Bring your own food options?

[Trollopian]

For a 16 hour train trip, I'd just have a good meal before boarding and bring along a litre of pop and a big bag of popcorn.

But, but, but...what do you do on the return trip, if you've traveled from the pop to the soda belt?

'Soda,' 'pop,' or 'coke': More than 400,000 Americans weighed in, and a map of their answers is exactly what you'd expect

 

[BlackDiamond]

But, but, but...what do you do on the return trip, if you've traveled from the pop to the soda belt?

'Soda,' 'pop,' or 'coke': More than 400,000 Americans weighed in, and a map of their answers is exactly what you'd expect

In New England it used to be "tonic" but that usage seems to be dying out.

 

[dwebarts]

In New England it used to be "tonic" but that usage seems to be dying out.

My Canadian mother told me the story of how she moved to Maine from Toronto in the early '50s with my older half-sister.

The mother of one of my sister's new friends asked her if she'd like a tonic, and her response was "No thank you. I'm perfectly healthy."

 

[Devil's Advocate]

But, but, but...what do you do on the return trip, if you've traveled from the pop to the soda belt?

Ha ha ha. The map says we call it "coke" where I live but in my experience most people say soda unless they mean cola. Down here Dr. Pepper, Big Red, and Diet Coke are popular but my favorite was Sanpellegrino Pompelmo before they changed the formula. As a kid I drank soda like water but the move to corn syrup gave American soda a slimy mouth feel that I find unappealing and rarely drink it anymore. We can still buy crisp imported soda but it costs as much as fruit juice so I mix Dole Pineapple Orange Banana or Ocean Spray Grape Cranberry with club soda instead.

 

[niemi24s]

FWIW, had friends from New Hampshire back in the early '60s who called them "phosphates".

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

But, but, but...what do you do on the return trip, if you've traveled from the pop to the soda belt?

'Soda,' 'pop,' or 'coke': More than 400,000 Americans weighed in, and a map of their answers is exactly what you'd expect

You stop at the convenience store in Sanford (the one popular in Pennsylvania but not named Sheetz) and get a prepared salad/sandwich to eat right away, plus snacks, donuts, and soda to take on the train.

Unfortunately, that pesky Florida heat means you do need a cooler for the soda and probably have to give up the chocolate-covered and cream-filled donuts.

Actually, the Amtrak cafe food sounds downright nutritious after this.

Quite seriously, if I am looking at the departure/arrival times correctly, both southbound and northbound Auto trains seem to leave early evening and arrive early to mid-morning.

I’m assuming you have to wait around for a long time on either end for your car to get loaded/unloaded, so for the departure station, if there’s an air-conditioned waiting room, I would get a nice takeout meal and sit in the waiting room and eat it. Then the next morning, have coffee on the train and then stop at a diner for a substantial breakfast.

I just did a search for diners, and there seem to be a few in/near Sanford. Oddly, not much at Lorton.