Dec 27. Day 4. Utah to Emeryville.     Good morning. We’re at the last leg of this journey. Somewhere past Salt Lake City to Emeryville, California. Breakfast today would be in the cabin, as Jackie preferred to catch on some extra hour of sleep. I finished the egg omelette plus pancakes, while Jackie had the bacon. Nice meal to start the day. This would be the most scenic leg of the journey, with more snow capped canyons and valleys ahead. Also ahead is the well known Donners Pass (follow the link to get the story). We spent the whole … Continue reading Day 4. The End of the Journey.

Dec 26. Day 3. Denver to Utah. We woke up in Denver, Colorado, MST. Had an extra hour of sleep because of the region and time  change. This would be the start of the scenic views of the journey. Breakfast. Went to the dining area and had our names on the list. This time, we were joined by Chris and Will, mother and son, doing a skiing trip from Omaha to Salt Lake City. Since I’ve known their names, you should’ve figured that we had some conversation with them. In fact we had an extended interaction with them after breakfast … Continue reading Day 3. Scenic Views Ahead

Dec 25. Day 2. Chicago to Denver. This is the 2nd day of the journey, aboard the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco. The California Zephyr is a Superliner train, a double decker train, bigger than the Shoreline Limited. Again, it has comfortable coach seating cars, sleeper cars, a sightseer lounge car with a cafe bar, and a dining bar. The big difference is the sightseer lounge, on the upper deck, with reclined seats and tables, and all around views from both sides of the car. You’d have a wonderful view of the scenery from both sides. The Chicago to … Continue reading Day 2. Aboard the California Zephyr.

Dec 25. Day 2. Chicago Union Station. We arrived in Chicago at 9:45AM CST, with a 4+hour layover before the California Zephyr leaves at 2PM bound to San Francisco. Part of the upgrade package we have on this trip is the access to the Amtrak Business Class waiting lounge, similar to Airline lounges at the airports. Free luggage storage is also included. We checked in our luggage and decided to visit the Skydeck at Willis Tower, aka Sears Tower. It’s a short walk from the station, on Adams street side. The Skydeck is a scenic view of the whole Chicago … Continue reading Day 2. Skydeck at Willis Tower

Dec 24. Day 1. New York to Chicago. The 1st day of the journey takes us from New York to Chicago, via the Shoreline Limited, a Viewliner train.  A Viewliner train is a single decker train with coach cars, sleeper cars, a dining car, and a lounge car.  It departs from NYPenn station at 3:40PM EST arriving in Chicago Union station at 9:45AM CST the following day, Christmas day. Coach seats on the Amtrak trains are similar to Business Class seats on airplanes, comfortable enough for long haul trips. Sleeper cars are upgrades which have rooms or cabins for families … Continue reading Day 1. Aboard the Lakeshore Limited