Your personal experience with Texas Eagle

[junebug]

Like this interesting looking house on the right as we descend from Glorieta Pass in NM:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5678368,-105.7926359,121m/data=!3m1!1e3

I have several pictures of that house in my trip albums.

I found pictures of the interior a couple of years ago. My curiosity got the better of me.

http://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/starchitect-bart-prince-glorieta-house-lists-santa-fe-nm-photos/

I remember that house! We should all go on an interior tour. I know I live in Chicago but it took some out of town guests to get me over to the Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Oak Park. If you like architecture, it's about twenty minutes from Union Station.

 

[junebug]

I'm doing the Southern Loop in May:

Galesburg (GBB) to LA via Southwest Chief.

LA to Chicago via Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle.

Illinois Zephyr CHI to GBB

as first for me, so I've been following the thread petty close.

Plus I've been following both routes on Google Maps and MyTopo Maps so I know what sub-divisions we will use and what sights there are to see.

Like this interesting looking house on the right as we descend from Glorietta Pass in NM:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5678368,-105.7926359,121m/data=!3m1!1e3

Have you thought of going up the coast from L.A. on the Coast Starlight? Then back to Chicago on the California Zephyr? I'm not sure how the nice the California Zephyr from the San Francisco area is, going Eastbound. The only time I took it we were delayed so it was night time going through the Rockies. It sure was breathtaking going west.

 

[KmH]

My goal for my May trip is to ride trains I've not yet been on and to again see the southwest US, which is where I lived before I retired and moved to Iowa.

 

[KmH]

Like this interesting looking house on the right as we descend from Glorieta Pass in NM:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5678368,-105.7926359,121m/data=!3m1!1e3

I have several pictures of that house in my trip albums.

I remember seeing your photo of it in one of your posts here on AU SarahZ.

Which is why I was looking for it on Google Earth prior to my trip. :hi:

 

[junebug]

My goal for my May trip is to ride trains I've not yet been on and to again see the southwest US, which is where I lived before I retired and moved to Iowa.

Keep us posted. that sounds great.

 

[junebug]

After all you guys did for me, telling me your great experiences in such detail, I feel like I let you down. I love Amtrak.

Well.....Megabus.

There's always a first time. And my last time ever taking a bus. Never, ever, ever again. Never!

Don't shoot me. I missed my train Thursday. I got there fifteen minutes after it left. I thought it was leaving an hour later than it did. I feel like such a jerk. I didn't want to wait until Friday for the next train. Too short of a time to spend with my daughter and future son in law.

But BLECK!!!! Yes sir, yes ma'am. I took Megabus. I hoped it would be an adventure. Uh-uh. It was scary. In fact, It totally was awful. I only made one friend. He was perhaps a little less dicey than the rest of the passengers. I swear, he said not to friend him on Facebook. That all his friends were criminals and they would want to friend me too. He meant it. He had been in jail.

The driver of the last bus was obnoxious and kept hitting on me. He asked me when I was coming back the other way. I was very happy to say never. I was flying back to Chicago anyways.

The bus stopped every couple of hours for fast food at Hardee's and gas station food. Not stuff I eat. Yukky. When I got to my daughter's house, I dumped all my clothes right into the washer and threw out my suitcase.

Does this sound like Alexander and the No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day?

I guess it could have been worse. Now I have to take another Amtrak. trip soon, Wah. It was all my own fault.

I'm sad that I missed it. A friend asked me how my trip was. I had talked up how awesome my train trips are. I was too embarrassed to say I missed the train.

 

[user 1215]

Oh, and by the way, show up early so you don't miss the train.

Sorry about Megabus. I avoid any sort of bus. I'm just too big and need to move around.

 

[Lonestar648]

I have heard bad things about Megabus, like drivers being sleepy and buses breaking down. They may be pushing everything and everyone to keep costs low to stay even with their very low fares. All the more reasons I travel by rail and almost never by bus.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I missed my train Thursday. I got there fifteen minutes after it left.

I was hoping to hear about a heated last minute race to Joliet, IL.

I thought it was leaving an hour later than it did.

My personal experience with the Texas Eagle is that it leaves the originating station on time and not an hour later. h34r:

I'm sad that I missed it. A friend asked me how my trip was. I had talked up how awesome my train trips are. I was too embarrassed to say I missed the train.

I can't recall ever missing a train before but I've missed at least two flights. The first plane I missed came after a long delay at a surprisingly busy and poorly staffed car rental return. I actually made it to the departure gate in plenty of time but the check-in lady had insisted I would never make it and chose to "help" me by putting me on standby for another flight. That turned out to be an amazingly disruptive decision that left me waiting for several overbooked flights in a row and didn't get me out of there until the following morning. That experience really annoyed me but it also taught me a lot about how to deal with airline check-in staff. At this point I avoid interacting with them as much as possible and if they offer to "help" me in any way I almost always decline. Strongly or even abrasively if necessary. Whatever their prime directive is, it never seems to involve your best interests.

The second flight I missed was party due to my bad timing and party due to an extremely sluggish security screening queue that moved slower than molasses. Back then there was no excuse for getting stuck for an hour or more in a relatively tiny regional airport like mine. It was also the first flight in a long intercontinental trip that required rebooking all the connecting flights but only delayed me by an hour or two. That ended up costing me an extra $100 for replacement tickets, which didn't bother me in and of itself, but they should have mentioned the fee when making the change rather than quietly re-charging my original credit card afterward. At this point it has been many years since I missed a flight, and for the most part I'm pretty good at avoiding truly disruptive mistakes when traveling, but every once in a while I still cut it a little close for comfort.

 

[Steve4031]

I missed a train in Australia. Did not double check the time on the ticket. We too a 100 dollar cab ride to catch up to the train.

In Europe we went to the we ring station in Budapest. Assuming we didn't need are day passes, we had discarded them. Dad had meticulously used the last of his Hungarian money. We gambled on not getting caught without a ticket taking subway to correct station. Got caught, dashedcto atm to get money to pay fine, 100 dollars for the two us. Ran like hell and some how made the train.

I considered myself a veteran traveler before both errors. These experiences were humbling. I'll never say never about myself screwing up. It happens. Keep your head up. Plan another trip. It beats the hell out of Megabus.

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

After all you guys did for me, telling me your great experiences in such detail, I feel like I let you down. I love Amtrak.

Well.....Megabus.

There's always a first time. And my last time ever taking a bus. Never, ever, ever again. Never!

Don't shoot me. I missed my train Thursday. I got there fifteen minutes after it left. I thought it was leaving an hour later than it did. I feel like such a jerk. I didn't want to wait until Friday for the next train. Too short of a time to spend with my daughter and future son in law.

But BLECK!!!! Yes sir, yes ma'am. I took Megabus. I hoped it would be an adventure. Uh-uh. It was scary. In fact, It totally was awful. I only made one friend. He was perhaps a little less dicey than the rest of the passengers. I swear, he said not to friend him on Facebook. That all his friends were criminals and they would want to friend me too. He meant it. He had been in jail.

The driver of the last bus was obnoxious and kept hitting on me. He asked me when I was coming back the other way. I was very happy to say never. I was flying back to Chicago anyways.

The bus stopped every couple of hours for fast food at Hardee's and gas station food. Not stuff I eat. Yukky. When I got to my daughter's house, I dumped all my clothes right into the washer and threw out my suitcase.

Does this sound like Alexander and the No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day?

I guess it could have been worse. Now I have to take another Amtrak. trip soon, Wah. It was all my own fault.

I'm sad that I missed it. A friend asked me how my trip was. I had talked up how awesome my train trips are. I was too embarrassed to say I missed the train.

if you thought that was bad, step into my shoes. I'm 14, 13 when this happened. I had to spend a total of SIX HOURS with 40 kids on a Jefferson lines bus, the driver was decent, and so was the bus, but the kids. Oh, they were throwing stuff, wrecking the seats, complaining that the wifi didn't work, I swear someone spit on me. And then to top it off, the already bad kids got even worse and just yelled for at least an hour straight. Also no food, the air con didn't run for the first leg of the trip, and there was an awful stench that couldn't be eradicated. Oh, it was the closest I've ever been to actual torture, I would prefer waterboarding.

 

[junebug]

I missed a train in Australia. Did not double check the time on the ticket. We too a 100 dollar cab ride to catch up to the train.

In Europe we went to the we ring station in Budapest. Assuming we didn't need are day passes, we had discarded them. Dad had meticulously used the last of his Hungarian money. We gambled on not getting caught without a ticket taking subway to correct station. Got caught, dashedcto atm to get money to pay fine, 100 dollars for the two us. Ran like hell and some how made the train.

I considered myself a veteran traveler before both errors. These experiences were humbling. I'll never say never about myself screwing up. It happens. Keep your head up. Plan another trip. It beats the hell out of Megabus.

Thanks for the embarrassing story. I feel less like a dork now!

I can just imagine you getting caught, running to pay the fine, dashing to a taxi and biting your nails that it got there in time for the train.

 

[junebug]

After all you guys did for me, telling me your great experiences in such detail, I feel like I let you down. I love Amtrak.

Well.....Megabus.

There's always a first time. And my last time ever taking a bus. Never, ever, ever again. Never!

Don't shoot me. I missed my train Thursday. I got there fifteen minutes after it left. I thought it was leaving an hour later than it did. I feel like such a jerk. I didn't want to wait until Friday for the next train. Too short of a time to spend with my daughter and future son in law.

But BLECK!!!! Yes sir, yes ma'am. I took Megabus. I hoped it would be an adventure. Uh-uh. It was scary. In fact, It totally was awful. I only made one friend. He was perhaps a little less dicey than the rest of the passengers. I swear, he said not to friend him on Facebook. That all his friends were criminals and they would want to friend me too. He meant it. He had been in jail.

The driver of the last bus was obnoxious and kept hitting on me. He asked me when I was coming back the other way. I was very happy to say never. I was flying back to Chicago anyways.

The bus stopped every couple of hours for fast food at Hardee's and gas station food. Not stuff I eat. Yukky. When I got to my daughter's house, I dumped all my clothes right into the washer and threw out my suitcase.

Does this sound like Alexander and the No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day?

I guess it could have been worse. Now I have to take another Amtrak. trip soon, Wah. It was all my own fault.

I'm sad that I missed it. A friend asked me how my trip was. I had talked up how awesome my train trips are. I was too embarrassed to say I missed the train.

if you thought that was bad, step into my shoes. I'm 14, 13 when this happened. I had to spend a total of SIX HOURS with 40 kids on a Jefferson lines bus, the driver was decent, and so was the bus, but the kids. Oh, they were throwing stuff, wrecking the seats, complaining that the wifi didn't work, I swear someone spit on me. And then to top it off, the already bad kids got even worse and just yelled for at least an hour straight. Also no food, the air con didn't run for the first leg of the trip, and there was an awful stench that couldn't be eradicated. Oh, it was the closest I've ever been to actual torture, I would prefer waterboarding.

Hahahahah. Preferring waterboarding. You were 14? I assume the kids were younger. Did I tell you the story about the train full of boy scouts and the lady that kept exposing herself?

 

[junebug]

Oh, and by the way, show up early so you don't miss the train.

Sorry about Megabus. I avoid any sort of bus. I'm just too big and need to move around.

Thanks I'm averse to the people that told me what being in jail was like. Serious.

 

[junebug]

I can't recall ever missing a train before but I've missed at least two flights. The first plane I missed came after a long delay at a surprisingly busy and poorly staffed car rental return. I actually made it to the departure gate in plenty of time but the check-in lady had insisted I would never make it and chose to "help" me by putting me on standby for another flight. That turned out to be an amazingly disruptive decision that left me waiting for several overbooked flights in a row and didn't get me out of there until the following morning. That experience really annoyed me but it also taught me a lot about how to deal with airline check-in staff. At this point I avoid interacting with them as much as possible and if they offer to "help" me in any way I almost always decline. Strongly or even abrasively if necessary. Whatever their prime directive is, it never seems to involve your best interests.

The second flight I missed was party due to my bad timing and party due to an extremely sluggish security screening queue that moved slower than molasses. Back then there was no excuse for getting stuck for an hour or more in a relatively tiny regional airport like mine. It was also the first flight in a long intercontinental trip that required rebooking all the connecting flights but only delayed me by an hour or two. That ended up costing me an extra $100 for replacement tickets, which didn't bother me in and of itself, but they should have mentioned the fee when making the change rather than quietly re-charging my original credit card afterward. At this point it has been many years since I missed a flight, and for the most part I'm pretty good at avoiding truly disruptive mistakes when traveling, but every once in a while I still cut it a little close for comfort.

I hear you on being abrasive. It took a long time until I learned the secret. Compliment service people. When I'm on the phone for customer support I ask how the weather is in the Philipines or if they speak Tagalog. I Show interest in his or her life. I'm still like a pitbull when I want something. I never give up. But I stopped being nasty. Kindness works better fit me.

 

[junebug]

A cab ride to Joliet would have been great. But I only had 45 minutes ;(

I just couldn't figure out how to meet the train. It was an hour el ride home. If I got on my car I think the first stop was St.Louis, that's a 5 1/2 hour drive from my house, and the train was about 5 hours away.