Posted on 09/04/2012 3:13:37 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
You do realize that we the taxpayer pay for Amtrack...
Good points...
We are currently dealing with my father living with us for most of the year, the other part in CA with bro. When my mother died, my brother and I agreed that he would not live in a retirement community or home. He’s in good health though will be having a back operation soon during which I have to be the care taker. My husband agrees with this but we both miss our privacy and doing our own thing but the alternative is constant worry and unhappiness.
Having your aged parent living with you is a very tough decision and is probably not the best idea for everyone. Many times I wish we hadn’t done it. Having them close by might be the best for all.
Good luck to anyone in this situation, it isn’t easy.
Good for you...
As in my earlier post, I sometimes think Dad might be happier with folks his own age, etc. We deal with the grumpy comments about what to watch on TV, music we listen to, etc and he’s pretty “easy” compared to others we know. He has a group of school mates he sees once in awhile but that’s it..he’s constantly around. I don’t work so I get the honor...certainly not any of the gratitude (saved for sainted, divorced brother).
NOONE has the right to criticize you and your brother for the choices you made for your mother. You do the best you can under the circumstances. If your mom had specific ideas as to how she wanted to live in retirement, she might have planned ahead to make sure that happened. That’s what I’m planning so my son won’t have the probs I have.
Have done the trip from Chicago to LA on several occasions. No real specific problems. I would highly suggest you get a sleeper instead of simply going coach. The sleepers are comfortable and the meals are included in the pricing. Non-alcoholic beverages are available at no charge also. The food is OK but nothing like it was when the foods were prepared on-board.
They do have “red caps” to assist you at the stations with baggage and porters to provide assistance while on board. And “yes” you can check your baggage for the distance. You can get meals service in your cabin if desired.
Delays...you can expect delays. I’ve experienced minor delays (15-30 minutes) and a couple of long delays...once in Nebraska (snow storm) and once in Colorado (forest fires).
My only suggestion would be bring your own snacks, your laptop or CD player and some good reading material.
Enjoy the scenery and have a stress-free trip.
The flights to Fresno, CA are horrid. Nothing direct, and they are always late. Seats very cramped. I decided to go just as San Francisco this summer and then rent a car and drive 200 miles south. But it does occupy nearly an entire day both ways.
I can drive in 3 days, but I’m not home yet on the end of this trip and tired of driving. 2 days by train with someone else doing the driving sounds like a good compromise to me. As I said, the fare is no more than a couple of plane tickets, and it might be fun.
The idea came to me when I ran into the cousin of an old HS classmate at our hotel in Fresno. He said that he takes the train up to Fresno from LA all the time and recommended it. Of course 200 miles is not the same as 2300 miles.
I find that when doing the trip planning, it depends on your dates as to what is available, so I’ll have to juggle departure and return dates around a little to get the best route and time.
I wonder if they have WiFi on the train?
I have made the trip from L.A. to Chicago about 5 times on the Southwest Chief and also went from Portland, Oregon to Chicago 3 times on the Empire Builder. The Portland to Chicago trip (Empire Builder) was the most scenic because it passes through Glacier National Park where I saw Elk and Moose. Really a great ride all the way and the section that runs along the banks of the Columbia River for about a hundred miles was unbelievable.My trips were always west to east so I don’t know what you will see on an east to west trip.
The trip is tiring because it takes about 40 hours or more but my trains were never late at the final destination. Maybe I was just lucky.
The roomette will add about 661 dollars to the cost of the trip in addition to the original fare of 156.00 on a hypothetical one way trip on Oct. 16th to L.A. It is way too pricey for me at 817.00 but as you said the meals are included. I slept fine in the oversize seat and actually had to apologize to the people around for my loud snoring.
Either trip is a lot of fun and I wish I had some excuse to make the trip again. I couldn’t leave before today.
But Amtrack is funded by the taxpayers.. Basically I’m paying for your trip..
Yes, but it is also true that airline travel is very heavily subsidized by the government. (Don’t get me started on highways and bridges which are a giant subsidy to the trucking industry.)
I’ve always wanted to do the Trans-Canada Trip.
Well, I’ve traveled from Seattle to Dallas by train once. Won’t do it again. Here’s the lesson, though: only travel in this way if you have your own sleeper car for the duration, and I can’t emphasize that enough. You do not want to be mingling with the dregs you will encounter should you take that ride. It’s more of an ordeal than it is an adventure. Trust me on this. I’d stick with the flying knowing what I do about that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.