Jennifer,
Welcome.
With regard to your trip, it's a bit hard for us to give certain specifics without knowing what specific dates you want to travel and your ultimate destination in Florida.
That said, here's a few things to consider. The Cardinal, train #50 & #51, only runs 3 days a week, so you'll have to coordinate your departure and return around that. Leaving Indianapolis, the departures are on Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday mornings at 1:45 AM. Returning home, you'd be getting in at 6:40 AM or so. Trains arrive home on Monday, Thursday, & Saturday.
From Indianapolis, you'll ride the train to Charlottsvile VA, where you'll ride a bus for a short ride to Richmond, Va to connect with the Silver Meteor to Florida. Returning you have the option of either riding that same bus or taking the train all the way into Washington DC (assuming that its not running late) and the boarding the Cardinal there.
Now with regard to cost, it's very hard to predict anything without knowing specific dates of travel. However, I plugged in a few dates just to get a feel for things. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $450 roundtrip in Coach. The price will vary depending on when you travel. If you have a AAA card, then you can knock 10% off of the price.
You can price your trip out at Amtrak's main website, located
here.
If you have more questions, then come back and let us know, but again please be more specific about your travel dates and destination.
