Took my 14 year old son on the Southwest Chief last week. We got on in Riverside (a half hour late but who is counting?) and were greeted by a very friendly sleeping car attendant, Linda. She was very cheerful and tried to help us with everything. The rest of the family had dropped us off and we ate dinner with them. We didn't mean to do so. We were just going to get a bite to eat and then eat on the train but we ended up at a place where we had a full dinner. Linda showed us the room and asked us if we wanted any dessert since we told her we had already eaten. (She had a reservation for us for soon after we boarded the train.)
It took a bit of time to get used to the size of the roomette. It seemed very small for two people but after a while we figured out ways to both be comfortable in there at the same time, including having the top bed down at times during the day. Linda offered to make the beds up for us but my son, being a bit independent, wanted to do it himself so we did. Linda did come back to check on us but saw we had gotten it all figured out.
We got off the train for a while in Albuquerque, looking at the wares for sale and trying to find the nearest Subway restaurant (we took coach on the return trip). We were able to find it but it is a bit of a walk if the train gets into ABQ late and doesn't plan on staying as long as it usually does.
We ate in the dining car all of the first full day and for breakfast and lunch on the following day. Andria was our server for three meals, the other two being an Asian man. Both were competent but Andria was much friendlier. The man was a bit hard to understand because of his accent. I could understand him most of the time but some others that sat with us could not.
We got to Kansas City in the early AM and were going to be there about 45 minutes. Not sure I should have done this but I got out of the train and went into the station. It was gorgeous inside with vast, ornately decorated halls. After looking it over for a good 15 minutes I decided to return to the train. There was a long line of folks waiting to have their tickets scanned. I walked by them (with my ticket in my pocket) and through the doors back to the sleeping car. I was glad I had my ticket in case I was stopped at the door but no one said a thing.
I took a shower that AM and it was not bad at all. The shower was adequate size and the water was hot. The train did not rattle so much that is was difficult to stand up.
We arrived in Chicago about a half hour early.
We hauled our luggage to the Parthenon hostel on Halsted in Greek Town. It was a healthy walk that ended up being a bit longer than I anticipated. The room there was just a bed and a dresser. The bathrooms and showers were down the hall. No elevator and we got a private room on the third floor. Drat to that because the first floor was not the ground floor.
During our 72 hours in Chicago we went on an architectural boat tour, ate at Giordano's twice, went to the top of the Sears/Willis Tower, went to the Museum of Science and Industry, saw the Navy Pier, Field Museum, Adler Planitarium and the Shedd Aquarium. Oops, forgot we saw the Cubs lose in a game that was so foggy that we couldn't see the outfield at time in the first few innings.
We took coach back to California. I wanted my son to experience coach and I didn't have enough AGR points for sleepers both ways. I was about the 30th person in line and was tested for explosive residue on my bags. It wasn't voluntary and they never said what they were checking for. We were late to the first stop, Naperville, because we got stuck behind a slow freight train. We were told the other track had a broken down freight train on it. When we got to the Mississippi River we had to wait close to 30 minutes for 3 barges to go by. I think we were about 90 minutes behind schedule before we got out of Illinois. Someplace in Kansas we had a terrible smell in the car. The coach attendant said she would fix it and she did. Once in a while after that we caught a bit of the stench but it was not too bad in very small doses. We were late when we arrived in Albuquerque and were told we would only be there 25-30 minutes. Not enough time to make it to Subway, we went inside the station and ordered two hamburgers. Time went on and we heard a last boarding call for the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. The food wasn't done so we ran out to the train. The coaching car attendant told us we'd be there another 10 minutes so we returned and got our burgers. Our coach car door was not closing properly so someone worked on it a bit. It ended up we left after about 50 minutes, still about 2 hours behind schedule. During the night we lost another hour somehow. Arrived in Riverside at about 8:50 AM which was 3 hours late but better for the person picking us up.
Overall it was a good trip. I was a bit tired of coach by the second day. It's hard to tell regarding that though in that for me once we turn home, be it by train or car, on vacation, it feels over to me. The drive/ride home is never all that fun. Had we taken coach and come back sleeper it may have been a different experience. I don't hate coach but I have found an affection for sleepers.
It took a bit of time to get used to the size of the roomette. It seemed very small for two people but after a while we figured out ways to both be comfortable in there at the same time, including having the top bed down at times during the day. Linda offered to make the beds up for us but my son, being a bit independent, wanted to do it himself so we did. Linda did come back to check on us but saw we had gotten it all figured out.
We got off the train for a while in Albuquerque, looking at the wares for sale and trying to find the nearest Subway restaurant (we took coach on the return trip). We were able to find it but it is a bit of a walk if the train gets into ABQ late and doesn't plan on staying as long as it usually does.
We ate in the dining car all of the first full day and for breakfast and lunch on the following day. Andria was our server for three meals, the other two being an Asian man. Both were competent but Andria was much friendlier. The man was a bit hard to understand because of his accent. I could understand him most of the time but some others that sat with us could not.
We got to Kansas City in the early AM and were going to be there about 45 minutes. Not sure I should have done this but I got out of the train and went into the station. It was gorgeous inside with vast, ornately decorated halls. After looking it over for a good 15 minutes I decided to return to the train. There was a long line of folks waiting to have their tickets scanned. I walked by them (with my ticket in my pocket) and through the doors back to the sleeping car. I was glad I had my ticket in case I was stopped at the door but no one said a thing.
I took a shower that AM and it was not bad at all. The shower was adequate size and the water was hot. The train did not rattle so much that is was difficult to stand up.
We arrived in Chicago about a half hour early.
We hauled our luggage to the Parthenon hostel on Halsted in Greek Town. It was a healthy walk that ended up being a bit longer than I anticipated. The room there was just a bed and a dresser. The bathrooms and showers were down the hall. No elevator and we got a private room on the third floor. Drat to that because the first floor was not the ground floor.
During our 72 hours in Chicago we went on an architectural boat tour, ate at Giordano's twice, went to the top of the Sears/Willis Tower, went to the Museum of Science and Industry, saw the Navy Pier, Field Museum, Adler Planitarium and the Shedd Aquarium. Oops, forgot we saw the Cubs lose in a game that was so foggy that we couldn't see the outfield at time in the first few innings.
We took coach back to California. I wanted my son to experience coach and I didn't have enough AGR points for sleepers both ways. I was about the 30th person in line and was tested for explosive residue on my bags. It wasn't voluntary and they never said what they were checking for. We were late to the first stop, Naperville, because we got stuck behind a slow freight train. We were told the other track had a broken down freight train on it. When we got to the Mississippi River we had to wait close to 30 minutes for 3 barges to go by. I think we were about 90 minutes behind schedule before we got out of Illinois. Someplace in Kansas we had a terrible smell in the car. The coach attendant said she would fix it and she did. Once in a while after that we caught a bit of the stench but it was not too bad in very small doses. We were late when we arrived in Albuquerque and were told we would only be there 25-30 minutes. Not enough time to make it to Subway, we went inside the station and ordered two hamburgers. Time went on and we heard a last boarding call for the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. The food wasn't done so we ran out to the train. The coaching car attendant told us we'd be there another 10 minutes so we returned and got our burgers. Our coach car door was not closing properly so someone worked on it a bit. It ended up we left after about 50 minutes, still about 2 hours behind schedule. During the night we lost another hour somehow. Arrived in Riverside at about 8:50 AM which was 3 hours late but better for the person picking us up.
Overall it was a good trip. I was a bit tired of coach by the second day. It's hard to tell regarding that though in that for me once we turn home, be it by train or car, on vacation, it feels over to me. The drive/ride home is never all that fun. Had we taken coach and come back sleeper it may have been a different experience. I don't hate coach but I have found an affection for sleepers.
