Making Friends on the Rail

My husband Wally and I decided to try something we've never done before. We rode Amtrak to visit our daughter and her family in North Carolina. The trip there was good and not too tiring because the layover in the small town of Wilson, NC, was short. However, the trip back involved a 3-1/2 layover in Wilson that made it an all-day adventure.

Something really cool happened while we were at the Wilson train station on the way there. We started talking to some of the other people who were waiting, and we met a woman who lives in our neighborhood. After chatting for a while, we learned that we were returning home on the same trains, so we exchanged phone numbers.

During our layover on the way home, our new friend and another woman who was traveling alone joined us for lunch at a small ice cream shop and deli across the street from the station. Our neighbor Vita and I plan to go for walks through the neighborhood and meet for an occasional cup of coffee or lunch. The other woman, Claire, was on vacation from her teaching job in England, so we exchanged emails.

I've ridden the subway in New York City, a train from Connecticut to New York, and the Bullet in Japan. And all of the experiences were different.

Here are some of my articles that relate to this trip:

• How to Behave on Trains and Buses
• About Personal Space
• Queue Manners
• Cell Phones in Public

More articles:

• How to Make Friends While You're Traveling
• Amtrak Train Travel
• Top Attractions in Durham, North Carolina

As exhausted as I was for a couple of days, I'm still glad that we chose to take the train because we met some nice new friends. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Red train car we saw from the window at one
of the many stops.

My attempt at a selfie during the train ride.
I obviously need practice. Or maybe next
time Wally can take the picture.