On the morning of August 18, Rebecca Finlay and her daughter, Grace, boarded a train in Biloxi, Mississippi, bound for New Orleans. The pair were en route to celebrate Grace’s birthday with typical New Orleans activities: a walk through the French Quarter and a visit to the Audubon Aquarium. But this wasn't an ordinary day trip. They were joining hundreds of other passengers on the inaugural journey of Amtrak's Mardi Gras Service.