« Live Better Electrically
Performance Review »

The Great Southern Adventure

In short: Took Amtrak from Houston to Biloxi, MS, then drove a U-Haul truck full of furniture back to Houston, over the weekend.

The long version (click links for pictures):
* 12-hour Amtrak train trip turned into an 18 hour train trip, because the train kept having to stop and wait on freight trains to go past.
* 18 hours in a cramped compartment on the train isn’t fun, but it was better than being in coach.
* I’d never been to a casino before. Playing the 25-cent slot machines, I won $15.
* 450 miles and two very aching bodies later, we had the 14″ U-Haul truck (nicknamed “pepe”) in our driveway and the furniture unloaded into the garage.

Edit: Okay, it was a 14′ U-Haul, not a 14″ :)

This entry was posted on Monday, February 14th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
Categories: general, houston. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to 'The Great Southern Adventure'

  1. Seth Says:
    February 14th, 2005 at 3:24 pm

    I love taking the train. I love going coach too. The compartments are WAY overpriced and you always meet interesting people in coach.

    I’ve taken the train to the south a bunch of times. Great fun.

    I thought Amy was from Tennessee? Why did you have to get furniture from Biloxi?

    Btw, there’s a great restaurant on the way to Biloxi called Chadney’s, I think? Great red velvet cake.

  2. Seth Says:
    February 14th, 2005 at 3:25 pm

    Doesn’t seem a 14″ Uhaul would hold very much. :)

  3. mrbill Says:
    February 14th, 2005 at 3:40 pm

    We can’t really relax in coach, and had stuff that we wanted to be able to keep a safe eye on (like my laptop bag with ipod, digital camera, etc). Plus, I snore. We love taking the train; delays are a part of the experience but they can get annoying.

    Amy’s from Chattanooga, but her dad “met us halfway” by driving to Biloxi.

    The 14″ U-Haul held:

    - Dining room table and four chairs
    - Queen-size “sleigh” bed
    - Grandfather clock
    - 7″ “highboy” cabinet
    - Desk and chair
    - Big leather recliner
    - Two side tables with glass tops
    - Glass-top coffee table
    - One mahogany bedside table
    - Various framed pictures

    and some other various pieces. It was packed to the gills.

  4. Tony Says:
    February 14th, 2005 at 7:00 pm

    I’d be aching after spending 450 miles in a 14″ U-haul too. I assume all that stuff was for a dollhouse?

    ” = inches, son. ‘ = feet

    You completely missed the Seth’s joke. :)