The first time I had dinner on Amtrak, I asked Dan, the car attendant, to bring dinner to my room. I am not normally so precious, but I was traveling alone, feeling a bit like Shreck, and was not yet comfortable with the idea of dining with three strangers (note: I was over it by breakfast.)

I wolfed it, no pun intended. Train travel is hungry work, especially when you go REAL SLOW through the picturesque beach and farm towns filled with tempting diners and taquerias. But, as I have said here before, the food on long-distance Amtrak trains compares favorably to the best airline business- and first-class fare, and even when I wasn’t terribly hungry, I could not resist the temptation at mealtimes.

Note to self: always bring plenty of (healthy, protein-laden) foods on the train to supplement the meals. I did okay this time, but it never hurts to have a little extra boost, even on a trip as short as four hours.