Savannah Make no mistake about it. Even long before the present airline situations, the long waits in airports, the frustration of going through a variety of checkpoints to say nothing of uncomfortable seating once aboard a plane, Amtrak far and away has it made as the more beautiful, more relaxing, certainly more fun and cheaper way to travel.
Add to that, the joy of riding past the beautiful scenery that makes up the United States, no matter where you’re going, and the fun of meeting and chatting with strangers and life is pretty wonderful. Even if many hours of your trip are through the night. And you don’t have a private bedroom.
My recent trip on Amtrak’s Silver Meteor from Newark to Savannah, Georgia reiterated all that for me as I left Newark Penn Station for the approximate 18-hour ride to Savannah, Georgia, the Hostess City filled with diverse food, Southern traditions, great history and wonderful welcoming people. Purpose of the trip was to re-visit sites I had first seen more than two decades ago, as well as visit some others, learn some history, relax and meet new people. As always, it was a terrific trip.
Even getting to Amtrak from the Bayshore is easy, thanks to NJ Transit from Middletown to Penn Station, then a short wait in a clean and comfortable Newark station for the connecting train heading south.
The Meteor starts in New York and goes all the way to Miami in about 23 hours, with perhaps 20 or so stops at larger cities along the way. Getting on shortly after 1 in the afternoon got me to Savannah before 8 the following morning, 12 stops distant from Newark.
Thanks to Uber, it’s about $20 trip from Savannah’s station to the heart of the historic district of Savannah, and thanks to a hardworking and early morning housekeeping staff at the Tryp Hotel at the edge of the historic district, I could even access my room reserved for the next two nights at that early morning hour. The Tryp by Wyndham Hotel is not one of the fanciest in Savannah, nor does it have the charm of a B&B. But it’s certainly clean, friendly, accommodating, and while absent a restaurant, is close enough for plenty of eateries for any time of day. And the price is about the best of all the historic areas hotels that range in price to well over $400 a night.
But more about the train ride, which is where rest and relaxation for this mini vacation began.
I got a window seat, tucked my bag underneath, greeted my seat mate who was eager to chat, and settled in. Within minutes, Bobby told me he was dyslectic, and because of this disability in reading and spelling along with some other areas of literacy in which he was weak, he tended to talk a lot. He laughed when I told him that was fine, I’d tell him when he talked to much. It was amazing how that put him at ease, he thanked me and said he felt confident with that assurance.
Bobby turned out to be charming and sweet. He was about to go to Savannah as well, meeting with his older brother and visiting there to make a decision on whether he wanted to move because of advancing age and a desire to be near his family or stay in New York. Bobby’s affectionate chatter about his nieces and nephews made it easy to understand when he said his favorite name to be called was “Uncle Bobby.”
Once we chatted a while, after a couple of hours into the trip, I opted to go to the dining car more for a bottle of wine and a crackers and cheese (with cranberries and nuts) platter than a hot dinner or a sandwich.
Waiting along with three others in front of me and about ten behind me, most were irritated at the customer at the head of the line who questioned everything, wanted to read labels, and in general, was taking far too long to keep hungry and thirsty people happy. However, there was one older man, in front of me, who just grinned, let out a cheery laugh occasionally, and in general took the delay all in stride. His attitude was definitely one of “don’t let the small stuff bother you.”
After we both got our orders, and both sat at separate tables in the dining car, rather than return to our seats, it wasn’t long before we started chatting across the divide, laughing about the folks who complained about the wait in line. That’s when I learned this was Jim, and he was enroute to Florida.
Talks about Monmouth County where he had once lived led to his telling me he used to be the organist at St. Mary’s Church in Colts Neck, which then led to talks about the former pastor under whom he worked, Father William Bausch who served in that parish since it opened in the early 1970s until the mid-1990s. When I related Father is now in his mid-90s and still alive and living in the area, that led to stories about Jim and Father when he was the musician and Father was noted for his great homilies and books he authored.
That led to the stories of how Jim’s love was country music and the admission he was enroute to Florida to be installed in the Florida Country Music Hall of Fame. By this time, hearing my love for country music, it didn’t take long before Jim and I were sharing the same table, and he was laying out photos he was bringing for the Hall of Fame, great old photos of himself with Jeannie Seeley, Johnny Cash, Jane Carter, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn and other country music legends.
We shared stories about Bruce Springsteen and especially the Big Man, the saxophonist for Springsteen in the E Street Band whom he also knew. Kathy, another passenger sitting at another table, joined in the conversation and the time literally flew. When we all realized it was time to get some shut eye and with hopes of seeing each other again, said our goodbyes and headed back to our passenger cars.
Bobby welcomed me back, we chatted a few more minutes, then decided like the rest of the passengers in our car, we ought to sleep a while.
The conductor stopped at the seat a few minutes before after 7 to let both of us know the next stop was Savannah, and we gathered our belongings and got set to deboard.
In the station, Bobby saw his brother waiting for him, introduced me to him, and offered me a ride to the hotel. I thanked him, declined the generous offer, called Uber, and an hour later was in the comfort of my room for the next two nights in the Tryp Hotel.
Settled into the large and clean suite … and it was, complete with two TVs and a coffee maker and plenty of pods, creams and sugars, I was set to get back on the road, this time walking a block to the first stop on the Stop And Go Old Town Trolley Tour, an absolute must and a bargain at under $40 for use of it all day, both to learn history and save walking time and map searching for the vast number of beautiful, scary, historic and relaxing spots that make a trip to Savannah memorable and wonderful.
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