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We had made reservations at the Vagabond Inn across from the Sacramento Amtrak Station, and it was a great place for our 3 day stay. I had filled out the request on the Sacramento Tourism web site in February for a Visitor's Guide to be mailed to my home address -- and it arrived within a week, unlike so many things requested by that "Contact us" button on so many sites! Our Sacramento Gold Card was waiting at the hotel, and we saved considerably on museum admission and meals!
My son and I explored every part of Old Sacramento, the Capitol, and the RR Museum, Gold Rush Museum, train ride, shops, and even walked to the Towe Auto Museum, which my son enjoyed and we stayed for 3 hours. It was over 100 degrees, but it is "dry heat" as they say, not nearly as hot as the same temperature would be in humid Ohio.
I was quietly irritated at a mother who was complaining to the staff at the RR Museum for not having more "hands on" exhibits for her 6 year old. There is an assumption that all museums need to be a Theme Park for young children, and I thought the Museum had several activities for young children. Instead Museums are becoming filled with interactive exhibits often broken by pounding and smacking of children.
On Monday, June 26, we had a leisurely breakfast at the Vagabond, and strolled to the station about 10:15 am for an 11:14 departure. It was HOT in the station, so we went out through the construction to the platform where it was cooler. With arrival about 10 minutes away, announcements were made where to wait on the platform for coaches, sleepers, etc., a very orderly boarding.
Still on-time, we departed for Roseville but were stopped by a UP track crew working on a switch. The scanner said it would be a "couple of minutes" which in UP time is 30 minutes. Up into the mountains we drifted to 3 hours late by Truckee, in and out around freights and waiting at the single track.
Into Nevada, we gained a few minutes back, then lost them again with one slow order after another. We didn't dwell on the timekeeping as we had planned 2 days in Chicago, so we could arrive whenever. I never tire of the scenery, it is so different from Ohio.
I awoke early, about 4:00 am, and watched a spectacular sunrise west of Salt Lake City, where we arrived about 7:30 am, 4 hours down.
Schedule padding and smooth sailing reduced our lateness to under 3 hours into Denver. UP had cleared the downhill run into Denver, but there are so many moves into the station that we were back to 3:30 minutes late.
It was interesting that there was little discussion on the train of the lateness of the train, people seemed focused on the trip and scenery. In the diner, there seemed to be many "first-timers" who thought the food was great and were excited by every meal. I found the new food service to be okay, but it became tiring after the trip out on the train. Chicken-fried steak was the special every night on every train, I had it once and it was okay, just like you would find in Ohio. They must have a lot of it to sell. As I said before, the dining car staff appeared "worn out" by the end of the day, although they were professional and polite.
We were asleep before leaving Denver, and awoke in Nebraska where a smoke stop was announced for 8:00 am at Lincoln, down by 3:45 as we went to breakfast. After eating, we went to the Lounge Car, but stopped inside the car by electrical cords stretched across the aisle to accommodate several laptops that had now found Internet connections in the Lincoln-Omaha corridor. I use the Internet and have a computer, but this seemed silly. Enjoy the trip! Close up the computer! Amtrak staff helped the computer people to realign their wires and someone had a surge protector, but all the tables in the lounge were out-of-service due to laptops and wiring.
We got off at Omaha and walked around, trying to picture the Burlington Station in its heyday as opposed to the shell that it is today. Our Car Attendant, Colyak Atkins (who is nearing retirement and can tell you the # of days) stopped a coach passenger from reboarding a sleeper and walking back through the cars. That is a nice touch, there seems to be more people roaming in sleepers these days trying to sneak a coffee. No wonder they stopped soft drinks at the coffee pot.
From Omaha to Chicago, BNSF was really giving the Zephyr the right-of-way from our scanner observations. At one point, we even backed across a cross-over to snake through freight traffic. The Conductor was trying to get to the 3 hours late mark into Chicago which we almost made.
Into Illinois, announcements were made that anyone transfering to the Michigan trains would be accommodated by a bus at Union Station. No announcements were made about the Capitol Ltd. and Lake Shore Ltd, and they actually avoided the topic.
It was a 6:45 pm arrival into Chicago and the staff quickly disappeared. It was apparent why, when we entered Union Station! The place was jammed with lines at every counter!
The Lake Shore Ltd. had been cancelled due to rains in the East and track problems in upstate New York. The Capitol left ontime with standing room only accommodating what LSL passengers it could, leaving Zephyr arrivals with long waits in line and not enough hotel rooms available (hallway talk)
Shawn and I hailed a taxi to the Holiday Inn on Ohio Ave where our 2 day reservations awaited. While checking in, a staffer was double-checking to see if there were any rooms left "at all" for those train passengers.
The final installment is our 2 days in Chicago, and trip home on the Capitol Ltd.
Posts: 76 | From: Steubenville, OH | Registered: Oct 2004
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I really feel sorry for the parent you saw at the museum. It's a great place for parents to involve their kids in the displays. Perhaps it never occured to her that she had some responsibility here.
Frank in dark but festive SBA! Viva la Fiesta!
P.S. I just heard that the flower girls (and boys) for Fiesta were meeting the trains again this year. Anybody on here experience that?
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Yes, thanks for the great story. I'm particularly interested in reports about the food these days. So far the consensus seems to be that its reasonably palatable, but not five star.
I can't imagine a 6 year old not being sufficiently fascinated by real trains. But, alas, some parents are hard to satisfy. I am reminded of the day I was working at the movie theater when a mother scolded me because she was offended by the theme of a G rated movie ("Babe"), which contained the implication that farm animals might actually be sold for meat. Some parents just have thinner skins than their kids.
quote:I can't imagine a 6 year old not being sufficiently fascinated by real trains. But, alas, some parents are hard to satisfy. I am reminded of the day I was working at the movie theater when a mother scolded me because she was offended by the theme of a G rated movie ("Babe"), which contained the implication that farm animals might actually be sold for meat. Some parents just have thinner skins than their kids.
Mr. Toy: I always love it when parents project their own attitudes onto their kids. When I was first offered the overseas job, one co-worker was shocked that I was considering it. "I wouldn't do that to my kids" was his statement. All mine still think it is one of the greatest things that ever happened to them. Of course part of it was the thought that we would live in the place, not try to cocoon ourselves in an artifiical world. As a result, they know how to be comfortable almsot anywhere. George
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Mr. Hall - thanks for the trip report! Looking forward to the next installment-
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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