Cross-Country 11-City Honeymoon

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T

thedeecee

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Messages
21
Location
Oakland, CA
Hi All,

Thanks for the warm welcome, and thanks in advance for advice/suggestions!

I love trains, he loves antiques, and we *both love history.* We just watched the PBS documentary about the Transcontinental Railroad. So intriguing.

We are hitting 11 cities in 30 days.

Would love tips for:

1. things to do at the stations,

2. things to do on board (e.g., "make sure not to sleep during ____, bc views are gorgeous!")

3. must-see places

4. we love food--please recommend!

5. general tips for the train ride

6. me, personally, I'm looking for suggestions for logging this trip. I don't like Facebook. Was thinking a blog. I'm a writer and graphic designer, so I can create the content ok--but I'd love to see what other people have done!

7. general tips. Anything that comes to mind re. our itinerary (e.g., "bring bug spray for Minneapolis in summer!")

OUR ITINERARY

7/6 Depart Oakland, CA

7/7–9 Portland, OR

7/10–12 Whitefish, MT

7/13–15 Minneapolis/Saint Paul

7/15 Layover 4 hrs in Chicago

7/16–19 NYC (staying with friends; no suggestions needed here)

7/19–20 Philadelphia

7/20–22 Washington, D.C.

7/23–26 Chicago

7/26–27 Omaha

7/28–29 Denver

7/29–30 Salt Lake City

7/31–8/1 Reno

8/1 Head home to Emeryville

Thanks so much! I hope to be very active here, so I'll be responding as much as possible to your posts.

Deborah
 
In Philly, City Tavern for lunch. It is a replica of the original building, and although it is a tourist attraction (servers dressed up like in Colonial times), the food is actually very good. Also, take a few minutes to walk around 30th Street station when you get there--it is historic and very beautiful.
 
I was going to suggest the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland but they are only open 1-5 Thursday through Sunday. Looks like you are leaving Portland on the Empire Builder on Thursday afternoon so that would be cutting it pretty close. It is accessible by streetcar however. In Minneapolis/St. Paul I would recommend the home of James J. Hill, the original Empire Builder.
 
Nice trip, were envious!

Question: why such a short stay in CHicago on the way? The Twin Cities are nice, but CHI is a magnitude of times 10 more interesting and historic.( I notice your stay on the way home)

Same thing pertains to Omaha, as opposed to Denver, and why not a night or two in historic Glenwood Springs?

There's tons of info out there on the net including lots of trip reports, what to see etc. here on AU, please read them.

We can give you lots specific tips and info on various legs, sites to see and avoid etc. Please feel free to ask, there's tons of good info among our membership!

If time is a factor I'd consider devoting more to Glacier Park, CHI, PHL,WAS and less to MSP and leave out Omaha and Reno unless you have a specific reason to stay there!
 
Wanderin' Bill said:
I was going to suggest the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland but they are only open 1-5 Thursday through Sunday. Looks like you are leaving Portland on the Empire Builder on Thursday afternoon so that would be cutting it pretty close. It is accessible by streetcar however. In Minneapolis/St. Paul I would recommend the home of James J. Hill, the original Empire Builder.
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Thanks for the tip!! That sounds right up our alley, so we will definitely fit it in.
 
jimhudson said:
Nice trip, were envious!

Question: why such a short stay in CHicago on the way? The Twin Cities are nice, but CHI is a magnitude of times 10 more interesting and historic.( I notice your stay on the way home)

Same thing pertains to Omaha, as opposed to Denver, and why not a night or two in historic Glenwood Springs?

There's tons of info out there on the net including lots of trip reports, what to see etc. here on AU, please read them.

We can give you lots specific tips and info on various legs, sites to see and avoid etc. Please feel free to ask, there's tons of good info among our membership!

If time is a factor I'd consider devoting more to Glacier Park, CHI, PHL,WAS and less to MSP and leave out Omaha and Reno unless you have a specific reason to stay there!
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Thx for the feedback! This is exactly the kind of insight I'm looking for.

Chicago: we're banking on staying with family, so we figured asking them to stay once would be easier than two visits in 2 weeks!

Got it re. Omaha/Denver.

Will check out Glenwood Springs. Thanks!

I'm definitely going to do more searching online. Will probably have more specific questions as time goes on. Wanted to get my feet wet on this forum first!

We like MSP and wanted to see a couple of specific museums there, so that'll probably stay as-is. But I like your feedback on the other locations... Will look into those.

Reno: I have childhood memories of Circus Circus that I feel compelled to relive. :) It's so close to Oakland, yet I've not been for almost 30 years!

Thx!
 
Concur with Jim Hudson's comments. Reno is a pretty depressing city, but if you're heading up to Lake Tahoe, it would be worth it. If your budget allows and you take the Cardinal to Chicago, might stop for a day at the famous Greenbrier resort in White Sulpur Springs.

After your Philadelphia stop, you might consider a one way car rental and explore the Brandywine valley area: http://www.thebrandywine.com/attractions/index.html A short and scenic drive from there is the Amish country near Lancaster, PA and the Strasburg Railroad where on their train ride you'll see the Amish plowing the fields with their team of horses. From there you can make an easy drive to Washington, perhaps with stop off at Gettysburg. Both Phil. and Washington have rental car offices in the station.

Glacier Park is one of our favorite national parks. Our favorite places to stay are the Belton Chalet (good food too) and E. Glacier Lodge. Both are in sight of their stations. Head for the Many Glacier Hotel for really good scenery and nearby hiking. But if your trip isn't already booked, might be tough to get rooms at the heigth of the season.

If you're renting a car in Denver, I highly recommend the small mountain resort town of Estes Park. A drive over the 12,000' high Trail Ridge Road through the Rocky Mountain National Park is well worth it.
 
Just curious, but what are your plans in Washington, D.C.? Two days is not enough time to see much. I spent a solid day to see the monuments and memorials. I spent nearly a week to see the Smithsonian Museums that I wanted to see.
 
Regulars on the forum know I'm a great fan of the westbound Capitol Limited. Leaving Washington, head for the Sightseer lounge car shortly after leaving Rockville. Plan on spending the evening there except for the time you spend in the diner. The eastern scenery along the Potomac River and into the Alleghenies can't be beat. If you look REAL hard, you might spot the ghost of General Braddock or George Washington out there.

I also agree that side trips by auto to Gettysburg and/or the Strasburg Rail Road (that's the correct wording of that particular line's name) would be great experiences. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is right across the street and very worthwhile. You could spend a solid day at Strasburg and not see everything. As for Gettysburg, you could spend a week there and barely scratch the surface. In Gettysburg, have lunch at the Avenue Restaurant. Pleasant, down home, clean, inexpensive, and friendly.

Heading west out of Denver, you'll probably want to get to the Sightseer lounge early and stay late.

Tom
 
I would second the recommendations to stop over for a couple days or more in Glenwood Springs, CO. I just did that and stayed at the historic Hotel Denver right across the street from the Amtrak station May 29-31. It is a very picturesque city right on the Colorado River and very walkable. If staying only for a couple days no need for a car. Just get out and walk. There are many restaurants and things to do. During my day there the atmosphere was as a small village town but when I went looking for a restaurant to eat Saturday night dinner Glenwood Springs was a happening place. All the restaurants were full and busy. I ate at a restaurant named Modern BBQ and had the best beef brisket I can remember ever eating. Yep, I'll be back. Just will do it during warm weather since I am not a cold winter traveler.
 
If your husband is a fan of antiques... he might look into some of the major antiques districts and stop over in some of them. There's a lot more in the East than there are in the West.
 
@FormerOBS We are taking the Cardinal, as recommended by our agent. Have any experience with that route? The Capitol Limited sounds nice, though! Sounds like we will need to do that another trip. :)
 
wjh2 said:
Just curious, but what are your plans in Washington, D.C.? Two days is not enough time to see much. I spent a solid day to see the monuments and memorials. I spent nearly a week to see the Smithsonian Museums that I wanted to see.
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We don't really have plans yet. I've been before, but he's never been. I'd assume we're seeing the standard monuments. I'm dying to have Ethiopian food out there as well! I've heard it's amazing.
 
Palmland said:
Concur with Jim Hudson's comments. Reno is a pretty depressing city, but if you're heading up to Lake Tahoe, it would be worth it. If your budget allows and you take the Cardinal to Chicago, might stop for a day at the famous Greenbrier resort in White Sulpur Springs.

After your Philadelphia stop, you might consider a one way car rental and explore the Brandywine valley area: http://www.thebrandywine.com/attractions/index.html A short and scenic drive from there is the Amish country near Lancaster, PA and the Strasburg Railroad where on their train ride you'll see the Amish plowing the fields with their team of horses. From there you can make an easy drive to Washington, perhaps with stop off at Gettysburg. Both Phil. and Washington have rental car offices in the station.

Glacier Park is one of our favorite national parks. Our favorite places to stay are the Belton Chalet (good food too) and E. Glacier Lodge. Both are in sight of their stations. Head for the Many Glacier Hotel for really good scenery and nearby hiking. But if your trip isn't already booked, might be tough to get rooms at the heigth of the season.

If you're renting a car in Denver, I highly recommend the small mountain resort town of Estes Park. A drive over the 12,000' high Trail Ridge Road through the Rocky Mountain National Park is well worth it.
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These are all great suggestions, and you're making me feel like this trip certainly won't be our last long Amtrak trip. :)

I don't think we'll have time to do any of these things on this trip, sadly! I've made note though. We did, however, remove Reno. We live close enough to go again. With the extra time, we decided to have a few relaxing days in Glenwood Springs, as suggested by this forum!
 
thedeecee said:
Thanks everyone. We re-booked and are headed to Glenwood Springs. No more SLC or Reno!
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Outstanding! Be sure and visit Doc Holidays grave,take a dip in the Hot Springs and eat some Q and have a pint or two of craft beer! You'll enjoy just walking around this neat little mountain town also!
As for the Cardinal, be prepared to be patient, its not known for its on time performance but when you get into West Virginia the New River Gorge ( on the right side of the train going East) and the scenery in Virginia is great!

As for the Cap Ltd., its best ridden Eastbound (#30) but the scenery between Washington and Martinsburg is not to be missed if you ride #29 Westbound! Guess I shoulda qualified my statement Tom, the scenery is nice East of Pittsburgh to Martinsburg but its in the dark on #29 and I think seeing Martinsburg to Harpers Ferry is beautiful scenery! Harpers Ferry itself is actually a National Park!

Great honeymoon/vacation, were envious and looked forward to sharing your adventures via trip reports!
 
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Regarding the Capitol Limited, I have a well-known bias in favor of that train. It's partly because of the history of the area, and partly because it's as familiar and comfortable to me as a pair of old shoes. Incidentally, I think Jim may be misremembering: the scenery gets better west of Martinsburg. The only times I've ridden the Cardinal route were many years ago when the schedule was different and we passed some of the best scenery in darkness. Others with more experience on the Cardinal will tell you it's great as well. So don't let me sway you. Keep the Capitol Limited in mind for a future trip when you and your honey can visit Gettysburg.

Tom
 
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You get off the train in St.Paul, Minnesota. You can get on the green line right outside the station which connects you with Minneapolis. Definitely go see the James J. Hill house. Lot's of other great houses to drive around and look at. There's also the Minnesota Transportation museum. (Only open Wednesday thru Sunday) The Minnesota History center is in St.Paul too. You only need bug spray at dusk and only if you are in a grassy area :)
 
I recently rode the Cardinal from VA to Chicago and thought it an outstanding trip. Love that train!
 
Which way are you taking the Cardinal? Sounds like westbound. The Cardinal tends to have better timekeeping westbound than eastbound. When you get to Charlottesville it is a smoke break stop (both directions) with a station dwell of about 15 minutes. If you let me know your date I will be pleased to meet you - I live 3 blocks from the station which is pretty much in downtown Cville. Feel free to send me a Private Message with the envelope icon at the top of this page. There is a Facebook page: "Amtrak's Cardinal". There is also a very good map from the NPS for the New River Gorge which you will be traversing. Very scenic. If google doesn't produce it for you I can send you a link. You can download it on your phone or tablet and have it for the trip.

A train ride from the Bay Area to Reno can be very beautiful in December if it ever snows again in California. :huh:
 
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I agree with Glenwood Springs skipping Omaha and SLC. The world's largest hot spring fed swimming pool is there near the two grand old hotels. There is a good bus service up to Aspen.

I did see someone swimming in the pool in December 2013. The pedestrian/bicycle trail along the Colorado River is great. The eastbound and westbound CZ's usually meet less than an hour east of the Glenwood Canyon. Doc Holliday's monument stone is in the cemetery at the top of the hill in Glenwood Springs. He was buried in the cemetery but no one living knows exactly where.

You'll have enough time in Grand Junction to go into Dave's Depot for some coffee (free) or some peanuts or ice cream. Dave's little store is on the east end of the station.

The stop in SLC is very early in the morning usually before the TRAX starts running.
 
MnMotherMary said:
You get off the train in St.Paul, Minnesota. You can get on the green line right outside the station which connects you with Minneapolis. Definitely go see the James J. Hill house. Lot's of other great houses to drive around and look at. There's also the Minnesota Transportation museum. (Only open Wednesday thru Sunday) The Minnesota History center is in St.Paul too. You only need bug spray at dusk and only if you are in a grassy area :)
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Thanks for the tips! Mosquitoes love me. I'm sure they'll find me everywhere we go. :) He wants to see the museum of quackery; I want to go to the Walker. Unfortunately we won't be there on a Wednesday! But we will try to check out the James J. Hill house.

Thx!
 
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