train passed up. At 9:00 a.m. we left Philadelphia after a Brief stop. At 9:11 a.m. another southbound train passed us, then another one plus a Septa at 9:14.

We left Trenton, New Jersey around 9:15-9:30, and got into Newark around 10:10 a.m. A Red Cap was actually there to help us (first time I've seen one in Newark). He helped us bring our bags to the car. There, Dad and Jeremy were waiting for us. The ride home was uneventful, I did however, see a New Jersey Transit MidTOWN DIRECT train at Newark Broad St. Station.