{"id":914,"date":"2015-05-15T14:33:33","date_gmt":"2015-05-15T21:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lianza.org\/blog\/?p=914"},"modified":"2015-05-16T09:55:27","modified_gmt":"2015-05-16T16:55:27","slug":"on-traveling-cross-country-by-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lianza.org\/blog\/2015\/05\/15\/on-traveling-cross-country-by-train\/","title":{"rendered":"On Traveling Cross Country by Train"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago I spent a week and a half traveling across the country by train. I enjoy traveling. By that I don’t just mean “going somewhere” – but the whole act of traveling, including long plane rides, airports… the stuff that many people dislike. Though there’s some burden to having to be somewhere at a given time, for the most part the whole act is decision-free. You get on a (plane\/train) at X o’clock. You sit in your seat. You can read a book, watch a movie, or use the computer. It’s hard to explain why having a tightly constrained list of options feels so freeing. But, anyone who feels burdened by endless decisions can probably understand what I mean.<\/p>\n

\"California<\/a>

California Zephyr Route<\/p><\/div>\n

I decided to take Amtrak’s California Zephyr<\/a> train, which starts in Emeryville, California and ends in Chicago, followed by the Capitol Limited<\/a> which starts in Chicago and ends in DC. I started the trip by spending a night in Sacramento, boarded the train, and made a 1 night visit to Denver, 1 night in Omaha, 2 nights in Chicago, and 2 nights in DC. In each city, I booked hotels but otherwise made no plans.<\/p>\n

When you ride a long-distance train (versus a commuter) you have two options: a Coach Seat, or a Roomette<\/a>. I tried both: got a roomette for my longest leg (30 hours from Sacramento to Denver) and coach seats for the shorter legs.<\/p>\n

\"Roomette\"<\/a>\"Watching<\/a>
\n\"Ready<\/a><\/div>\n

The Roomette is designed for two people, so it’s quite roomy. As seats, you’d be sitting facing one another. As beds, he two seats slide down and fold together, and the second bed is the “top bunk” which folds down from the ceiling. It’s comfortable, private, and comes all-inclusive with meals in the dining car. Each sleeper car probably has a dozen rooms, there are multiple bathrooms and showers per car, as well as an in-car attendant (similar to a flight attendant) who sleeps in the car as well.<\/p>\n

\"Steaks<\/a> Train meals are considerably better than most domestic flights’. They have a dining car with a kitchen, so the food is cooked to order. The menu is small, though. In 2-3 days you can easily go through all of the breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. The dining car also requires all tables are seated with 4 people, so if you’re traveling alone or as a couple, you’re guaranteed to be seated with other passengers.<\/p>\n

\"Coach<\/a> The coach seats are not remarkable, again unless you compare them to airplanes. They have considerably more legroom than even a domestic first-class plane seat, recline much further, and there’s an outlet for every pair of seats. The best part though, is that if you’re on an overnight trip, they somehow seemed to find a way for every passenger to get 2 seats. I never had a neighbor for a “redeye” trip. So, you can kick up the legrests on both chairs and make a pretty decent bed.<\/p>\n

Surely the sights on the train vary based on the route you take, but here are a few examples of mine… riding though Colorado, and then a sunrise trip leaving Omaha:
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