Long Amtrak Train Trip Starting 26 August!

Maybe the final pic from the Zephyr train: The PA system was announcing important landmarks and historic events. I heard them say the highest elevation on that train route was 9200 ft and that's also the highest elevation for any Amtrak train. My phone's Altimeter app recorded this shortly after the announcement; the highest point probably already past. But close enough!

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Before I move on to the last of my trains (Coast Starlight from Sacramento to Seattle), only pic to share about my one day stay with friends in Sacramento area. It was to The University of Beer where the host-couple and I went to. I have pics of their house and family but of course will not share here. My friend drove me around to places in Roseville and I found the area pretty nice. I also finally found a cheap place to shop for travel accessories which I couldn't in NYC. You could say it was my first time in California because the last time I went there was in 2014 when I went to a professional workshop in San Diego's Convention Center area and basically was confined there except for a brief round trip on a local train from the CC area to Carlsbad (or nearby).

GPS of The University of Beer: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9yAD73AGRDyezmVS7

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All the talk of pizza was too much to resist when wifey asked me this evening what for supper. Most of the time, I say, 'whatever you want to'. I am a terrible eater if you can't tell from this thread already. Then she asked 'Pizza?'. And I said 'yes'. So home made crust pizza: Turkey pepperoni, green olive, onion, green pepper, fennel seed.

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bro you need to invest in a camera, definitely worth it and it makes pics more memorable, or maybe its just me.
 
Meengla said:
All the talk of pizza was too much to resist when wifey asked me this evening what for supper. Most of the time, I say, 'whatever you want to'. I am a terrible eater if you can't tell from this thread already. Then she asked 'Pizza?'. And I said 'yes'. So home made crust pizza: Turkey pepperoni, green olive, onion, green pepper, fennel seed.

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I am also a pizza lover. It tastes best in the first 10 minutes fresh out of the oven. Have you ever travelled in Italy and tasted their authentic pizza ?
 
Watandar said:
I am also a pizza lover. It tastes best in the first 10 minutes fresh out of the oven. Have you ever travelled in Italy and tasted their authentic pizza ?
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Nah, never been to Italy--or Europe for that matter unless a few hours at some cruise ports count, which they don't.
I am not really a foodie at all. Wifey cooks because if left to me, then daily chickpeas, rice, beans, shrimps... daily! Cook once and eat for several days. It is just a hole to fill in my tummy. I do have a palate and appreciate good food but not putting effort into cooking them.
As for the camera: My pics are just for my own memories. Sharing here to share the joy. I think they are acceptable quality. I have a good camera on the phone but I reduce some quality to save storage.
 
Meengla said:
Nah, never been to Italy--or Europe for that matter unless a few hours at some cruise ports count, which they don't.
I am not really a foodie at all. Wifey cooks because if left to me, then daily chickpeas, rice, beans, shrimps... daily! Cook once and eat for several days. It is just a hole to fill in my tummy. I do have a palate and appreciate good food but not putting effort into cooking them.
As for the camera: My pics are just for my own memories. Sharing here to share the joy. I think they are acceptable quality. I have a good camera on the phone but I reduce some quality to save storage.
Click to expand...
In retrospect would you have broken up your trip to spend couple more nights in NYC or Chicago or some other place so you could explore locally more ?
 
Oh, not to start a flame war with Indians here: On the second day of my two nights on the Zephyr, a little Indian dude was sitting on my seat by the window. His was across the aisle from me. I asked why my seat? He said the sun is shining through my window and that he was very cold as he did not bring even a long sleeve shirt, let alone a sweater or jacket. I felt bad but I myself didn't have many clothes: Two long sleeve shirts and 2-3 T shirts and two long pants and a pajama. But then my heart melted and I took out a clean long sleeve shirt from my luggage and gave it to him, which he wore the rest of the 30-40 trip left. But he didn't even acknowledge me the rest of the trip! A little gratitude for saving his hide would be appreciated. He was sitting right across the aisle from me and also saw me in other parts of the train. Needless to say, my own clothes situation got even worse but I did laundry in CA and in Vancouver but it was tight planning.
Ingrate!
 
Watandar said:
In retrospect would you have broken up your trip to spend couple more nights in NYC or Chicago or some other place so you could explore locally more ?
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Chicago definitely. And probably an extra day in Seattle beyond the one night I stayed there. Problem with Chicago was the plan ahead with the CA family. Problem with Seattle was too expensive as the summer season going on.

BTW, there was hardly any rest by staying at friends in CA or in Vancouver. The CA family had two toddlers who were delighted to see a guest in the house and just bugged me constantly on top of the host showing me around. The same happened with the Vancouver friends' house stay: Too much chatting, too much showing around. I know they all meant well and I deeply appreciated their hospitality but in the end I didn't get the rest by staying with them. I had resisted for days their invites.

I stayed at the hostel for two nights in Vancouver but practically only stayed in the room for no more than 4-5 hours. Shared accommodations is not for me. This was my first time at a hostel shared accommodation and maybe the last time.
 
Starting the 4th and the final train left of my trip: From Sacramento to Seattle on Amtrak's Coast Starlight. The train was supposed to leave around midnight and my friends dropped me off at the Sacramento station maybe around 7 or 8 PM. The outside of the station didn't feel inviting with some shady people. One of them was inside and I saw an Amtrak employee yelling at her while facing her down, almost literally pushing her out: "You need to leave!", "You need to leave!"... until the middle aged woman mumbling something left the great hall of the waiting area. The restrooms were locked and one had to go to the Amtrak counter to get some code to unlock the restrooms door. There was a large mural which beautifully showed the breaking ground in Sacramento for the transcontinental train in the 19th century. There were many wood benches.

The train arrived a bit late--maybe close to 1 am, if IIRC. The boarding was easy though a long walk. There was some confusion about which part of the platform to go: Different for the rooms vs for the poor us Coach seats but nothing like the mayhem at the Chicago's train station. I asked the ticket guy at the platform to assign me a window seat--yes, seats were assigned--and he gave me several slips to choose from and I randomly picked up one. Easy boarding and my seat was close to the railcar's restroom and the Cafe Car area (which was on lower level). And then a young man in 30s showed up, smiled and sat besides me; that was the first time since leaving South Carolina that I had a decent seat mate and I was glad for that: It was a 20 hour train trip ahead. I was dreading a particularly huge huge woman on the platform to be my seat mate. The conductors announced that the train was full and so stay in your assigned seats.

Anyway, another cold sleepless night on the train and the next morning, I went to the Cafe Car for coffee around 7 AM. By then the train was past Mt. Shasta in northern CA and almost into Oregon.

GPS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nJAR7a33tiwXYmzZA

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