Well, first off I just wanted to thank everyone for all the advice I have learned on this site. There are a thousand things that I would have never known about if I hadn't found this forum. I am mostly a lurker, but I just wanted to share my experience as a first-timer.
We live near Akron, OH. There used to be a station here a while back, but it is long gone now. We have ridden the Cuyahoga Valley Line and a train in Carrolton, OH, but nothing like Amtrak. My wife saw a show about the Empire Builder on the History channel (or some other channel, not sure). Anyway, we talked about it and it sounded like fun. We started planning last fall, and I booked our tickets around Christmas. So, when the day finally came to take off, we were ready!
We went up to Cleveland at around 11:00 PM. We thought it might be better to get up there and try to sleep in the car rather than sleeping here for a few hours and then getting up and driving. I didn't sleep at all. I was too excited.
(April 28th) The train pulled in about an hour late, and we hopped on. We grabbed a little sleep on the way to Chicago. I was surprised how long that train was (Lakeshore). We were in coach, and we walked to the diner car, and it seemed like we walked through about five or six cars to get there. So we got into Chicago an hour late, but we didn't mind. We walked around the station a little, then headed outside. Neither of us had ever been to Chicago, so we just looked around at that river behind the station. Then I spotted a really tall building, so I figured that was the Willis tower, so we went up in that. We killed time in the station, then hopped on the Zephyr heading all the way to Emeryville.
We woke up in Denver the next day after a good night's rest. We were delayed about an hour in Denver to change out an engine. We were in the SSL and once we got going, we we not disappointed! Wow is all I can say. The scenery is beautiful. No major problems or events. We figured out the dining car and how to do the beds, and everything else we needed to learn. But I was glued to the window the whole way to Emeyville.
We got into Emeryville about 15-20 minutes early on Saturday (30th). I really enjoyed the train, but I was ready to walk around and get some fresh air. We had a room at the Four Points about one or two blocks from the station, so we lugged all of our bags over and got our room. The room was very, very nice. I would highly recommend that place for anyone staying out there. After dropping the bags and getting a bite to eat, we went for a walk. We found a little park not too far from the motel, about two or three blocks towards the bay. Amongst all of the people and traffic, in this little park, we found a beaver.
So Sunday, we got a rental car and went to the Golden Gate Bridge and up the coastal highway, Rt. 101. My wife and I are both nature lovers, so this trip was perfect for us. Lots of nice scenery. So, we drove up the coast to visit the giant redwood trees. My wife is that little white speck.
We spent Sunday night in Arcata, CA. On Monday, we contined up the coast, seeing more trees, and also starting to see more of the ocean.
We stopped a lot on the side of the road to take pictures. The coast was just awesome. We go to the east coast quite a bit. It looks nothing like anything we had seen before. We made it up to Newport, OR that day.
On our third day with the car, we continued up the coast a little more, then headed in to Portland. We had to get the car back by 5, so we go into town about 2 or so. We found a park on the east side of town, an extinct volcano (I think) was once there. There was a nice high hill there for a good view back into downtown. We got to our room, turned the car in, and then rode the public transportation up to the train station. Wow, they have a very good public transportation system. Very nice city. We went in and asked if the Empire Builder had been making it the last few days (this was about 1 or 2 weeks after it had so many problems) . They said it was going, it would probably be late, but it would make it through. Which was nice to hear, since we were 2000+ miles from home :lol: .
Wednesday, the 4th, we hopped on the Cascades up to Seattle. I just wanted to get a little more train time in, instead of waiting in Portland until 4 PM. So here I am getting ready to board.
We met the conductor (Conductor Jim) and got a picture of him. He was extremely nice, and he narrated some of the trip. He would come find us to point things out or tell us the area's history.
I got a good shot of Mt. Rainier along the way.
So we got to Seattle around noon. We went and looked at Safeco Field and the ferry docks. We found Pioneer Square (I think that was the name) and we went into a little Gold Rush museum. Then we hopped on the Empire Builder and headed for home.
The scenery leaving Seattle and when we woke up in western Montana was beautiful. We lost about 1 hour in eastern Montana due to freight traffic. When we woke up on Friday, we had lost another 2 1/2 hours through North Dakota. They came on and made the announcements about connections, but we were heading back on the Lakeshore, so we didn't have to worry. We got to Chicago about 3 1/2 hours late (around 7:30). When we pulled in, there were four extra cars on the back. Our SCA said we picked them up in St. Paul. I couldn't get a good picture, due to being underground at night, but they were Hiawatha cars.
We went up to the food court and grabbed a bite, then went outside to look at the town once more. We only saw a few blocks of it, but up in that tower, it seemed to stretch out a long way. We'll have to go back sometime.
The ride back to Cleveland was uneventful, got there 30 minutes early, I think, so we hopped in the car and headed home. I think we slept most of that day and the next. It's not that the train was uncomfortable, but I just wanted to keep looking out the window all the time and see where we were.
Sorry to go on and on, but we had a blast, and it definitely won't be our last train trip. This is a big country, and we have more places to see. So until next time....
(And I do have a LOT of train pictures, but I figured you guys have seen a lot of those already)
We live near Akron, OH. There used to be a station here a while back, but it is long gone now. We have ridden the Cuyahoga Valley Line and a train in Carrolton, OH, but nothing like Amtrak. My wife saw a show about the Empire Builder on the History channel (or some other channel, not sure). Anyway, we talked about it and it sounded like fun. We started planning last fall, and I booked our tickets around Christmas. So, when the day finally came to take off, we were ready!
We went up to Cleveland at around 11:00 PM. We thought it might be better to get up there and try to sleep in the car rather than sleeping here for a few hours and then getting up and driving. I didn't sleep at all. I was too excited.
(April 28th) The train pulled in about an hour late, and we hopped on. We grabbed a little sleep on the way to Chicago. I was surprised how long that train was (Lakeshore). We were in coach, and we walked to the diner car, and it seemed like we walked through about five or six cars to get there. So we got into Chicago an hour late, but we didn't mind. We walked around the station a little, then headed outside. Neither of us had ever been to Chicago, so we just looked around at that river behind the station. Then I spotted a really tall building, so I figured that was the Willis tower, so we went up in that. We killed time in the station, then hopped on the Zephyr heading all the way to Emeryville.
We woke up in Denver the next day after a good night's rest. We were delayed about an hour in Denver to change out an engine. We were in the SSL and once we got going, we we not disappointed! Wow is all I can say. The scenery is beautiful. No major problems or events. We figured out the dining car and how to do the beds, and everything else we needed to learn. But I was glued to the window the whole way to Emeyville.
We got into Emeryville about 15-20 minutes early on Saturday (30th). I really enjoyed the train, but I was ready to walk around and get some fresh air. We had a room at the Four Points about one or two blocks from the station, so we lugged all of our bags over and got our room. The room was very, very nice. I would highly recommend that place for anyone staying out there. After dropping the bags and getting a bite to eat, we went for a walk. We found a little park not too far from the motel, about two or three blocks towards the bay. Amongst all of the people and traffic, in this little park, we found a beaver.
So Sunday, we got a rental car and went to the Golden Gate Bridge and up the coastal highway, Rt. 101. My wife and I are both nature lovers, so this trip was perfect for us. Lots of nice scenery. So, we drove up the coast to visit the giant redwood trees. My wife is that little white speck.
We spent Sunday night in Arcata, CA. On Monday, we contined up the coast, seeing more trees, and also starting to see more of the ocean.
We stopped a lot on the side of the road to take pictures. The coast was just awesome. We go to the east coast quite a bit. It looks nothing like anything we had seen before. We made it up to Newport, OR that day.
On our third day with the car, we continued up the coast a little more, then headed in to Portland. We had to get the car back by 5, so we go into town about 2 or so. We found a park on the east side of town, an extinct volcano (I think) was once there. There was a nice high hill there for a good view back into downtown. We got to our room, turned the car in, and then rode the public transportation up to the train station. Wow, they have a very good public transportation system. Very nice city. We went in and asked if the Empire Builder had been making it the last few days (this was about 1 or 2 weeks after it had so many problems) . They said it was going, it would probably be late, but it would make it through. Which was nice to hear, since we were 2000+ miles from home :lol: .
Wednesday, the 4th, we hopped on the Cascades up to Seattle. I just wanted to get a little more train time in, instead of waiting in Portland until 4 PM. So here I am getting ready to board.
We met the conductor (Conductor Jim) and got a picture of him. He was extremely nice, and he narrated some of the trip. He would come find us to point things out or tell us the area's history.
I got a good shot of Mt. Rainier along the way.
So we got to Seattle around noon. We went and looked at Safeco Field and the ferry docks. We found Pioneer Square (I think that was the name) and we went into a little Gold Rush museum. Then we hopped on the Empire Builder and headed for home.
The scenery leaving Seattle and when we woke up in western Montana was beautiful. We lost about 1 hour in eastern Montana due to freight traffic. When we woke up on Friday, we had lost another 2 1/2 hours through North Dakota. They came on and made the announcements about connections, but we were heading back on the Lakeshore, so we didn't have to worry. We got to Chicago about 3 1/2 hours late (around 7:30). When we pulled in, there were four extra cars on the back. Our SCA said we picked them up in St. Paul. I couldn't get a good picture, due to being underground at night, but they were Hiawatha cars.
We went up to the food court and grabbed a bite, then went outside to look at the town once more. We only saw a few blocks of it, but up in that tower, it seemed to stretch out a long way. We'll have to go back sometime.
The ride back to Cleveland was uneventful, got there 30 minutes early, I think, so we hopped in the car and headed home. I think we slept most of that day and the next. It's not that the train was uncomfortable, but I just wanted to keep looking out the window all the time and see where we were.
Sorry to go on and on, but we had a blast, and it definitely won't be our last train trip. This is a big country, and we have more places to see. So until next time....
(And I do have a LOT of train pictures, but I figured you guys have seen a lot of those already)
