Three Weeks, 21 States, and 9,712 miles

 I had scheduled my blog to update ahead of time, so you may not have realized I was gone for three weeks! DH and I went on a bucket list train adventure, that had a lot of misadventures mixed in. 

We planned this massive train trip back in December of 2021, so we had lots of time to research and finalize the details of our trip. We thought we were ready, and in a lot of ways we were, but this trip was determined to throw us off our game. 

I had watched the YouTube videos, I knew to expect Amtrak to run late, even several hours late. I knew how to pack for a sleeper car, and what to bring to make the trip easier. We each had one carry on sized suitcase, which I knew from my research would fit under the train seats, and one backpack a piece. I packed light, but efficiently. 

When we got on the train, the bedroom we had booked looked like the YouTube videos, but felt smaller than they looked online. As we got to used to it, it was large enough. Note the shower in with the toilet, I now know from experience that taking a shower on a moving train is an adventure all its own. 

Maybe we should have known things were going to go awry when the train had to stop before we even left town due a mechanical issue. Or perhaps when we went to the observation car and it was 90 degrees, maybe we should have known then. Call us optimists, or just naive, but we ignored all of that. 

At the beginning of the trip, the part that worried me most was the transfer in Chicago. We had an 8 hour layover, but after watching dozens of YouTube videos. I knew Amtrak can run VERY late due to freight train traffic, and I wasn't sure that was enough time. Little did I know that was not going to be the problem, and the first major problem we had I hadn't even considered. 

Our first train was the Texas Eagle, and I knew that in San Antonio the train cars would be separated, our cars going north to Chicago, the others going east to New Orleans. From what I had seen, the transfer happens while you are sleeping, and it's no big deal. Well, it should have been no big deal, but our train was so late because of freight train traffic, that the northbound train left without our train cars! Where we had thought we'd be in the same car for three days, we were now being told to hurry up and get off the train, so they can get us to an intercept point with the train we missed. It was an early morning rush packing everything up and wondering what would happen next.

This view awaited us off the train. It was not encouraging. Who names their company OK Tours??? Not really good tours, excellent tours, fantastic tours? All the many passengers who had missed the connection loaded onto two tour buses.

We tried to have a good attitude, even though the bus was uncomfortable, and crowded, and it made me motion sick. I was following the train we should have been on on the Track the Train app. I saw us catching up to where the train was, and we indeed got to Temple, TX before the train did, after being on a bus for two hours. I was all excited when the bus got off the highway, only to stop at a Buckee's, not the train station. Why weren't we going to the train station? Well, the bus was chartered to Longview, TX, not to actually catch the train. I looked at google maps and realized there was a shortcut to Longview, surely the bus driver will go that way. Nope. We went the long way, getting further and further ahead of the train anyway. After another four hours on the bus, all of which I was feeling horribly nauseated, we finally got to Longview, TX. The thing is, the train was delayed in Dallas, for multiple hours, so we had to wait seven hours in Longview for the train to arrive. 

I worked on my EPP project while I was waiting.

Now one of the perks of riding first class on Amtrak is that your meals are included, but you have to actually be on the train for that to happen. We had eaten breakfast on the train, but a lot of other passengers hadn't. We missed lunch, and we were going to be missing dinner as well, but we ended up ordering fast food via Uber Eats, once my stomach had settled down. By the time we got back on the train, it had been a long, frustrating day.

They never did fix the air conditioning in the observation car, but we did get to Chicago in plenty of time for our transfer. We were quite late, but 8 hours was plenty of time, and we got to explore Chicago Union Station a bit, where the scale is larger than life.

We went into the metro lounge, where I scored some hot water to make my favorite tea. Yes, I did bring my own tea bags with me! 

We got on the next train, the Lake Shore Limited. I don't know what it was about that train, but all the staff was in foul moods. Still, we had a good time anyway, and got to our destination only a bit late the next day. 

I hadn't seen my parents in far too long, and we had a great visit with them! We helped them with a few tech issues, and I ordered some parts for my mom's vintage Necchi sewing machine, since I knew where to get them, being a vintage sewing machine enthusiast myself. She actually bought her machine new, back in the day, so to her it's not vintage, just what she's used for 60+ years! 

DH had planned a bit of business for his scooter magazine while we were on this trip, so one day we drove to upstate New York, and another we drove to Kennebunk, Maine. We had a great time with other scooter riders, and got to see a bit of the local sites as well. 

DH is a desert rat, but I'm a water girl through and through, so seeing water put me right back in my happy place! 

Besides spending time with my parents, I got to see aunts, uncles, cousins and even spend a day with my best friend from high school. We went to a local theater production of Mamma Mia! which was fantastic! 

Unfortunately for DH, New England is not Gluten Free-friendly, and his back was bad the whole time we were there. His back pain is manageable if he stays gluten-free, but that wasn't working there.

On our last day in New England, I got a notification from Amtrak. They had cancelled the next leg of our journey in anticipation of the train strike. I didn't really understand why our train had gotten cancelled, because we would have gotten back to Chicago before the strike started, which is the starting place for that train. 

We called the car rental company, and explained what was happening. They were great about it, and extended our rental to Chicago, and said if we had to drive all the way back to Tucson it was no problem. 

We left the next day by car instead of train, but we were on our way. It would have been closer to get to Chicago by way of Canada, which I've never been too, but because of Covid restrictions that wasn't going to work. Oh well, we both love road trips anyway. 

How's this for a picturesque scene in New York State? Since we were now driving to Chicago, DH stopped at a scooter location in Cleveland, Ohio. The shop owner told us about some great BBQ, so we stopped there too. 

We stopped at a lighthouse on Lake Erie. I was fascinated to learn that lighthouse only has the equivalent of a 100W bulb, but because of the specially engineered lens on the lighthouse, the light can be seen for ten miles!

I ended up being able to see a cousin in Indiana that I hadn't seen in over 40 years! Driving ended up being a sweet deal. 

We got to Chicago and did another scooter event which was well attended. We still weren't sure how we were getting home. The day came to leave, and our train wasn't cancelled! We were going to be able to go on the California Zephyr, considered the USA's prettiest train trip. 

We got on the train, and were a bit disappointed in the condition of the train. It was very old, unacceptably dirty, and again, the staff were not pleasant, aside from one conductor and one person in the dining car who were both very nice. The other dining car attendant was a curmudgeon, and seemed proud of it. Our train car attendant was mostly unavailable. 

The train was a mess, the staff was grumpy, and the weather was too. We were delayed 4 hours the first night by tornadoes and high winds. The views? The views were fantastic! 

Our last morning on the California Zephyr started out with the toilets in our car not functioning. The train attendant didn't bother notifying anyone of the malfunction, so the first anyone knew of it was when the toilet in their room wouldn't flush. We could use the toilets in the next car which were working, but meanwhile we spent 13 hours smelling sewage. It was not a good way to end that trip. 

We got to San Francisco that night, and walked to our hotel from the train station. We were on plan, except for when I twisted wrong and hurt my back. I thought I had just pulled a muscle, and it would be better in a couple days. Well, by the next day I was in full blown sciatica, with a firey pain running from my back, into my hip and down my right leg! We had scheduled an extra day in San Francisco, so aside from walking to lunch, we just had a rest day, and I hoped it was enough. 

Onto the Coast Starlight! Since this wasn't an overnight ride to Los Angeles, we had opted for a roomette instead of a bedroom on the train. Our train attendant was great, and when we realized we weren't on the side of the train that gave us ocean views, he let us switch to a different roomette when those passengers got off. 

I was alternating sitting and standing, trying to do some of the stretches they recommend for sciatica while on the train. I held it together until the last three hours, at which point I was hurting really badly. Besides the pain I was in, the ride was fantastic. 

At times the train runs right next to the water, and we even saw whales from the train. 

When we got into Los Angeles, we had to walk past 20 some odd train tracks, then got to baggage claim to get our suitcases. I have no idea why LA thought it was a great idea to get rid of all the seating at the train station, but here I was, miserable with sciatica, first having to walk all that ways, then standing around for 30 minutes at baggage claim, then another 10-15 minutes waiting for our Uber to take us to our hotel. 

DH had a scooter event the next day, but I stayed at the hotel, trying to get my pain under control. If anything it was getting worse. We were supposed to see my niece and great niece in San Diego on the way home, but I was in too much pain to want to spend another night at a hotel. 

We did manage to take a selfie at the coast, but I was hurting far too much to go walk on the beach. I was miserable on the drive home from LA, and to add to the chaos, DH has his milkshake cup disintegrate in his hand, in the rental car, which led to a HUGE mess!

We got home a week ago, I've finished a round of steroids which haven't worked as well as I'd hoped, but slowly, I am doing better. I'm having to change positions constantly, and if it weren't for the deadline of the rally quilt I wouldn't be sewing at all. I can sit and sew for about 20 minutes at a time, which isn't a lot, but I'll take any progress at this point. 

I'm alternating heating pads, ice packs, stretching, and constant position changing. I've only had sciatica one other time in my life, when I was pregnant with baby #4 over 30 years ago. I've got to say, I hadn't missed it! But just like our misadventures, this too shall pass. 

In case you are wondering, yes, we would give Amtrak another try! We were looking for an adventure, and that they delivered!