Short Amtrak Travel Journal

Here are some very brief notes I wrote about my travel experience while actually on the train from California to Florida.  Hopefully the benefit someone!

Day 1/2 – On the Train to ChicagoInteresting experiences so far!  I have to say, train travel is probably not for everyone.  I am quite enjoying my experiences so far, but I will go into more details on this later.  I am surprised how many people are also heading to Chicago from California or even from stops not that much further down the line.
 Question: One thing I always wondered: do conductors really yell “All Aboard” or is that something they only do in movies?
Answer: They do in fact yell “All aboard!” so that those on a stretch-your-legs break know to come back on the train or get left behind.  And they will leave you if you aren't quick!
 The California Zephyr is a fairly long train.  I haven’t exactly counted each car, but I think there are the 2 engine cars, 1-2 what looks like baggage cars, 3 sleeper cars, 1 sightseeing/lounge car, and 3 coach cars.  The seats are very roomy!  I was lucky to not have a seat mate on this first leg of the trip from CA to Chicago, so I could really stretch out.  There are foot rests on the seat in front of you, as well as leg rests under your own seat so you can prop your legs up if you want to.  The seats recline much farther than an airplane seat does…not sure what the exact number in inches is, but it’s nice.  I've tried to take some pictures of my seating arrangements as well as some shots of other interesting parts of the train [which you can see in an earlier post here].
 Traveling on a train is similar to traveling in a car.  You get that bouncy, wheels-on-the-rough-pavement kind of feel.  The main difference is the swaying motion that sometimes accompanies train travel.  It’s not always obvious, but occasionally the train does sway enough where you do notice it.  Those prone to motion sickness (or even car sickness) should bring something to help them like Dramamine.  I personally found the motion to be relaxing, and I think it made me sleepier.
 Trains are also not as loud as cars.  Or in particular, I should say this train is not as loud as a car.  I've heard other passengers mention how this particular train is much roomier and quieter than many of the short-distance trains they have traveled on.  You could hold a very hushed conversation several rows behind me and I would be able to make out some of your words, to give you an idea.
 Above your seat, after the conductor scans your ticket, they place a skinny piece of paper that the conductor marks with your end destination 3 letter code.  For me on this train, it’s CHI for Chicago.  As I mentioned earlier, there are a good amount of people traveling to Chicago, many of them alone.  So I don’t feel so weird ;) This piece of paper also marks your spot for you, so if you left your seat, other passengers would know someone was sitting there.
 The bathrooms are so-so.  They are rather small, but again, bigger than airplane bathrooms.  The nice thing is the lounge bathroom which is 2 sinks and a big mirror with 2 stools in front of it.  You can brush your teeth there, wash your face, even change if you wanted.  I would still change in the privacy of the bathroom.  The handicap stall is very large and much more roomy than the regular bathrooms.  One thing I really don’t like is how the water spurts out with way too much force.  If you aren't careful you might end up taking a bath instead of washing your hands.
 On day one we traveled from SF, California through Davis, Sacramento, Roseville, Truckee, Colfax (I might be forgetting a couple stops, Winnemucca, NV and ended in  Elko, NV just before midnight.  Around 3:15 AM we arrived in Salt Lake City, but I slept through that.  I also slept through the Provo stop.  I woke up in time to see Green River, Utah around 6:30 am.  It was very pretty.  In the distance you can see some interesting land formation which (from past visits to this region) I am almost certain are Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.
 I saw a fair amount of wildlife so far on my travels.  Plenty of jackrabbit and ground squirrel sightings, but also hawks, a bald eagle that lives at Donner Lake, lots of wild horses in Nevada, and pronghorn antelope in Utah.  The countryside is also incredibly beautiful.  I brought loads of movies to watch and books to read, but I find myself too busy staring out the window in case I miss anything spectacular.
 Coincidentally, the pictures I am including on [other] posts were either taken on my cell phone or my Canon underwater camera (I think it’s called the D100, it’s the first in the line of underwater cameras for Canon).  The picture quality varies depending on the position of the sun.  Sometimes it glared off my window making it difficult to get a clear shot.  There were also lots of water spots on the window which you will probably notice more in some pictures than others.   The sky was not always a dark, hazy color.  That’s just how the pictures turned out due to the things I mentioned above.
 To back track a bit, one cool thing is that from Sacramento to Reno the train had on board 2 docents to tell the history of the route we were taking.  They announced a few interesting tidbits, like when we passed Donner Lake what the basics were to the people in the Donner party, but other than that you had to be in the lounge car in order to hear what they had to say.

For anyone looking to try training out for the first time, I’d recommend the California Zephyr route from wherever you live to Reno.  It’s a very, very pretty train ride and ends in a location with lots of hotel and dinner options, so you can spend the night and train back home the next day.
 Today we will be traveling through the Rockies, which I am excited to see for the first time.  Not sure how far we will make it today.  We left Grand Junction about an hour or so ago (it’s just after noon for me right now).
  Day 3/4After having finished the entire train ride, much of this will be kind of a “looking back” perspective.
For example, the best part of this route was the California Zephyr.  Easily the prettiest  part of the trip.  That being said, I didn't have window seats on either of the other two trains I took, and sometimes seat mates closed the drapes so I couldn't see out.  That, and parts of the country that might have been pretty we trained through at night.  Also, the east coast has a TON of trees, so sometimes it's hard to see out the windows.  Lol.  They obscure everything!