We prepare to board the Carolinian on route to FL.
From Rochester, NY to Emporia, VA to Winston-Salem, NC to Raleigh, NC to Jacksonville, FL – we’ve made another Christmas pilgrimage to see the family and have returned to Orion to welcome in the New Year. It was a good trip, but it feels good to be home again.
Christmas Celebrations
After doing what we could to help out Dave’s parents as they moved out of their house, and enjoying some time with Dave’s sister Wendy and her family, we began heading south to join our children for Christmas. The frigid temperatures and blanket of snow gradually gave way to bare ground and much warmer temperatures as we made our way south, leaving the heavy coats and sweaters behind.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we were with our children’s families, enjoying their thrill as they waited for Santa and the awe of discovering he had actually come.
The day after Christmas, we moved further south to Winston-Salem, NC for a few days with Cathy’s family, enjoying several days with her mom, sisters and their families.
Train Travel
For the first time, we left NC by train, catching Amtrak’s “Carolinian” from the old Southern Railway station in downtown Greensboro to Raleigh. The old station had closed back in 1979, the year Cathy and her family had moved away from Greensboro after she graduated from high school there. (With her dad’s frequent use of the Greensboro station during the time he lived there, Cathy joked that that must have been the reason it closed upon their departure.) In the interim, it had been restored and finally re-opened in 2005, looking better than ever.
For the first time, we left NC by train, catching Amtrak’s “Carolinian” from the old Southern Railway station in downtown Greensboro to Raleigh. The old station had closed back in 1979, the year Cathy and her family had moved away from Greensboro after she graduated from high school there. (With her dad’s frequent use of the Greensboro station during the time he lived there, Cathy joked that that must have been the reason it closed upon their departure.) In the interim, it had been restored and finally re-opened in 2005, looking better than ever.
We had a long (11 hour) layover in Raleigh, so we took advantage of the time to tour the downtown of NC’s state capital. It’s a great place to spend the day, with so many free tours and museums a short walk from the station. We toured the historic Capitol building, the State Legislature building, the Museum of History and the Nature and Science Center. In the afternoon, we met up with Cathy’s niece, Christine, to see her new town house and eat supper before returning to the station to catch our train to Jacksonville.
We arrived in Jacksonville around 7:15am New Year’s Eve morning and caught the bus back to the marina, arriving there before 9am. Not a bad trip.
Orion Starts up
The big question in Dave’s mind when we returned to the boat was: will she start? We lost little time before putting the key in the ignition and giving it a try. Well, it wasn’t the first try, but she started on the 2nd try without us having to bleed the fuel lines. It’s a good sign, but only time will tell for sure.
Plans on Hold
We are in Jacksonville for a little while longer as we wait to see how some family situations resolve themselves. We plan to get some more projects done on the boat while we wait and – maybe we’ll go to Disney World.
Orion Starts up
The big question in Dave’s mind when we returned to the boat was: will she start? We lost little time before putting the key in the ignition and giving it a try. Well, it wasn’t the first try, but she started on the 2nd try without us having to bleed the fuel lines. It’s a good sign, but only time will tell for sure.
Plans on Hold
We are in Jacksonville for a little while longer as we wait to see how some family situations resolve themselves. We plan to get some more projects done on the boat while we wait and – maybe we’ll go to Disney World.
