Birmingham/New Orleans: Wrap up

On Wednesday morning, we woke very early and were at the Amtrak station by 6:15am. Our train was unfortunately delayed for over two hours - which is not easy news to take in this early in the morning. Fortunately because of our "roomette" reservations, we were ushered into a private lounge where donuts, biscuits, orange juice, etc. were provided in lieu of our expected train breakfast. I promptly passed out at a table inside the lounge. We finally departed around 10:30am. As frustrating as the delayed train was, I have to say that Amtrak's attempt to smooth things over with breakfast was much appreciated. I was thoroughly impressed with Amtrak over the course of this trip and would definitely recommend it to others looking to get away without a car. For a family of four, riding the train proved to be a cost effective way to reach our destination without the hassle of parking a car in New Orleans (a city that doesn't require much driving to begin with).

I spent a couple more days in Birmingham after getting back in town just lounging around and enjoying being back home. I met up with some friends for dinner at Cantina at Patton Creek where I had some delicious tilapia tacos, followed by drinks at Black Market Bar off Highway 280, which was packed with people...definitely a popular watering hole these days.

The flight back to New York was direct (yay) and uneventful (double yay). It was so nice to be home for a little while with my family, and I'm so happy I got to have a different experience in New Orleans - I feel like leaving this time, I have a positive feeling about the city and like it much more than I have on previous trips.

Time to get back into the swing of things here for just a week, as next weekend I'm taking a quick trip out to Phoenix!

My trip:

"...Well the coffee is strong at the Cafe Du Monde, and the donuts are too hot to touch;
But just like a fool, when those sweet goodies cool, I ate 'til I ate way too much..." - Jimmy Buffett, The Wino and I Know

Miles Traveled Today: 1,303
Total Miles Traveled: 8,874