The end of January 2012 finally arrived and we were off on our big train adventure. Pre-trip worries about snowy weather and possible delays were happily unfounded--there was maybe an inch of snow on the ground--that's all. We left GRR on Monday am, Jan 30th on the Pere Marquette headed for Chicago. I took note--the train left on time to the minute. We sat in coach for the approximately 4 hr trip and were impressed at how much leg room there was between the seats. We got breakfast in the cafe and brought it up to our seats. The breakfast sandwich and coffee were piping hot and tasted good. A very comfortable ride. We arrived in Chicago about 30 minutes late with apologies for the delay. But this was fine with us as we had a 3.5 hr layover in Chicago before we boarded the CZ. We spent most of our time waiting in the Metropolitan Lounge. Quiet and comfortable, with TV and a newspaper. There were hot and cold drinks available, but no snacks were out as there were last year on our Capitol Limited trip.
We got the announcement to board the CZ about 1/2 hr before it was scheduled to leave. We knew exactly where to go from our previous LD trip, so we boarded the correct sleeping car and went straight to our Bedroom--Bedroom E. We were on the last car on the train, so could walk back and look out at the scenery that trailed us. Shortly after we got settled in, our SCA came by and apologized for not being at the train door. Not a problem at all--he (Tony) was very pleasant and friendly. We left right on time to the minute. We checked out our bedroom accomodations--this was the first time we stayed in a bedroom; the last trip we stayed in a roomette. The bedroom was very tidy and everything worked. The sofa faced forward in the direction of travel. The other seat was a little hard--sitting on a pillow helped. There were 3 outlets in the room. They worked to charge our cell phones, plug in our laptop, and worked well for my travel hair dryer and electric curlers. The climate control dial did work. There were several little bars of soap, towels, and washcloths in the cupboards and well as some over the toilet. You could move some of this around to make room for your own toiletries in the cupboard. I love the Amtrak liquid hand soap with it's cherry-almond scent which was by the sink.The shower/toilet area was small but workable. I liked the hand held shower head. We enjoyed looking out the windows at the passing scenery. Finally realized you could stuff the curtain behind the sofa to get even more window viewing area. And the PA system worked very well--voices sounded clear and understandable--which wasn't the case on our previous trip.
We went for dinner in the dining car. There were fresh red mini carnations on the table, which opened up as the trip progressed. White plastic dinnerware and tablecloths were on the tables. We were seated with an interesting couple from WI. I got the steak--thought it was a little tough The salad was good with Thousand Island dressing. Pepsi was nice and cold. My hubby got the crap cakes and liked them very much. The sugar free cheesecake with raspberry topping for dessert was delicious along with coffee.
Our rooms were ready for sleep when we returned as arranged with our SCA. The beds were configured from side to side rather than in the direction of travel, but that was not a problem at all. We could hear the train whistle, but being the last car on the train, it was pretty muted. Lots of stars outside our window as we rumbled on. I took a shower in our bedroom and it was tight, but very workable. We slept pretty well for our first night. The pillows were a bit too springy for me, so I asked our SCA for a set of sheets to put in the pillowcase with the pillow. It made it more dense and more to my liking for the next night's sleep. I liked having the bathroom just steps away from our beds. Hubby was able to stop the creaking of the mirror over the sink by stuffing kleenex under it. The creaking of the door connected to Bedroom D was stuffed with 2 crushed empty water bottles, which did the trick.
We woke up to the smell of coffee being brewed just outside our bedroom. Yummy smell! Juices and water were also available and on ice. Off we went to the dining car for breakfast. I had the scrambled eggs with raisin bread, sausage, potatoes, oj, and coffee. It tasted great. We sat by ourselves for breakfast. We found out that there were only about 70 people on the entire train--a very small number, sad to say. We arrived in Denver about an hour late and stepped off the train. The weather was crisp, no snow, and skies were blue. While we were in Denver, workers came through and washed out windows from the outside. We also got a USA Today paper here.
We then headed to the sightseeing car. No problem getting seats at all! Beautiful mountain and river views after Denver. We passed through 27 tunnels in 30 minutes.
Back the the dining car for lunch. I had the lobster bisque, salad, and roll which was delicious. Hubby had the Cuban sandwich, which was recommended by our attendant. I had the chocolate bundt cake for dessert, and hubby had the Haagen Daz ice cream. That was also delicious.
We got off briefly in Grand Junction. Wonderful scenery throughout the day, of course. Everything was clear and hardly any snow.
For dinner I got the crab cakes--loved them--they were were nice and hot. Hubby had the vegetarian pasta dish which he enjoyed. They were out of the coconut cake, so I got the cheese cake again. Yum!
We went to bed early--we were in Utah now. My pillow was more comfortable with the sheet set in it--the SCA remembered and put this pillow on my bed.
The next morning I showered again in the bedroom--hubby went downstairs to the bigger shower. He said there was no wait.
For breakfast I got the oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, sausage, croissant, juice and coffee. It tasted great! We sat with an interesting couple from Utah.
We got out briefly in Reno for fresh air. Also got a USA Today paper there. Speakers came on board to talk about the upcoming towns, scenery, and history of the area. What a wonderful day of beautiful scenery through the Sierra Nevadas. I have never been in this area, so really took it in. Donner Pass area was gorgeous. This area was the only area that had a little bit of light snow falling for about 20 minutes. There was absolutely no worries about weather problems or avalanches--not near enough snow was on the ground!
For lunch we repeated what we had the day before--the lobster bisque and the cuban sandwich, because we liked them so much.
We spent most of the afternoon relaxing in our bedroom and taking in the views. We arrived in Emeryville about 13 minutes late--around 4:15 pm.
We got off and walked to an elevator which brought us over to the Hyatt House where we had reservations off of Hotwire. It was a fine hotel with a very delicious and upscale (included) breakfast buffet. The front desk staff was very helpful in explaining transportation to get into San Francisco from Emeryville. We were happy to learn there was a bus stop steps from the front of the hotel that would bring us into the city. We did not need to use BART at all. So that's what we did, and had a great day in SF the following day.
I loved our Amtrak experience! Great staff; friendly and pleasant, along with great scenery and food!
Part II of our trip--the Coast Starlight from SF to LAX will follow soon.
We got the announcement to board the CZ about 1/2 hr before it was scheduled to leave. We knew exactly where to go from our previous LD trip, so we boarded the correct sleeping car and went straight to our Bedroom--Bedroom E. We were on the last car on the train, so could walk back and look out at the scenery that trailed us. Shortly after we got settled in, our SCA came by and apologized for not being at the train door. Not a problem at all--he (Tony) was very pleasant and friendly. We left right on time to the minute. We checked out our bedroom accomodations--this was the first time we stayed in a bedroom; the last trip we stayed in a roomette. The bedroom was very tidy and everything worked. The sofa faced forward in the direction of travel. The other seat was a little hard--sitting on a pillow helped. There were 3 outlets in the room. They worked to charge our cell phones, plug in our laptop, and worked well for my travel hair dryer and electric curlers. The climate control dial did work. There were several little bars of soap, towels, and washcloths in the cupboards and well as some over the toilet. You could move some of this around to make room for your own toiletries in the cupboard. I love the Amtrak liquid hand soap with it's cherry-almond scent which was by the sink.The shower/toilet area was small but workable. I liked the hand held shower head. We enjoyed looking out the windows at the passing scenery. Finally realized you could stuff the curtain behind the sofa to get even more window viewing area. And the PA system worked very well--voices sounded clear and understandable--which wasn't the case on our previous trip.
We went for dinner in the dining car. There were fresh red mini carnations on the table, which opened up as the trip progressed. White plastic dinnerware and tablecloths were on the tables. We were seated with an interesting couple from WI. I got the steak--thought it was a little tough The salad was good with Thousand Island dressing. Pepsi was nice and cold. My hubby got the crap cakes and liked them very much. The sugar free cheesecake with raspberry topping for dessert was delicious along with coffee.
Our rooms were ready for sleep when we returned as arranged with our SCA. The beds were configured from side to side rather than in the direction of travel, but that was not a problem at all. We could hear the train whistle, but being the last car on the train, it was pretty muted. Lots of stars outside our window as we rumbled on. I took a shower in our bedroom and it was tight, but very workable. We slept pretty well for our first night. The pillows were a bit too springy for me, so I asked our SCA for a set of sheets to put in the pillowcase with the pillow. It made it more dense and more to my liking for the next night's sleep. I liked having the bathroom just steps away from our beds. Hubby was able to stop the creaking of the mirror over the sink by stuffing kleenex under it. The creaking of the door connected to Bedroom D was stuffed with 2 crushed empty water bottles, which did the trick.
We woke up to the smell of coffee being brewed just outside our bedroom. Yummy smell! Juices and water were also available and on ice. Off we went to the dining car for breakfast. I had the scrambled eggs with raisin bread, sausage, potatoes, oj, and coffee. It tasted great. We sat by ourselves for breakfast. We found out that there were only about 70 people on the entire train--a very small number, sad to say. We arrived in Denver about an hour late and stepped off the train. The weather was crisp, no snow, and skies were blue. While we were in Denver, workers came through and washed out windows from the outside. We also got a USA Today paper here.
We then headed to the sightseeing car. No problem getting seats at all! Beautiful mountain and river views after Denver. We passed through 27 tunnels in 30 minutes.
Back the the dining car for lunch. I had the lobster bisque, salad, and roll which was delicious. Hubby had the Cuban sandwich, which was recommended by our attendant. I had the chocolate bundt cake for dessert, and hubby had the Haagen Daz ice cream. That was also delicious.
We got off briefly in Grand Junction. Wonderful scenery throughout the day, of course. Everything was clear and hardly any snow.
For dinner I got the crab cakes--loved them--they were were nice and hot. Hubby had the vegetarian pasta dish which he enjoyed. They were out of the coconut cake, so I got the cheese cake again. Yum!
We went to bed early--we were in Utah now. My pillow was more comfortable with the sheet set in it--the SCA remembered and put this pillow on my bed.
The next morning I showered again in the bedroom--hubby went downstairs to the bigger shower. He said there was no wait.
For breakfast I got the oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, sausage, croissant, juice and coffee. It tasted great! We sat with an interesting couple from Utah.
We got out briefly in Reno for fresh air. Also got a USA Today paper there. Speakers came on board to talk about the upcoming towns, scenery, and history of the area. What a wonderful day of beautiful scenery through the Sierra Nevadas. I have never been in this area, so really took it in. Donner Pass area was gorgeous. This area was the only area that had a little bit of light snow falling for about 20 minutes. There was absolutely no worries about weather problems or avalanches--not near enough snow was on the ground!
For lunch we repeated what we had the day before--the lobster bisque and the cuban sandwich, because we liked them so much.
We spent most of the afternoon relaxing in our bedroom and taking in the views. We arrived in Emeryville about 13 minutes late--around 4:15 pm.
We got off and walked to an elevator which brought us over to the Hyatt House where we had reservations off of Hotwire. It was a fine hotel with a very delicious and upscale (included) breakfast buffet. The front desk staff was very helpful in explaining transportation to get into San Francisco from Emeryville. We were happy to learn there was a bus stop steps from the front of the hotel that would bring us into the city. We did not need to use BART at all. So that's what we did, and had a great day in SF the following day.
I loved our Amtrak experience! Great staff; friendly and pleasant, along with great scenery and food!
Part II of our trip--the Coast Starlight from SF to LAX will follow soon.
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