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Good thoughts, All; much obliged! I'll run the options past my lovely female traveling companions (wife & daughter:-) to learn their preferences. (This little engineer knows when to bow to higher authority!) Thanks again.

Hi, All! Arriving at King Street Station on the northbound CS (8:37pm if on time), are there any scenarios for obtaining a rental car at that hour? (Our final destination is about an hour's drive north of the City, with no need/desire to overnight downtown.) The only method I can think of is...

Thanks, All, for doing this detailed R&D to answer my question; so much appreciated! I'm relieved that the AGR agent this am was dead wrong that there is no way my daughter could share our bedroom under any circumstances, either on an AGR redemption or paid separately. So, if I have this...

So today in a phone conversation with an AGR agent (who sounded like she wasn't enjoying her day very much): 1) Affirmed the July 1st rule change that three people cannot travel together on a single Bedroom award. 2) Stated that purchasing a coach ticket for the third person to cover their...

For traveling the CS on 9/18, there is only one Bedroom still available (LAX-SEA). I called AGR, and learned that it's the dreaded Bedroom A, and in the sleeper furthest away from the PPC. (Bedrooms are fully sold out for the two days before and one day after the 18th.) The question: if I book...

Thanks, Gents, for your prompt and favorable replies; so much appreciated! If I may trouble you again, based on your answers, here's one more question: Bonus Round: If the Bedroom redemption includes "all the passengers in the room" and per Amtrak rules a bedroom can "legally" accommodate...

Hello, Experts! I'm planning to redeem 25,000 of my points for a bedroom on the Coast Starlight, LAX-SEA, to return my daughter back to college at Seattle U in September. My questions (and excuse my ignorance): 1) Does a bedroom award cover the accommodation only, or does it include my rail...

Thanks, All, for your thoughtful, detailed responses. With your guidance, I can now select an overnight abode that will please the Missus & (fussy) teenage Daughter. All Aboard!

Hi, All! We're planning a CS trip (LAX-SEA) to see the folks-in-law next month but first need a decent place to crash upon the evening arrival of #14. I know the topic of nearby hotels has been covered before, but would appreciate any "fresh" recommendations, especially given that we only need...

In OKC, I have enjoyed staying several times at the Colcord, a historic, boutique hotel within easy walking distance to the depot. http://www.colcordhotel.com/

When it comes to humorous city codes, leave us not forget Bakersfield's (BFD), which for some hoity-toity folks also seems to pretty well sum up the impression of the town…

My other observation about Bedroom "A" it tends to be noisier due to its proximity to the car passage door and to a much lesser degree being over the truck below. We always travel with earplugs which cover a multitude of aural sins.

Not that tacky. In the PPC is my worst offense, flaunting-wise.

Given my supreme dislike of Diet Pepsi, the issue about a free second can of soda is moot for me. I always travel with my own stock of Diet Coke (and sometimes get some envious glances from fellow passengers).

Just as an historical note, the area of LAUS now being used as a CS "departure lounge" was originally the location of banks of pay telephone booths and Western Union (telegraph) services-two anachronistic communication technologies.

Absolute tops (scenery, equipment, food, & service) was VIA Canadian, Toronto to Vancouver with layover in Jasper. A happy splurge, worth every penny. Amtrak-wise, Coast Starlight wins for scenery, equipment (PPC!), and cities served.

I'm a professional audio engineer, so I'm pretty sensitive about my hearing. I last used my newish Bose QC15's sitting in the PPC on the CS. Superb noise reduction and sound quality (although I admit I mostly listen to old radio shows because they seem to go with train travel). But the QC15's...

The challenge of seeking corporate sponsorship of an Amtrak car (or entire train for that matter) is the corporation would have no control (and thus no influence) over the guest (passenger) experience. If, say, the car's AC goes down on a hot day, the on-board staff is sub-standard, the train...

I'll third that suggestion. We've frequently detrained the CS in Portland for 1-2 nights (nice city!), then continued our journey to Seattle on a Cascades train. It's a fun, unique train that travels by daylight and gets you into Seattle at a more reasonable hour (especially if the CS happens to...

We've learned to bring a small spray bottle of Febreze, just in case the room is a little stuffy, or heaven forbid there's a restroom failure somewhere else in the sleeper and the AC system picks up & distributes the news.