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A bit tardy in posting, but it's taken a while to finally edit and post all the photos. For Christmas we were invited out to my father-in-law's in Sonoma, CA. Never one to take the "simple" path, we wound up flying from Washington-Dulles to Los Angeles (via Jackson Hole, WY) and taking the...

Have you considered doing your trip in reverse? It may give you better scheduling for seeing Rockies/Cascades/Rockies in Daylight. Chicago > Emeryville (or Sacramento) > Portland (or Seattle) > Chicago. My best friend and I did this trip in October. We even got lucky (how often is it good luck...

$1-ish per alcoholic drink. If my change is close to a buck, maybe that. $1 plus change per order for coffee/soda, unless it's just a single drink and the change is close to a buck. $1 for each load of ice i come and fetch (if you give me 3-4 cups) Multi-day long distance trip, I'll tip $5 on...

I'll second the advice to go eastbound in the fall. I did the Empire Builder this past October from Portland to Minneapolis, and the short daylight hours were definitely a consideration with direction. We departed from Portland, mainly because of how it fit in with a larger itinerary. The...

Thanks! And not sure which station you had in mind - I'm guessing SPUD. They did a wonderful job on the restoration, but there's nothing there. A giant empty hall. Washington Union Station will always feel like the "home" station for me. I worked for a stretch on Capitol Hill, and had lunch...

What, your kid only appreciates things that are really even like $10, $20, $50, and $100?

Overall we had an incredible and enjoyable journey. The weather was perfect, scenery great, met some interesting folks on the train as usual. Lost count of how many hands of cribbage were played as well as how many beverages were consumed (those might be related). My friend, and I, were both...

Not a long write up, but a LOT of pictures. https://snvboy.exposure.co/brocation-2015 My best friend and I take a vacation together every summer. Usually this is a 3 day weekend of canoeing and camping. This year he wanted to try out the long-distance Amtracking that I'm always raving about...

Just did this trip in October with my best friend for his 40th (pix coming soon). We based out of Whitefish, mainly because the Glacier hotels were all closed for the season. We stayed at the Grouse Mountain Lodge which was reasonable, comfortable, and had a great hot tub. Whitefish has plenty...

You were quite clear and quite off topic. The discussion is using airline logistics and methods to improve dining on Amtrak. Which is referencing food in the dining car. Yes, first class on the airlines gets better food than coach. They paid for it. The 'first class' Amtrak product I use the...

To say "I fly coach, and the last time I flew I got one very small packet of peanuts." in the context of a discussion about food in the dining car is to compare apples and oranges. In terms of F&B, the peanuts and soda you get on the airline are a lot more than the NOTHING you get in coach on...

Why not use airline style meal service on the train? I have had some pretty incredible meals in the air, and they have been pretty consistently decent. I've had some inedible meals on the train lately, and other than the steak they have been consistently inconsistent. In the context of the New...

A very beautiful piece showing all the operations of a modern airport. http://www.boldmethod.com/blog/video/2015/12/timelapse-of-newcastle-airport/

I'm guessing it will get no hotter in the baggage car than it would in the various trucks and planes it would suffer through if you shipped the wine home. Folks ship wine ALL the time. Virginia is for wine. Napa is for auto parts.

What's the "roommette trick" ?

Brunch was at http://www.thelightwell.comjust a half block from the tracks and old train station.

Had a nice brunch with my wife today in Orange, VA, and stepped outside just in time to catch regional 156 roll through town on its way north. Thought y'all would enjoy it. https://youtu.be/H7NMLLtC6B4

Amtrak was kind enough to give me an automated phone call last night regarding this situation in Grand Forks. For a trip I'm taking in October. From Whitefish to St. Paul. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

I don't mind tipping, but I do mind servers that aren't "hip" to tipping. Two scenarios in point, both have happened on Amtrak about as frequently as elsewhere: 1) Out of small bills, and asking server to break at $20. Usually I'll get a split of wine with dinner or lunch if I need to break a...

This blog is pretty informative: http://cheesehead-techblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/amtrak-real-time-train-data.html and if you don't want to click where clicking is due: https://www.googleapis.com/mapsengine/v1/tables/01382379791355219452-08584582962951999356/ -BJ