Trip Reports by our Clients:
Honeymoon on Amtrak:
New York, West Virginia,
Colorado, California, and Oregon
Robert H's latest adventure
Having never been to NYC or DC, this was an incredible trip for me. The train ride along the Hudson River into New York was just wonderful. It's an amazing river, with lots to see, incl. West Point and gigantic mansions up on the hillsides.
The return trip back through Virginia & West Virginia was remarkable; what beautiful country. Weather was warm along the Colorado River, and it was full of rafters, canoers and kayakers; we found out what THEIR tradition is with trains - mooning. We must have seen 50 butts! Went thru Glenwood Springs, which sadly is burning close by now or did the other day.
Unfortunately we had the dining car waiter from hell from Chicago to Emeryville, early 60s, who obviously hated his job and was so intimidating nobody wanted to ask him for anything. He never said thanks or asked if we wanted anything else. My final infuriating encounter with him, I asked for a bottle of spring water in the nearly empty dining car, he walked 12-15' to their work area, got one out and stood there, holding it out like it was a rotten carrot, nonverbally demanding I come get it. I asked our sleep car attendant about him and she said he should retired; treats everybody that way.
Robert had couple of encounters with conductors (this was his 22nd crossing of the US via train, and he of course knows a lot and doesn't like being treated like a common first-timer, etc.). When we got home we called Amtrak and talked at length to a nice Cust. Relations guy. I think we helped the waiter retire; and a coupon came in the mail the other day. Oh yeah, the worst tracks of all were on the Coast Starlight section coming back from Emeryville to Eugene...so bad in 3-4 spots I very much feared for the next train coming, and I got slammed/jolted pretty hard into the doorway going between cars; any harder and it would have broken my arm. Knocked my whole frame out of whack, tho. Poor Amtrak; wish they would sink some money into it...
We covered every kind of weather, from Southern Oregon early-mid spring to winter in Jasper, spring in NYC & DC, a later snow in the Sierras, and back to late spring in southern Oregon. It was a grand trip, indeed, and actually a very wonderful honeymoon - we were married April 14...!
Pam
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