Continuation of The Journey

Amtrak To & From Savannah
I was excited about and looking forward to riding a train and avoiding the hassle that we experience at airports these days... Not sure, specifically of what... but I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed.
I was pleased to see that there was lots of leg room between seats compared to coach seats on planes. On most planes long sleeves or a sweater/jacket is needed to be comfortable. I was in the isle seat going and the window seat returning. On the train going to Savanna, I can't ever remember being so cold while travelling... on a bus, train, ship or plane.
A woman travelling with some Girl Scouts complained about the cold to the conductor and he told her he would try to put the heat on because he couldn't change the temperature. After freezing about 5 hours the temperature became acceptable.

The passengers travelling to Florida or Georgia were seated in the last 2 passenger cars. The dining car and the club cars were near the front of the train. Which required us to walk through at least 6 cars to get to the dining car. I don't recall the trains rocking as much from side to side as it did this time... could be... because this time it was travelling at a higher speed...
The menu is much more limited than I recall in the good ole days. I was even more disappointed at the menu on the return trip.... they ran out of some items on the menu long before we got to the dining car... There was no apology... Our waiter responded "Oh we ran out of that a long time ago"... "no more chicken on the pizza.. Pepperoni is on it", etc.....
That and the freezing temperature in the coach that we were assigned made for a disappointing train trip...

Savannah was nice. We were joined there by our middle daughter who drove from Atlanta with her 2 granddaughters. We stayed in the Baymont Hotel in Garden City just outside of Savanna. The girls got a big kick out of us having adjoining rooms and the free breakfast. They also enjoyed the pool and hot tub..

We took the Black History Tour with a bus driver who is a native of Trinidad. He was just full of information about Savanna's black and white history.

We went to the beach on Tybee Island and found lots of Sand Dollars that were at least 3 inches in diameter. Fortunately the sun was not too hot without a beach umbrella.

On Tybee Island there is a very popular restaurant called The Crab Shack.. advertized all over Savannah... I was never so disappointed with the food... at any restaurant that I've eaten at... ANY where in the world! Plus the food was overpriced... not what one would/should expect in a place like that. In my opinion it was a tourist trap... I don't recommend it at all. There was nothing good about it.

One of the highlights of the trip was brunch at a restaurant called Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. We sat at tables that seated 10 people. The food was placed on the tables in large plates, bowls and platters. The foods served were: ham, fried chicken, Brunswick stew, candied sweet potatoes, okra and tomatoes, green lima beans, pork and beans, cabbage, rutabaga, white rice, red rice, black eye peas, string beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits and corn bread. Lemonade, sweet tea and unsweet tea. Banana pudding and blueberry cobbler were desert. Yummy!!!
The restaurant opens at 11 AM. It's located in the middle of the block and the line was halfway from the corner when we arrived about 10:30 AM.. Before we went inside, the line was all the way to and around the corner. The place seats about 100 people.. And those who didn't make the first seating had to stand outside until we finished eating. And no one appeared to rush to finish eating... The food was delicious!! Great country cooking!! I'd give it 4 stars. As we left... several people on their way to the restaurant asked us and others, if it was worth the wait. They were assured that it definitely was.

At this time, I don't think I'll be taking any more train rides... Unless it's on one of the luxury trains from Chicago to the West Coast.