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I haven't had a chance to post about my spring sojourn. It began with a pleasant, on-time early morning trip to NYC, where I stayed overnight with a friend, taxiing to her apartment and dumping my luggage there and walking all the way downtown (beautiful day) through Greenwich Village and Little Italy and Chinatown, with a brief stop at the AFrican Burial Ground, and continuing on to visit the Statue of Liberty, of all things (haven't been there since I was a kid). I opted for the boat ride and visit to island without entering the statue; also saw Ellis Island Immigration Museum briefly. Lots of waiting in line with tourists from all over! I later met a friend for dinner at a delicious and deliciously inexpensive Indian restaurant on Curry Hill and took a subway up to Grand Central Station, where we walked around a little and met another friend (the one I was staying with) for a drink. . . a great day!
Next morning, I took a taxi to Penn Station and caught the Carolinian early for Washington DC, another very nice day weatherwise. Train was pretty much on time and not as busy as my more usual 8AM Regional often is. I left my luggage in the ACELA lounge and had plenty of time to walk and museum hop in and around the Mall. In addition to my usual Chinatown lunch and visits to the gardens by the Smithsonian Castle and Arts & Industries building, I stopped at the National Portrait Gallery to see the Katherine Hepburn exhibit and at the National Gallery to see two wonderful special exhibits, one called something like Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan and the other, French Impressionist etc art, called Views of Fontainebleu--or something like that.
I returned to Union Station for the Capital Ltd, which left on time. Service on this train was fine but the new menu, as has been noted, offers fewer selections and grew boring rather quickly for me on this trip, though the chicken, cheesecake, chocolate ice cream, and breakfast cheese omelets and French toast were all good. My sleeper was a little warmish so I kept the door open but I slept quite nicely. We were only about an hour late into Chicago next day. Though rain had been predicted, the day was pretty nice, though humid. After dropping off my luggage in the Metropolitan Lounge, I walked down to the lake and over to Millennium Park, than back past Union Station for lunch in Greektown, my new fave.
I then returned to Union Station and caught the CA Zephyr, which left on time. Again, very good service, and friendlier than the Capital Ltd had been. Everything was going smoothly until we got to about Ottumwa and then, dum dee dum dum. Lightning and rain and tornadoes, oh my! We were holed up (can a train be holed up) outside Creston for hours and hours to avoid the tornadoes. Someone played guitar in the observation car, which was nice and took our minds off our woes. Eventually I went to bed and missed a lot of the excitement (some passengers said they saw a tornado from the observation car!). Next morning we were many hours late and there was flooding all around, so incredibly sad. Then more tornado warnings around McCook, so we waited some more. We finally limped into Denver around 12 hours late! I missed my chance to visit Cheyenne and keep one appointment, but I did get to see the Denver capitol the next morning, walk around Capitol Hill, and meet a friend for a drive to Boulder, where we had lunch and saw the town (I'd never been there before).
Next morning I caught the Zephyr to Salt Lake City. Glorious glorious ride across the Rockies; lucky I missed the WY detour! Crew was excellent, dining car particularly friendly; also some really fun passengers, plus a few Mormons who tried to convert me. We arrived in SLC only about 1/2 hour late, which was fine by me, and I used Ute taxi (very reliable, per hotel) to the Hampton Inn, turned out to be a few blocks west of the ideal place to be but really very nice and very very reasonably priced, good breakfast, afternoon cookies, free Internet in lobby, helpful desk clerks, comfy bed--what more can you want. . . .?
Next day the weather was simply perfect. I visited Temple Square, saw the Mormon Tabernacle sing, toured Brigham Young's Beehive House (and part of adjoining Lion House), saw the mansions on Temple South, and came across--of all things, in Salt Lake City--a rather large, festive, and well attended Gay Pride Parade! I really enjoyed the juxtaposition with what I'd seen earlier, and the discovery that SLC was such a well rounded city!!! In the afternoon I took a bus tour to the Great Salt Lake, which was completely lovely, and the world's largest copper mine, which was quite interesting to see, though some of the presentation was like a big commercial. Had Mexican food back in downtown SLC for dinner.
Next day I visited the capitol, one of the nicest, just renovated last year; had a great tour too, very informative! Also walked in adjoining Memorial Gardens, and took the lightrail up to the University and back. Checked out the modern new library and the City and County Building and I forget what all else. Oh, and I ate in a really interesting Nepali restaurant (which also had Indian food, but I tried a Nepali dish, it was excellent).
Having noted more rain was coming to the Midwest, I decided I'd better change my plans and go home before there was real trouble on the line. That turned out to be a VERY wise decision. My trip home was uneventful, and I had the same very fine crew as the Denver to SLC trip, and even a few of the same delightful passengers!!! This time we did the Wyoming detour, boo hoo, but it was actually nicer eastbound, more light in the beginning part of Utah where there is some scenery.
And I gather my train made it back to Chicago just in time. . . . or I'd probably still be out there somewhere, or forced to fly home (yech! I hate planes), or (if I know me) trying to get home through Canada . . . well, that wouldn't have been so bad, I'd love to take the Canadian . . . except I could not afford it . . .
As it was, my Zephyr back to Chicago was only about an hour late. Union Station was really bustling this time of day, but I dumped my luggage in the Metropolitan Lounge again and had time for a walk up Clark Street to a very fine Mexican restaurant I like there, and a walk back down to Union Station. Again, the weather was humid but dry. I had been told to be back in the Metro Lounge by 8 but we didn't board the Lakeshore Ltd till around 9 (same happened before, so I expected it!) but I did have fun at the wine, cheese, and grape tasting, though didn't have too much wine, I enjoyed the company very much. The trip back east was uneventful, and we arrived in Albany EARLY!
So, my own trip was fun for me, even if curtailed. But I feel so sad for all the people in the Midwest and what they've had to endure.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Thanks for your usual great report. I always feel as if I am with you because you are so descriptive. the problem is I am exhausted by all the walking. How do you do it? You didn't mention the food on the other trains and I wondered if there was anything new or different? Did you go to the Celestial Tea factory in Boulder? That is one of my favorites. Knowing you I assume you are now putting together your next trip.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Train Lady, It was such a nice day in Boulder, we stayed mainly outdoors, but we did go to the Chattaqua, which was especially lovely.
I do walk a lot when I can--I have to try to walk off some of the train food.
The food was pretty much the same on all the trains except the Lakeshore Ltd--that is what I meant when I said I got tired of it. Only 4 dinner choices: Flatiron steak, the game hen or chicken (the waiters kept calling it chicken so maybe it was a chicken replacement, though the menu said hen), a fish dish (talapia or trout on my trains, though I heard it was salmon on the Empire Builder), and a vegetarian pasta dish (vegetarian lasagna on all my trains). Since I won't attempt to chew the steak and invariably find the fish on Amtrak way too fishy, I just had the chicken/hen except for once, when I tried the lasagna, which was too "red/acidic" for me compared to the kind of sauce I usually like, so I didn't try it again. After the first time, I did get the chicken/hen with the mashed potatoes instead of the yellow rice on the menu; potatoes much better.
Lunch was a special (invariably turkey with gravy on the trains I took) with a salad; Angus or turkey burger (gardenburgers i.e. veggie burgers were also on the menu but never available; one waiter said he'd heard they'd been "called back"!) with potato chips; today's sandwich (seemed to always be tuna fish), also with potato chips; and a Caesar salad with optional chicken (but there was no Caesar dressing on most trains). I tried the special, but the turkey had that "frozen meat" taste, so after that I had the turkey burgers. The rolls were not as good as they were last year, IMO, though they looked the same. I noticed after a few days there were no more tomatoes on the plates, you can surmise why (for overseas readers who may not know: there's been a salmonella problem in the US lately with tomatoes).
Both dinner and lunch had chocolate or vanilla ice cream, cheese cake (plain Cap Ltd; with a little strawberry or raspberry, I forget which, swirled in on the Zephyr), and one other cake for dessert; I forget what it was on the Capt Ltd but on the Zephyr it was a pretty good though very sweet chocolate peanut butter cake; I don't recall what it was on the other trains.
Breakfast choices were cheese omelet, scrambled eggs, French toast, or Continental, though they were often out of oatmeal, I invariably had the omelet or French toast, both good, though no more strawberry syrup for the French toast. Bacon or pork sausage patties were available with it, plus the usual juice and of course coffee.
The Lakeshore Ltd had a pizza at lunch (I think this could have been available on other trains on a children's menu, but I don't know) and a southwestern omelet at breakfast, plus pork sausage links were available instead of patties. Since I took it only eastbound, I didn't have dinner on the LSL and forgot to check the choices. But it seemed to have a somewhat different menu than the other trains.
What I ate was tasty but boring, choicewise; I am very sorry there were no beef tips any more, and no changing specials at dinner.
Re future trips: Right now I have only a little trip to Boston with my husband planned for the rest of this year. I'd do more if I could afford it. . . but probably won't be able to till next year! Then, because family will likely take me to Florida twice next winter, I'm planning stopovers in Columbia and Richmond in conjunction with one of those trips (possibly also with a bus trip from JAX to Tallahassee, but I may skip that) and I'm planning to take my very first trip southbound on the City of New Orleans, with stops in Memphis, Jackson, and New Orleans, before heading to Florida from there on the other trip. I though about planning another for later next spring (what I'd really like to do is take VIA Rail's Canadian from Toronto to Jasper, then the Skeena to Prince Rupert, and then an Alaska ferry or two, with EB home), but I fear I cannot afford it. . . .
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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Thanks for the report, Sojourner! Your reports are always interesting, and you sure do take a lot of "sojourns!"
BTW, concerning your post above, I'm sure this was just a typo, but the Canadian does not go to Prince Rupert -- you will have to take the Canadian to Jasper, then connect to the Skeena there for Prince George and Prince Rupert.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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Sojourner - your trip reports are the best! I think I particularly like them because you give a good idea of local attractions /activities as well as the good Amtrak info, all in a very readable style.
You should start your own Amtrak travel web site. Help plan trip itineraries for the inexperienced traveler, for a fee. Then you could afford more trips!
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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Great trip report as usual - I found your report of Salt Lake City interesting. I've interfaced between train and plane at SLC a couple of times now but short of eating supper in downtown one evening (adjacent to the light rail!), most of my time there has been spent in a rental car going away from SLC to historic railroad sites in Ogden and Promontory, UT and East Ely, NV.
Maybe I should take a longer look at Salt Lake City itself next time.......if I didn't fear the threat of conversion so much!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Mr. Presley, it is a safe assumption that, having hosted the 2000 Winter Olympics, SLC is a far more cosmopolitan city than it was when I was stationed at Hill AFB Aug 68 to Jan 69.
I normally worked evenigs "swing', so there was plenty of opportunity for railfanning UP "City" trains, and Gas Turbines in Weber Canyon (scenic highlight of a rerouted Zephyr journey). On breaks, I found the Utah Symphony Orchestrsa to be "world class".
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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