Sanibel Vacation - Auto Train

We left home yesterday morning starting at 8:30 and drove to Lorton, VA to catch the auto train.  We took it to Sanford, FL on our way to Sanibel.  We had gotten a range of reviews regarding the train, everything from "never again" to "it sure beats driving."  So we decided to try it ourselves.  I unfortunately was correct in thinking I would not be able to sleep.  The beds are quite comfortable, and W even managed to fit himself in the upper bunk, but the motion of the train is incredibly rough.  I could have dealt with the forward motion, but there was lots of side-to-side which invariably woke me and then finally made it so I couldn't sleep at all.  We have paid for the return trip so we will try it again, but then I'm not sure what my vote will be.  But there are three things I wanted to remember in case we do decide to take it in the future.

• DON'T take the express lanes on Rt 95 south of the 495 beltway around D.C.  We did and ended up missing the turn to the station, since you can only get to it from the local lanes.  Also, since we really don't like the 95 corridor around Baltimore towards D.C. we took 301 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland instead.  It was a breeze with very little traffic; then Rt 50 across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
• Take a spare case to put my glasses in while I sleep.
• Take Bonine along so I have it when I get off the train.  After over 16 hours of motion in the train, I had trouble getting my "land legs" back after I got off the train.