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Thinking of booking a trip for us from Milwaukee to San Antonio. How can it take 10 hours from Dallas to San Antonio? Might be better off renting a car in Dallas or somewhere an drive. Anybody with experience on this trip. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanx
PullmanCo Member # 1138
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I-35 from Dallas to Austin and Austin to San Anton is full of crazies...
Then there is the joy of driving in the Metroplex.
If you choose to do this, keep your radio on WBAP 820 for traffic bulletins. They give them at least every 15 minutes, every bloody day of the week.
OR You can Uber to Love Field and take Southwest.
Disclaimer: IRA position in LUV.
irish1 Member # 222
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thanks for the tip. there must be a whole lot of padding in the schedule or it must be some terrible track. 10 hrs southbound and 7.5 northbound. being a train lover you would think thats good. going to have wife with me this time and she doesnt have that train patience if you know what i mean. one of two long distant routes i have never been on. the other being the sunset west of new orleans. goal of trip is to see the texas gulf coast and the alamo and riverwalk in san antonio and maybe deally plaza in dallas. leaning to maybe rent a car in longview tx.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Be sure to go to the residential part of the Riverwalk too, and see the old German neighorhood off it called the King William Historic District, lovely homes to walk around.Hopefully still open is the Pioneer Flour Factory/Guenther House (129 E Guenther at S Alamo), very lovely place to stop for tea and cake. Also near here was a very fine and popular Mexican restaurant, El Mirador, 722 S Saint Mary's at King William
George Harris Member # 2077
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Be sure to read the names of those killed in the Alamo. I have long argued that the Texas rebellion against Mexico was truly a civil war that succeeded. The Spanish ancestry populance wanted out from under the Mexican government as much as the immigrants from the US.
Texas Gulf Coast: The mosquitos there are aggressive. You can buy hats in Louisiana with a large mosquito on the front surrounded by the words "Louisiana State Bird” That is equally applicable to the Texas Gulf Coast areas.
irish1 Member # 222
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thanks much for the tips. we have enough aggressive black flies and mosquitos up here so I hope we get lucky avoiding them down there.
irish1 Member # 222
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Time keeping was great. 1 hr. early to SAS. 45 min early to Chicago on way home. Some of this attributed to a schedule with more padding than a 2hr dateline. Did see the historic neighborhood sojourner talked about and the names at the Alamo. We also went to the Tower of America. No mosquitos at the Gulf by Corpus Christi. Also a big surprise in Dallas when we got off the train for a stretch break the first thing I saw was the book depository building. I did not know that DUS was so close to the JFK site. We had time to take a walk over there. I always wondered if Amtrak used the railroad overpass we have all seen a hundred times when the motorcade sped off. Nice getaway but came back to soon 30 deg. and snowing here today. Oh well.
George Harris Member # 2077
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No mosquitoes!! That is surprising. If at the gulf itself, maybe it was the salt in the air.
The "Triple Underpass" Sorry, wasn't thinking Dallas with your trip. Yes, Amtrak, and everybody else that runs on rails through the center of Dallas goes over this structure. Affects on this structure and approaches and any sight lines in the area was a big issue in the initial planning of the DART line through this area. The issue of the phantom shooter on/behind the "grassy knoll" was also given lots of discussion. (I was working there involved in some of the early DART studies in 86-88 before its political death at that time.) The current DART does build on a lot of those early studies, but there are considerable differences, including it being at grade in Pacific Avenue instead of being in a cut and cover structure under it.
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