# Trip Report: First LD Amtrak Journey



## PanAm98 (Mar 22, 2011)

A few months ago I decided to do something I had been thinking about for years, namely, taking a cross-country train trip. Other than a few train rides on commuter rail and city-to-city in Europe (including the Eurostar), the only train trip I had ever taken was when I was about four years old. I'm recently retired and was itching to go visit where I used to live in California, so what better time or way to escape the Midwest winter for a while?

This web site was an excellent resource in my planning for the trip since most of the questions I had were already answered here. After deliberation and study, I decided to catch the Cardinal in Indy and connect with the SWC in Chicago, and take it all the way to L.A. Union Station. Since this was a short-notice trip my budget allowed for only coach, which is really a good bargain for such a long distance (especially with the AAA discount). I also decided to fly back just in case I didn't like the westbound train trip, since I didn't want to spend my time in CA dreading the ride home. 

I stayed in the L.A. area about two weeks just hanging out, exploring, visiting old haunts, and enjoying the weather.

To facilitate family and friends keeping track of me, and to keep me from having to write separate e-mails to everyone, I kept a blog of the trip that everyone could visit. Only the first few days of it concerns the train portion of the journey, the rest is photos, videos, and a written account of my day-to-day meanderings in SoCal. I'm sure it will seem pretty basic to a seasoned train traveler, but it might be of some interest and use to someone planning their first LD excursion. For that matter, anyone planning on spending a few days in the L.A. area who is looking for things to do on the cheap (a relative term in L.A.) might find it handy.

Incidentally, I enjoyed the experience enough that I wanted my teen boys to experience it, so we've already purchased tickets for late July on the Zephyr and, after a few day pause in S.F., the Coast Starlight for a couple of weeks in L.A.

Here's the link to my online trip report. It's in reverse chronological order, which makes it good for the daily reader, but not so good for those coming into the story late. In other words, the first entry is at the bottom of the last page and it works up and forward from there. Take care!

Click here.


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## Devil's Advocate (Mar 22, 2011)

Glad to have you aboard PanAm98, and thanks for posting your blog link!


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## amamba (Mar 22, 2011)

AWESOME trip report, thanks for sharing!


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## duke_gal_05 (Mar 22, 2011)

PanAm98 said:


> A few months ago I decided to do something I had been thinking about for years, namely, taking a cross-country train trip. Other than a few train rides on commuter rail and city-to-city in Europe (including the Eurostar), the only train trip I had ever taken was when I was about four years old. I'm recently retired and was itching to go visit where I used to live in California, so what better time or way to escape the Midwest winter for a while?
> 
> This web site was an excellent resource in my planning for the trip since most of the questions I had were already answered here. After deliberation and study, I decided to catch the Cardinal in Indy and connect with the SWC in Chicago, and take it all the way to L.A. Union Station. Since this was a short-notice trip my budget allowed for only coach, which is really a good bargain for such a long distance (especially with the AAA discount). I also decided to fly back just in case I didn't like the westbound train trip, since I didn't want to spend my time in CA dreading the ride home.
> 
> ...



Thanks for Sharing... ENJOYED the pictures and the read...Can't WAIT TIL JUNE....  HURRY UP JUNE!!! PS any other BLOGGERS out there sharing their train trips ESP TEXAS EAGLE trips


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## hello (Mar 22, 2011)

_PanAm98, I really enjoyed your blog ... and thank you for the hint on having 2 seats to yourself!!_


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## Shanghai (Apr 13, 2011)

Excellent report and videos. Thank You.

Where does the PanAm98 come from?

I worked in Saudi Arabia back in the 80's and

often flew PA24 & PA25.


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## PanAm98 (Apr 15, 2011)

Shanghai said:


> Excellent report and videos. Thank You.
> 
> Where does the PanAm98 come from?
> 
> ...


You're quite welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed the report.

I'm ex USAF, but not ex Pan Am. The name comes from my motorcycle, which is the American version of the Pan European.


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