Hi dmnrec,
I'm late to this thread, but I know how disappointed you must feel at the "Not enough time!" replies you received. Therefore, in hopes of soothing your mind even further, let me say that I totally agree with those answers. I'm a geocacher, not as avid as I once was, but still love to grab a couple of caches every time I visit new places, so I know how you feel. A friend and I took a wonderful award trip in 2014, and I scoped out all the caches near the train stations along the way ahead of time. My verdict was "No way should I try this!" so I didn't. One nighttime stop was really tempting, with a cache just about within sight of the train, but the train was running slightly late, and I didn't even ask the attendant if I could step off for a few minutes. It was probably a good call. I reluctantly kept my caching to the layovers between different trains, and added caches and some sightseeing in DC, Chicago, and Charlottesville. We traveled through over a dozen states, in most of which I have no finds, but some things just aren't doable. *sigh* A daredevil and fast runner might have pulled off that one grab, but I'm neither, LOL. All the others were hopeless.
I wish cachers would put a very quick and easy grab at some of the stations that have smoke stops, but the stations I looked at didn't have any P&G caches on site. I've thought about trying to get permission to put an easy one at my small "home" station, but the train truly isn't there long enough to even let anyone step off the train for two minutes. And of course, new virtual caches that might be visible from the train are no longer allowed. There are already caches nearby in town that those departing or arriving there can easily find.
Have fun on your trip and enjoy your visit to GC HQ! I'll check you out on the website and take a look at your souvenirs. Happy caching! ~busternfruss
For those interested in this activity, check out
http://www.geocaching.com . People often either get hooked or think it's the dumbest thing ever. "Tupperware in the woods" or lamp posts lots of times, but sometimes some great and unique spots you'd never otherwise know were there.