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| Riding the rails in 2009 |
In talking with our friends, we figured out why the airfares leaving Portland were so much more expensive: schools in Oregon start their spring break this weekend. That's probably also why our train fares were less expensive departing on Thursday as opposed to Friday.
To get home, we took Amtrak's Coast Starlight, which runs between Seattle and Los Angeles with an overnight on the train. In 2009, we took the California Zephyr from Sacramento to Chicago, spending two nights on board, and the boys still rank that vacation as one of our best trips. So, they were very enthusiastic about taking the train from Portland on the condition that we get full-size berths and a private bathroom in the sleepers. (On the California Zephyr, we had a family room with smaller child berths and a shared bathroom down the hall.)
Here's the cost comparison: getting coach class seats on the train for all of us would have been less than airfare for two, but we've already established that we're spoiled travelers. Renting a car one-way (with two nights in hotels) would have been the cheapest *acceptable* way to get home, but would have required 15-18 hours of driving (depending on the route) without much extra time for doing/seeing things along the way. Since all meals are included for passengers with sleeping accommodations (we had two dinners, breakfast, and lunch plus desserts), I figured the overall cost was essentially the same as staying an extra day and flying home. Okay, so we didn't end up saving any money, but we did get to experience something different!
Our train was running about an hour behind schedule, so we waited in the Metropolitan Lounge at the station. Complimentary beverages, comfy seats, wi-fi, and priority boarding for business class and sleeping car passengers - woohoo!
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| They barely fit back then! |
Here's the cost comparison: getting coach class seats on the train for all of us would have been less than airfare for two, but we've already established that we're spoiled travelers. Renting a car one-way (with two nights in hotels) would have been the cheapest *acceptable* way to get home, but would have required 15-18 hours of driving (depending on the route) without much extra time for doing/seeing things along the way. Since all meals are included for passengers with sleeping accommodations (we had two dinners, breakfast, and lunch plus desserts), I figured the overall cost was essentially the same as staying an extra day and flying home. Okay, so we didn't end up saving any money, but we did get to experience something different!
Our train was running about an hour behind schedule, so we waited in the Metropolitan Lounge at the station. Complimentary beverages, comfy seats, wi-fi, and priority boarding for business class and sleeping car passengers - woohoo!
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| 📸: M |
When it finally arrived around 3:15PM, we boarded our car (#1130) and found our compartments. They were adjoining rooms, so we slid open the partition "wall" to give us more space. Here's a quick tour of our rooms...
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| Trading up from Nintendo DS to iPhone |
An added bonus on this trip was that there was internet access on the train, as long as we could get cell service. The wi-fi was spotty in the sleeper car, but was pretty good in the parlour car, so guess where we spent much of our waking time?
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| Pacific Parlour Car |
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| Dining car |
Even though it was raining, going from Portland down to Eugene through the Willamette Valley was very scenic - everything was so green and starting to bloom! By the time we turned east and crossed the southern Cascades towards Chemult and Klamath Falls, OR, it was dark. But when we turned out the lights in our room, we could see that there was snow on the ground and that we were pretty high up in the mountains. Too bad our train was late, otherwise we probably would have been coming through this area at twilight.
Once in California, the train made stops in Dunsmuir, Redding, and Chico - and I woke up each time we pulled into a station. Ugh. (I think the guys slept through just fine.) By the time we arrived in Sacramento in the morning (6:30AM!), the train had made up all the lost time and was back on schedule. And yes, taking a shower on a moving train was quite the challenge.
To me, the best part about taking the train is just looking out the window as the world passes by. I loved the section between Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, which tooks us down the grade and around a horseshoe bend just before pulling into SLO.
After Pismo Beach (no stop here), we traveled towards the coast, passing through Vandenberg AFB and right by the SpaceX launch facility. It was really nice to enjoy our dinner with the Pacific Ocean in view. And as we moved through more familiar territory, I had fun mapping our position on my phone and seeing where we were in relation to the roads we usually take. We arrived at our destination just about on time, where our friend met us to bring us the rest of the way home. Thanks so much, M!
Would we do it again? Yep - next on the bucket list would be Amtrak's Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago or a big splurge to take Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies. Just let me get my land legs back first...
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