Seaboard92
Engineer
About the title
I’m choosing to call this trip the Music Across America report because this trip really hits the musical history of America. From passing the hometown of Johnny Cash on the Texas Eagle, to standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, and so many other great American songs.
Planing
Every winter I love to take a long distance train across the country and I’ve been trying to finish the network before it disappears. With the current climate and the threats to cancel the Southwest Chief and replace part of it with a bus I knew I had to ride the route. Another motivator for the Southwest Chief was a documentary I watched on Amazon Prime about the Super Chief.
So with that motivation I knew that 2020 would be the year I would ride the Southwest Chief, and my best friend Ryan told me I would absolutely love the Sunset Limited seeing I love the Cardinal. And I’ve always wanted to ride the Sunset for some reason. So for the latter part of 2019 I was trying to plan a routing where I could max the new routes for me. Then I got an email from American Airlines inviting new to interview for a flight attendant with them so I knew I had to go to Dallas.
American would have flown me but I wanted to take the train because I knew if I didn’t get the job at least I would have a good train trip. I also wanted to visit someone special to me in the Northwest as well. So I planned a routing that let me ride the Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, and Southwest Chief for most of their routes.
My good friend Malcolm decided to come with me and we planned a day trip down to San Diego on the Surfliner, a side trip to Oklahoma City, and a day trip on the River Runner to a museum near Kirkwood. Most of this was on a travel agents AD75 rate seeing we get one sleeper round trip at 75 percent off per year. So our routing was LAX-DAL-STL-KCY-LAX.
Day Zero: Packing and not at the last minute for a change
In the morning I had to work at the clinic which was kinda bittersweet because I thought it might be my last shift before announcing I was getting a new job. I really love the people I work with because everyone is so caring, and we all look after each other. I even call my office manager Kelsey one of my best friends because she always is looking out for me, and someone I can call for advice.
I managed to be completely packed before the seven in the evening which was so different by my standards that it felt weird. I didn’t know what to do with the extra time so I made a tri tip roast for dinner which was incredible (happy to send recipes). After that I drove over to see family and say goodbye for a few weeks before going back to my place to rest before going to the airport.
I’m choosing to call this trip the Music Across America report because this trip really hits the musical history of America. From passing the hometown of Johnny Cash on the Texas Eagle, to standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona, and so many other great American songs.
Planing
Every winter I love to take a long distance train across the country and I’ve been trying to finish the network before it disappears. With the current climate and the threats to cancel the Southwest Chief and replace part of it with a bus I knew I had to ride the route. Another motivator for the Southwest Chief was a documentary I watched on Amazon Prime about the Super Chief.
So with that motivation I knew that 2020 would be the year I would ride the Southwest Chief, and my best friend Ryan told me I would absolutely love the Sunset Limited seeing I love the Cardinal. And I’ve always wanted to ride the Sunset for some reason. So for the latter part of 2019 I was trying to plan a routing where I could max the new routes for me. Then I got an email from American Airlines inviting new to interview for a flight attendant with them so I knew I had to go to Dallas.
American would have flown me but I wanted to take the train because I knew if I didn’t get the job at least I would have a good train trip. I also wanted to visit someone special to me in the Northwest as well. So I planned a routing that let me ride the Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, and Southwest Chief for most of their routes.
My good friend Malcolm decided to come with me and we planned a day trip down to San Diego on the Surfliner, a side trip to Oklahoma City, and a day trip on the River Runner to a museum near Kirkwood. Most of this was on a travel agents AD75 rate seeing we get one sleeper round trip at 75 percent off per year. So our routing was LAX-DAL-STL-KCY-LAX.
Day Zero: Packing and not at the last minute for a change
In the morning I had to work at the clinic which was kinda bittersweet because I thought it might be my last shift before announcing I was getting a new job. I really love the people I work with because everyone is so caring, and we all look after each other. I even call my office manager Kelsey one of my best friends because she always is looking out for me, and someone I can call for advice.
I managed to be completely packed before the seven in the evening which was so different by my standards that it felt weird. I didn’t know what to do with the extra time so I made a tri tip roast for dinner which was incredible (happy to send recipes). After that I drove over to see family and say goodbye for a few weeks before going back to my place to rest before going to the airport.