Long Amtrak Train Trip Starting 26 August!

[Hamartia Antidote]

I have traveled coach on CN recently. I would suggest upgrading to a sleeper.

not this CN I hope...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

I Tried China's "First Class" Sleeper Train...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

What is a FIRST CLASS SLEEPER on Amtrak?

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

First Class on America’s Best Sleeper Train

 

[Meengla]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

First Class on America’s Best Sleeper Train

I watch this rich Brit's videos a lot! Some luxury travel in train, plane, and cruises! You'd love his video about the 'Margaritaville' cruise ship from Florida, which the guy took just for the heck to see what would be the experience on supposedly the worst cruise ship in America. BTW, @Starlord : You are

 

[Starlord]

With @Meengla wanting to tour by train and @Starlord looking at a travel trailer, you guys should consider pooling resources and hit the road together.

I don't mind but let me ask first if @Meengla snore haha, as much as i want to hit the roads, but I still have to pay bills so work don't stop grind don't stop.

 

[Meengla]

It looks like you’re probably going to take the Cardinal, between NYC and Chicago. That’s the one I use to ride frequently for many years. Pack a good blanket and a decent pillow for those coach seats. Seats are this tough leather, so you may want to pack something to make the seat more comfortable. Also, it’s possible they will have the AC running all day. I would recommend you pack a decent sweater.
Also, be aware that long distance Amtrak trains tend to run behind a lot, even worse in places than in decades past. It’s not their fault. The tracks outside of the northeast are owned by freight railroads. So give yourself some extra time, where possible.
I hope you have an enjoyable trip. When you get to Seattle check out the Chihuly Garden and Glass, near the space needle. A great exhibit.
P.S. may want to pack some meclizine and a pain reliever for a possible migraine. 6 days can wear on anyone.

Thank you for the info. I am traveling on the Lake Shore Limited between NYC and Chicago.
Great idea about those places in Seattle; I was in Seattle about 2 years ago as the final port of a long ocean cruise from Florida (Panama Canal crossing) and did go up the Space Needle. From what my itinerary is looking like, I am going to have two nights in Seattle but it is not settled yet.

 

[Meengla]

I don't mind but let me ask first if @Meengla snore haha, as much as i want to hit the roads, but I still have to pay bills so work don't stop grind don't stop.

Honestly, I have never heard me snore! Haha!
(Wife says I snore like a 'freight train').

 

[Starlord]

It was just a couple weeks ago I drove from central Arizona to Camp Perry, OH and back. On the trip to Perry, I left my house at 0610 local time and stopped for the night about 45 miles west of Tulsa. Roughly 1100 miles or so.

Yep, Mid-western and West coast states are bigger in size compared to east coast states like Maine, maryland, delaware etc... I mean just going from one side of Texas to the other is 100s of miles and hours of drive. That Dinosaur park i wanna visit from Tampa is 2200 miles one way, all my testostrone dies when i think about the drive.

 

[Starlord]

Honestly, I have never heard me snore! Haha!
(Wife says I snore like a 'freight train').

I used to talk during sleep, but i don't think i snore... but i will take your wife word for it, my ex wife said that i sleep like i am dead, first few weeks when i moved with her, she used to wake me up in middle of night, just to check haha

 

[Meengla]

Yep, Mid-western and West coast states are bigger in size compared to east coast states like Maine, maryland, delaware etc... I mean just going from one side of Texas to the other is 100s of miles and hours of drive. That Dinosaur park i wanna visit from Tampa is 2200 miles one way, all my testostrone dies when i think about the drive.

I am cursing myself for not scanning the pics from my trip to the Dinosaur National Park (April 1994). I held onto hundreds, if not thousands of printed photos (you know the old ones before the digital era) of so many trips. I used to be a wanderer. I even had photos of a fabulous train trip between Prince George, BC to Prince Rupert, BC. And I held onto the prints for decades. When I finally had the time 1-2 years ago to patiently scan them to digitally preserve them, I chickened out by the daunting task just looking at them. So I put many in the trash--a stupidity I still regret!!
DNP trip is in my memory a little bit: It was before the tourist season and I hardly saw anyone at the DNP. There was, IIRC, an overlook nearby with a signboard saying something like 'Just look at the terrain nearby and enjoy the deep quiet' (something like). In the exhibit itself, there were these giant dinosaur bones and I took their pictures. Someone later told me they are not actual bones but the fossilized remains (whatever that is). But it was 32 years ago and I don't recall much. I went there solo from South Carolina--thousands of miles--in an old beatup Pontiac T 1000. And when I came back to SC, my friends couldn't believe I took that trip solo and in that car and for that far away. I always had a wanderlust. Not sure anymore.

 

[Starlord]

I am cursing myself for not scanning the pics from my trip to the Dinosaur National Park (April 1994). I held onto hundreds, if not thousands of printed photos (you know the old ones before the digital era) of so many trips. I used to be a wanderer. I even had photos of a fabulous train trip between Prince George, BC to Prince Rupert, BC. And I held onto the prints for decades. When I finally had the time 1-2 years ago to patiently scan them to digitally preserve them, I chickened out by the daunting task just looking at them. So I put many in the trash--a stupidity I still regret!!
DNP trip is in my memory a little bit: It was before the tourist season and I hardly saw anyone at the DNP. There was, IIRC, an overlook nearby with a signboard saying something like 'Just look at the terrain nearby and enjoy the deep quiet' (something like). In the exhibit itself, there were these giant dinosaur bones and I took their pictures. Someone later told me they are not actual bones but the fossilized remains (whatever that is). But it was 32 years ago and I don't recall much. I went there solo from South Carolina--thousands of miles--in an old beatup Pontiac T 1000. And when I came back to SC, my friends couldn't believe I took that trip solo and in that car and for that far away. I always had a wanderlust. Not sure anymore.

Oh man so you are old old... 32 years ago, that trip must've looked and felt different, now the ease of traveling with rest stations, gas stations, snacks, gps/maps, back in the day must be hard to navigate, but that type of travel has its own thriller.

 

[Meengla]

Oh man so you are old old... 32 years ago, that trip must've looked and felt different, now the ease of traveling with rest stations, gas stations, snacks, gps/maps, back in the day must be hard to navigate, but that type of travel has its own thriller.

Yes, the printed AAA maps which you try to follow while driving. Not sure what lies ahead as gas stations or restaurants. There was one road (Colorado or Utah) on my way which had a sign: 'No gas station next 80 miles'. But it was indeed fun. There felt like more 'human' touch. Cops pulled me over because a tail-light on my beatup Pontiac had its plastic cover broken but gently told me to fix once I get back to SC. Mechanics along the way giving free, honest advice about my car's rattling when turning the steering. A small motel in Wyoming (maybe Casper?) where I stumbled into late night in drenching and cold rain and the manager simply let me in and took the money the next day.

 

[Starlord]

Yes, the printed AAA maps which you try to follow while driving. Not sure what lies ahead as gas stations or restaurants. There was one road (Colorado or Utah) on my way which had a sign: 'No gas station next 80 miles'. But it was indeed fun. There felt like more 'human' touch. Cops pulled me over because a tail-light on my beatup Pontiac had its plastic cover broken but gently told me to fix once I get back to SC. Mechanics along the way giving free, honest advice about my car's rattling when turning the steering. A small motel in Wyoming (maybe Casper?) where I stumbled into late night in drenching and cold rain and the manager simply let me in and took the money the next day.

And here i am thinking twice over taking a road trip in my 2022 Hyundai, and been a brat and complain about not having a camper lol I agree that traveling the old school way has its own thrill, @AZ_HighCountry wanna add some stories from back in the day?

 

[Meengla]

And here i am thinking twice over taking a road trip in my 2022 Hyundai, and been a brat and complain about not having a camper lol I agree that traveling the old school way has its own thrill, @AZ_HighCountry wanna add some stories from back in the day?

2022!! Man! If you even have a mini SUV, turn into a camper for overnight.

Here is my Pontiac T 1000. About late April 1994. Almost certainly at a KoA Campground near Estes Park, Colorado; and that tent is mine too. Also crossing the high altitude (almost 12,000 ft) Loveland Pass in Colorado.
That's skinny me in the pic: More hair, less fat, and extremely nerdy than now. HAHA!

 

[Starlord]

2022!! Man! If you even have a mini SUV, turn into a camper for overnight.

Here is my Pontiac T 1000. About late April 1994. Almost certainly at a KoA Campground near Estes Park, Colorado; and that tent is mine too. Also crossing the high altitude (almost 12,000 ft) Loveland Pass in Colorado.
That's skinny me in the pic: More hair, less fat, and extremely nerdyView attachment 212219 than now. HAHA!

I technically can sleep in my car, it has enough space for my 6'2 inch body, but i definitely prefer camper so i can camp for a day or two. I heard from people who camp that bugs/animals are a issue if you are camping, so i would rather not sleep in tent, at least campers are protected and sealed. Cars can be too but in campers you get bathroom, microwave, fridge etc, a kinda home like feeling. Maybe in future i may try to travel just in car and see if i can sleep, so far all my attempts to sleep in car has failed.

 

[Meengla]

I technically can sleep in my car, it has enough space for my 6'2 inch body, but i definitely prefer camper so i can camp for a day or two. I heard from people who camp that bugs/animals are a issue if you are camping, so i would rather not sleep in tent, at least campers are protected and sealed. Cars can be too but in campers you get bathroom, microwave, fridge etc, a kinda home like feeling. Maybe in future i may try to travel just in car and see if i can sleep, so far all my attempts to sleep in car has failed.

If you being 6-2 height can fit into your car to sleep then very good! Unlike you, I have always had much small cars and I am only about 5-9 and I tried one night to sleep in that Pontiac and it was miserable. Miserable! BUT I once slept in a mini SUV at the Olympic National Park; it was very comfortable with back seats folded. I was with a friend who had the SUV and he insisted on letting me sleep in the SUV while he put a tent nearby.
Try to turn your SUV into at least a comfy overnight camper before you try the more expensive options like a camper.

 

[Starlord]

If you being 6-2 height can fit into your car to sleep then very good! Unlike you, I have always had much small cars and I am only about 5-9 and I tried one night to sleep in that Pontiac and it was miserable. Miserable! BUT I once slept in a mini SUV at the Olympic National Park; it was very comfortable with back seats folded. I was with a friend who had the SUV and he insisted on letting me sleep in the SUV while he put a tent nearby.
Try to turn your SUV into at least a comfy overnight camper before you try the more expensive options like a camper.

That's actually not a bad idea, part of me not wanting to sleep in car is fear of running out of air, or if something in car... sorry i am a overthinker