Amtrak is the common name for The National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Amtrak began operation on May 1, 1971, is publicly funded, and provides passenger service to more than 300 destinations in the United States and Canada. They are best known for their commuter routes in the Northeastern United States, but my husband and I fell in love with their long distance routes in the west.<\/p>\n
In 2012, we planned and completed Grand Tour 2012. We traveled from San Antonio to Los Angeles on the Sunset Limited. We spent a few days in San Diego and Los Angeles. We boarded the Coast Starlight to Seattle. We spent a day in Seattle, then boarded the Empire Builder, getting off in Sandpoint, Idaho, to visit with friends for the weekend. From Sandpoint, we boarded another Empire Builder to Chicago where we caught the Texas Eagle back to San Antonio after spending a few days visiting my folks in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
Grand Tour 2015 took us on the remaining Amtrak Western routes. We boarded the Texas Eagle to Chicago, visited with my folks in Wisconsin for a few days as well as touching base with a few of my friends from the early military days. We returned to Chicago and boarded the California Zephyr to Reno. We spent the day in Reno, visiting a museum and meeting up with friends, before getting back on the California Zephyr to it’s final destination in Sacramento, CA. We spent a few days in Sacramento sightseeing and visiting with friends before boarding the Coast Starlight (Amtrak’s flagship line) to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
In Los Angeles, we took a tour of Paramount Studios and visited Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland (we’ve both had measles, so we felt safe) while also getting together with a friend for dinner. After that very busy few days, we boarded the Southwest Chief, eager for an uninterrupted ride back to Chicago to catch the City of New Orleans to New Orleans, where we plan to enjoy my husband’s birthday tomorrow.<\/p>\n