All Aboard!

Both Jordan and I love riding on the train. Often, the train trip has been a highlight of our travels in the past. If you have the time, there's nothing better than the view out the window as you watch the terrain change as you travel from one place to the other. We had long had the dream of experiencing the train here in the US and so when it came time to make our holiday plans last fall we thought, why not now? We decided to take the train from the nearby town of Albany up to Portland and then over to Minneapolis (three days, two nights) for Thanksgiving. Then we flew down to Memphis for Christmas and decided to take the train from there up to Chicago and then across to California and back up to Albany. We were, as they say, all in.

As we were preparing to leave on the first trip I was feeling a bit nervous. What exactly had we gotten ourselves into? While I had enjoyed train trips in the past, I certainly had not been on one for days at a time. But my concern was soon replaced with total joy when we arrived at the little train station in the next town over. Knowing the hassle we would have been in for had we been at the airport, and instead being met with a few brief kind words as we checked in our luggage and sat waiting, the contrast was shocking. The usual dread I experience during air travel was replaced, basically, with joy. And I thought to myself, I am never going on a plane again.

While unlikely to be true in reality, our train rides were memorable, and I do hope to occasionally in the future be able to skip the plane in favor of a more civilized and kind method of travel.

Possibly the best things about the Amtrak trains is that they gave each route an epic name. From Portland to Minneapolis we were on the Empire Builder.

▲ Boarding the Empire Builder in Portland.

▲ Our very cozy sleeping compartment which converts from two chairs to two beds.

▲ Three meals a day are included with a sleeping car ticket. It's perhaps a bit more food than you need when your only exercise is walking to and from the dining car.

To add a bit of excitement, our trip from Memphis to Chicago was interrupted by a flooding of the rails in southern Illinois. We ended up renting a car and driving to Chicago. This ended up being a nice time as we spent the night in downtown Chicago.

From Chicago to San Francisco we were on the California Zephyr, known as the most beautiful train route in the US. It was pretty wonderful.

▲ Getting on at Union Station in Chicago.

▲ Enjoying tea and the view from the observation car.

▲ The view isn't too shabby, especially in winter with a nice layer of snow.

Eventually we made it to California and switched trains outside of San Francisco onto the Coast Starlight which would take us home. I will admit at this point it felt like we had transcended time. Even now, I'm not entirely sure how many days it took us to get from Memphis back to our home in Corvallis. But it was very pleasant, and we were honestly a bit sorry to finally get off the train and adjust to being back on the clock.

▲ While I was expecting the California Zephyr to be very scenic, the ride back into Oregon was just a lovely. And we had quite a lot of snow up in the Oregonian highlands.

▲ Down into the valley where we live, out of the snow.

▲ Home again!