Thursday, May 31, 2007
Got Tix
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Hah! Another call from Amtrak this weekend. My trip to San Francisco has changed back to its original time schedule. No word about the return trip. I wonder how many more calls I'll get over the next 4 weeks to change the schedule.
Today's research on the trip uncovered personal travel stories on the Amtrak website itself. One such journal/story revealed:
"Does grass grow? Do Colorado river rafters "moon" the Zephyr? Even if they're both difficult to photograph, the answer is YES!"
Cool! Maybe I'll get mooned!
Today's research on the trip uncovered personal travel stories on the Amtrak website itself. One such journal/story revealed:
"Does grass grow? Do Colorado river rafters "moon" the Zephyr? Even if they're both difficult to photograph, the answer is YES!"
Cool! Maybe I'll get mooned!
This is a diagram of my Roomette when set up for sleeping.
I'm still fine tuning the packing list. The backpack has the fun stuff: camera, sketch pads, paints, books, teeny tv, mp3, binoculars, journal, radio, and sudoku. Carry-on suitcase with wheels will have the clothing. Now, where to put the snacks and the wine.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Researching the Trip
I have been doing some research online so that I will be better prepared for this train adventure. I found out some interesting things today.
The bathrooms, for instance......I discovered that they can be a bit tricky. Some of them are devoid of handles or buttons for flushing. Some of them flush by lowering the lid instead. I'm glad I found out about this. I would hate to suffer the stress and embarrassment of not knowing how to work the bathroom facilities. I had that once. In Paris. I ended up sneaking out without flushing. Quite embarrassing. I also found out that the lower level bathrooms see less traffic than the one near my roommette (sleeper car).
And speaking of my roommette, I found a layout of the rooms within the sleeper cars and discovered that my room is on the upper floor, which is what I was hoping for. I still don't know if they'll let me have that roommette to myself. I am assuming that I get it all to myself. But I have yet to find out for certain. Everything referring to it, says that it sleeps/seats up to two. I am hoping that "up to two" means that it can be less than two.
As for the train itself, I learned that you can only cross from one car to the next from the upper level. On the lower level, each end of the car is a special room, such as handicapped or family room, and they are large enough that they take up the entire width of the car. So there is no way to pass to the next car. The entrance portals to each car are in the middle of the car. I wonder how those handicapped passengers get to the dining car. One would assume that the handicapped room is on the lower level because they have trouble getting around. So, will the dining car send their food to them in their rooms?
Another note about the meals, I have found recommendations that I should not delay my arrival to meals. Apparently the late arrivals might find themselves with little choices. I am also to expect to be seated with 3 strangers at every meal. However, I read one little hint that there might be a chance to have my meals in my room. Although it would be good for me to get out and socialize, I may not really feel like socializing.
I'm really looking forward to the trip tho. I saw a lot of photos today of the inside of the trains. I am getting a much better idea of what to expect.
The bathrooms, for instance......I discovered that they can be a bit tricky. Some of them are devoid of handles or buttons for flushing. Some of them flush by lowering the lid instead. I'm glad I found out about this. I would hate to suffer the stress and embarrassment of not knowing how to work the bathroom facilities. I had that once. In Paris. I ended up sneaking out without flushing. Quite embarrassing. I also found out that the lower level bathrooms see less traffic than the one near my roommette (sleeper car).
And speaking of my roommette, I found a layout of the rooms within the sleeper cars and discovered that my room is on the upper floor, which is what I was hoping for. I still don't know if they'll let me have that roommette to myself. I am assuming that I get it all to myself. But I have yet to find out for certain. Everything referring to it, says that it sleeps/seats up to two. I am hoping that "up to two" means that it can be less than two.
As for the train itself, I learned that you can only cross from one car to the next from the upper level. On the lower level, each end of the car is a special room, such as handicapped or family room, and they are large enough that they take up the entire width of the car. So there is no way to pass to the next car. The entrance portals to each car are in the middle of the car. I wonder how those handicapped passengers get to the dining car. One would assume that the handicapped room is on the lower level because they have trouble getting around. So, will the dining car send their food to them in their rooms?
Another note about the meals, I have found recommendations that I should not delay my arrival to meals. Apparently the late arrivals might find themselves with little choices. I am also to expect to be seated with 3 strangers at every meal. However, I read one little hint that there might be a chance to have my meals in my room. Although it would be good for me to get out and socialize, I may not really feel like socializing.
I'm really looking forward to the trip tho. I saw a lot of photos today of the inside of the trains. I am getting a much better idea of what to expect.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Amtrak Calling...
It is now just a day and 4 weeks before my trip, and I got a call from Amtrak today. I haven't even been down to pick up my tickets and they are calling to change the itinerary. The woman on the phone told me that there are some rails being replaced. Nothing they can do about it. The route has to be detoured around it, which is adding 3 hours to my trip.
Okay. Not a problem.
Okay. Not a problem.
Travelling via Amtrak
That last post on this blog was sent by my cell phone. I am setting it up so that I can blog from the cell phone while on my next trip.
I'll be travelling on an Amtrak train from Denver to San Francisco and back again. I've never gone by train except for one trip I am told that I took as a very young girl. I obviously don't remember it, so this will be an adventure.
I booked my tickets back in March. The trip is planned for the second part of June. To prepare myself, since I have never really travelled by train, I've been doing some research on what to expect.
On the internet I have found quite a lot of complaints about Amtrak. From the few people I personally know to have gone by train, I expected the trains to occassionally run late. However, I found that it is more normal to be late than to be on time. Being late is actually putting it mildly. From some accounts, we are talking about a 4-hour trip becoming 12 hours. A one day trip becoming two days. You shouldn't even bother to arrange for someone to arrive at the train station until you have called and said you have actually arrived. It seems that Amtrak is notorious for this.
In my case though, this is not going to be a problem. I have no deadlines to meet, no schedule to keep. The main purpose of the trip is to "get away". I have reservations in San Francisco, but I've already talked to them and covered myself in case my check-in is rather late. No worries.
I checked out the food options on Amtrak's website and found that I could special-order vegan food. I had initially planned on packing snacks and sandwiches to feed myself the entire trip. After reading about their dining car, I erased most of the food items from my packing list. But after yesterday's research on other people's experiences I feel that I should rethink this.
I found that, due to the many delays in the train schedules, they often run out of food. Yikes! No food? Not wanting to become the crankiest bitch on the train, I am reinstating my grocery list and considering adding even more! So far I am planning to bring: sandwiches, Odwalla bars, fruit, carrots, crackers, and some small bottles of wine!
Apparently there are occassional mechanical issues too. I found reports of air conditioning not working or working too well & unable to turn it off. I read about blankets being dirty, bathrooms leaking, and a chronic problem of grumpy personnel.
These are all good things to know in advance. I will bring a lite blanket, plenty of hand-wipes and disinfectant, and make it my goal to be the "happy spot" on the train. No grumps allowed. Wish me luck.
Most importantly, I have a roommette reserved. As long as nothing goes wrong with that reservation I'll be fine. I'll bring my mp3 player, pocket-sized battery-operated tv, a couple books, a sudoku book, a pair of binoculars, a camera, sketchbook and paints, and my cell phone that can access the web. Let's not forget that I am also bringing wine. I will have a great time!
I'll be travelling on an Amtrak train from Denver to San Francisco and back again. I've never gone by train except for one trip I am told that I took as a very young girl. I obviously don't remember it, so this will be an adventure.
I booked my tickets back in March. The trip is planned for the second part of June. To prepare myself, since I have never really travelled by train, I've been doing some research on what to expect.
On the internet I have found quite a lot of complaints about Amtrak. From the few people I personally know to have gone by train, I expected the trains to occassionally run late. However, I found that it is more normal to be late than to be on time. Being late is actually putting it mildly. From some accounts, we are talking about a 4-hour trip becoming 12 hours. A one day trip becoming two days. You shouldn't even bother to arrange for someone to arrive at the train station until you have called and said you have actually arrived. It seems that Amtrak is notorious for this.
In my case though, this is not going to be a problem. I have no deadlines to meet, no schedule to keep. The main purpose of the trip is to "get away". I have reservations in San Francisco, but I've already talked to them and covered myself in case my check-in is rather late. No worries.
I checked out the food options on Amtrak's website and found that I could special-order vegan food. I had initially planned on packing snacks and sandwiches to feed myself the entire trip. After reading about their dining car, I erased most of the food items from my packing list. But after yesterday's research on other people's experiences I feel that I should rethink this.
I found that, due to the many delays in the train schedules, they often run out of food. Yikes! No food? Not wanting to become the crankiest bitch on the train, I am reinstating my grocery list and considering adding even more! So far I am planning to bring: sandwiches, Odwalla bars, fruit, carrots, crackers, and some small bottles of wine!
Apparently there are occassional mechanical issues too. I found reports of air conditioning not working or working too well & unable to turn it off. I read about blankets being dirty, bathrooms leaking, and a chronic problem of grumpy personnel.
These are all good things to know in advance. I will bring a lite blanket, plenty of hand-wipes and disinfectant, and make it my goal to be the "happy spot" on the train. No grumps allowed. Wish me luck.
Most importantly, I have a roommette reserved. As long as nothing goes wrong with that reservation I'll be fine. I'll bring my mp3 player, pocket-sized battery-operated tv, a couple books, a sudoku book, a pair of binoculars, a camera, sketchbook and paints, and my cell phone that can access the web. Let's not forget that I am also bringing wine. I will have a great time!
Setting up Travel Blog.
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