Originally Posted By liveforvacations I loved your story RoadTrip! It is so nice to have memories like that and then to not only share the memories but the experience too! I think that you are a fortunate person to be able to share that with your father and then your children. I have only been on a train once and it was a very short trip-about 3 hours as it was more of a tourist thing. I absolutely loved it-the scenery was spectacular and I enjoyed the leisurely pace and the peacefulness. My husband however, hated it, and kept on commenting that if we had driven we would have gotten there sooner. I would definitely like to take a longer train trip, just not with my husband! I guess it depends if you are more of a "journey" or "destination" person. I am just going to keep my fingers crossed that they enjoy the experience even if it is not something they would do again!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I loved your story RoadTrip!>> I'm glad you enjoyed the story, but I can't take credit for it. It was written by the woman listed at the start of the story: << by Sheila Dykes Olive Branch, Mississippi>> But since you THOUGHT it was my story, I guess I owe you one. Here is a review I wrote of our train trip from St. Paul to Washington DC during July 2005. <<I love trains. I have great memories of long distance train trips from my youth (40 years ago) and am a model railroader. So I might be inclined to give Amtrak the benefit of the doubt, but will try to remain objective. My wife, 21 year old daughter and I recently traveled by train from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Washington D.C. and back. We loved the experience of a long-distance train trip; my wife and I plan to take Amtrak to Seattle next summer. We started our trip at the St. Paul Amtrak depot. The train was about a half hour late arriving and was delayed another 15 minutes or so by the huge number of people waiting in line to purchase tickets. So we started the trip about 45 minutes late. We boarded the Empire Builder and went to our "Family Sleeper" accommodation. These rooms are designed for two adults with standard sized berths and two relatively young children with shorter berths. We figured it would work for us because our daughter is very short (about 5’ 0") and it did. The room is at the end of the car on the lower level and stretches across the entire width of the car. Even with a couple of medium sized suitcases and a bathroom bag in the room we did not feel cramped. Shortly after boarding we went to the dining car for breakfast. I love the dining cars on Amtrak. You are usually seated with someone else (they always try to fill the tables with four people) and you can generally count on some lively conversation with the person you are seated with. The surroundings are very nice. The table is covered with a linen table cloth that is replaced after every use. Fresh flowers are also at your table which is a very nice touch. The food is generally quite good. Although certainly not gourmet quality, think of the dining car as a rolling Perkins and at times considerably better than that. We went back to our room for a few hours and enjoyed the scenery (me) or napped (my wife and daughter). That is the great thing about the train... everyone can pretty much do whatever they want. Then it was time for lunch in the dining car, and a few hours after that we arrived in Chicago. We were about one hour late, which I thought was pretty decent considering we were 45 minutes late when we left St. Paul. That shortened an anticipated two hour layover to about an hour, which was fine with me. We boarded the Capitol Limited and again settled into our Family Sleeper. Shortly it was announced that our train was being held for the arrival of the California Zephyr which was running late. They wanted the people who were transferring from the Zephyr to the Cap Limited to make the connection. Although the delay (about 45 minutes) was a minor inconvenience for us, it undoubtedly was hugely appreciated by the folks on the Zephyr looking to make the connection. Not too long after leaving the Chicago station it was time for our dinner reservation in the dining car. I thought my meal was way above average; I ordered the Rack of Lamb and it was excellent. We took our time in the dining car (we were at the last seating, so no one was waiting for our table) and had a very enjoyable meal. After dinner our daughter went back to our room to watch a movie on our portable DVD player. My wife and I stopped by the lounge car to see what it was like and have a nightcap. The downstairs area in the lounge car where you bought your drinks wasn’t deluxe, but it was perfectly comfortable. They were playing "The Incredibles" as the movie that night, and it was shown on monitors both downstairs and up in the Sightseer Lounge. We enjoyed our drink, watched the movie for a half hour or so and then headed back for our room. Soon after that it was time to go to bed, so we changed into our sleepwear and robes and then asked the attendant to make up our room for sleeping. With two beds on the lower level and one upper berth opened the room certainly wasn’t as spacious as before, but it really wasn’t too bad. My wife took the full size lower berth, my daughter the shortened lower berth and I climbed into the upper berth. After a minute or so of viewing my horrified expression my daughter said "You can’t do that Daddy... let me take the upper". I guess I should have known better. I can’t even sit in the back seat of my Mustang because I am too claustrophobic. There was no way I could handle the short distance between the upper berth and the ceiling of the car. Did I ever tell you how much I love my daughter?? ;-) So my daughter climbed into the upper which she didn’t mind a bit. I took her lower, but instead of sleeping on it the short way, I turned 90 degrees and pulled the mattress a few inches to where it combined that bed with the end of my wife’s bed. That meant we both had our lower legs in the same area, but my wife’s berth was plenty wide for that to be comfortable for both of us. It would have been a great night’s sleep. Except the track we traveled from about 10:00 PM that evening until 1:00 AM had to be about the worst track I have ever experienced. The train didn’t just bump or sway; there were sudden jolts that almost threw you from your bed. Amtrak can’t do much about this... they are using the track of the freight railroads and have to take it as it is. I sure wish this country would fund Amtrak so that they could have their own track, but of course that will never happen. The track did finally get much better, and we slept well the rest of the night. I got up early in the morning because I wanted to shower before breakfast. I was surprised at how decent the shower actually was. The water pressure was quite good and you could adjust it to about any temperature you wanted. One thing to be aware of is the water gets hotter a couple of minutes after you turn it on. Either wait outside for a minute or two or know that you need to adjust the temperature a couple of minutes after you get in. I took a much abbreviated shower, knowing that a train cannot have an endless supply of water. But overall, it was a much better experience than I expected. After getting dressed I went to the dining car for breakfast. My wife and daughter said they would rather sleep than eat, so I had my breakfast with some very nice people I was seated with. I then returned to our room and watched the gorgeous scenery pass by as my wife and daughter slowly woke up. The Cap Limited goes through the Allegheny Mountains, and while not as spectacular as the Rockies, they are very beautiful. We arrived in Washington just under two hours late. I again felt that wasn’t too bad considering we had left Chicago close to an hour late. We really enjoyed the trip and were amazed at how quickly the time passed. Our return trip was much the same (except backwards) so I won’t bore you by saying the same stuff again. A few parting comments... 1) Train travel is without a doubt the most relaxing way to get somewhere. 2) If you are going to enjoy it you need to look at the train trip as part of your vacation and not just a means of transit. 3) The Family Sleeper and the service we received were absolutely excellent. 4) The dining car is usually quite good, and occasionally excellent. 5) The train will probably be late. Expect it and don’t worry about it. Amtrak probably takes more criticism for being late than any other area. I think it is an unfair criticism. People typically compare train punctuality with airplane punctuality and that is really comparing apples to oranges. The airplane travels about 10 times as fast as the train. Being 30 minutes late on a plane (not that unusual) would be equivalent to being 300 minutes (5 hours) late on a train. The train also is dependent on many things that airplanes don’t have to worry about... track conditions, other trains having priority over the same track, etc. It is more realistic to compare it to a trip by automobile. Say it usually takes X amount of time to drive from Minneapolis to Washington DC. This particular trip you drive at a time of heavy traffic and considerable road construction. You arrive in DC 4 hours later than you thought you would. Would you be horrified, or surprised that you actually made pretty decent time under the circumstances? I think it would be the latter. Don’t compare train timeliness to that of airplanes; it is a whole different thing. >>
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I think a trainride across the US would be a wonderful trip and would do it in a heartbeat - but not if I was going somewhere like Disneyland. I think the train riding experience is something we should all attempt to do at sometime in our lives - just to see the place we live in. Your trip sounds wonderful -
Originally Posted By MOLLYSMOM I agree, too. I wouldn't mind taking a train trip if that was the intention for my vacation. With this trip, it is their intention to go to Disneyland, Universal, and the San Diego Zoo. Taking 4 days out for travel time seems a bit extreme for me. However, my desire is to get there ASAP and play, and their desire is to make the trip down and back part of the whole vacation experience. Different ways of looking at things, I guess.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I Agree MOLLYSMOM - If I am going to go on vacation for a purpose, Disneyland, and such I just want to get there and enjoy -
