greatcats
Engineer
I am very pleased that I chose to attend the Chicago Gathering and meeting some of you, as was my travel companion. We also took in the Lyric Opera and the Chicago Symphony, which is what our trips are usually about. Since November of 2011 we have done seven major trips together, mostly by Amtrak, a few by air, and an especially memorable car trip to Ravinia Festival north of Chicago and Upper Michigan. I figure this last trip Flagstaff-Los Angeles-Portland-Seattle-Chicago- Flagstaff come out to a little under 5,000 miles by rail, which was for the most part a pleasure. I have already written up part of the Empire Builder trip, which actually was my favorite with its stellar dining car crew. We encountered no turkey employees and most were very good to excellent. I will be sending Amtrak some more comments after my letter of praise about #8's dining car crew under Timmy.
The Southwest Chief delivered us early into Los Angeles on the morning of October 8, with SCA Simon Gonzales, who I have met before. ( He lives in Albuquerque! ) I also met Cynthia, a server in the dining car who listened to me sing in the lounge car several years ago. This trip was fine, although I slept poorly. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on Highland Avenue in Hollywood and used the Red Line Metro. One night we tried to take it back from downtown and I had not studied the schedule - it had stopped running for the night and the police told us to leave. A cab from the Millenium Biltmore delivered us back to the door of our hotel after 1 am.
On the morning of Friday, Oct. 11, we made our way back to the Metro to go to Union Station. My friend succeeded in doing a pratfall on the sidewalk. I heard my name yelled out and there he was sprawled face down on the sidewalk in one direction, his cane flung another direction, and his roller bag in another. A security guard came running to assist him. I gave him a hard time and we became known as Oscar and Felix during our trip. A bruised lip, skinned fingers and a sore knee bothered him for several days, but he kept going. So we arrived at Union Station and found the new First Class Lounge, which has been widely discussed. Other than I hope they have since put up some signs, it is a nice facility and the staff genuinely cordial people. I have never used a redcap before, but availed ourselves of the ride in the cart out the back door an d around the end of the platforms to the Coast Starlight.
Jaime was our car attendant, from the Philippines, and he was a nice gentleman, as were all of our car attendants. In previous years I have ridden this train coach from LAX to San Luis Obispo and another time to Oakland in coach, but never north of the Bay Area. While the interior of the Pacific Parlor car was a bit tired looking,( missing wooden molding ) it is an elegant car and we really liked dining in the calmer atmosphere of the Parlour car, presided over by Flavio. The DVD player was missing, so there were no movies in the theater. The scenery speak for itself and the next morning woke up arriving on a chilly clear morning in Klamath Falls. Continuing northward, it was alternately sunny and foggy crossing the Cascades. This is truly one of Amtrak's great scenic delights. Coming down the west side of the mountain range we were stopped for nearly two hours by what was said to be a minor freight derailment. The smokers were getting antsy, as our location in a gully was not a place to let people off. Finally we started moving again. Arrival in Portland, where we stayed two nights at the Vintage Plaza hotel, was about and hour and fifty minutes late. Those for Train 28 were put on a bus in Eugene to get to Portland ahead of us. The trip on the Coast Starlight was indeed beautiful and I'd take that train again in a minute just to go over the Cascades.
Two nights were spent in Portland, attending such events as the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and the Oregon Symphony in Arlene Schnitzer Hall. That evening an old friend, who was a school classmate of mine in New Jersey many years ago who I have visited a number of times at his home in suburban Portland, came downtown with his wife and we had a fine Italian dinner. The next morning we took the 8:30 am Cascades to Seattle. I know, I know, why didn't I take the Empire Builder from Portland? Because I specifically wanted to ride the Empire Builder east out of Seattle. The run up the Cascades in the early evening light proved my idea worthwhile. We were only in Seattle a few hours, admired King Street Station, and had a nice lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront. Jimmy was our SCA on the Empire Builder, a very friendly guy who was kind to the passengers.. The next morning was fabulous crossing the southern edge of Glacier National Park. This is not new to me, but the colors of autumn along this route were astounding. Much has been written of the Empire Builder recently. Yes, we ended up being six hours late into Chicago, a few hours later than I would have cared to be, but overall it was very enjoyable, with pretty good food, cordial passengers, and the aforementioned dining car crew.
Following the Chicago Gathering my friend and I departed Chicago on the Southwest Chief to return to Flagstaff, where I am now surrounded by my two kitties who are happy to see me. We arrived only about ten minutes late last night. This was a good trip, also. The dining car was staffed by only two, as opposed to four on the EB. The LSA was Chuck, who has been a manager of food service for a golf resort on Catalina Island. He was very professional and while the operation got a bit bogged down with heavy demand, he and Ignacio did a good job of serving the meals. I thought we needed another server. I had the steak the first night, which was quite good, but the mahi mahi last night ( which was pretty good on the EB ) was a disappointment. ( dry and tough ) It was made up for by dessert and great dining companions.
As the reader can tell, we had quite a successful two week journey. Amtrak in many ways does an excellent job with what they have to work with in a number of ways. My two main negatives are that the equipment is getting worn out looking. The lower level of some of the lounge cars looked something like a hovel, beaten to death. While our car attendants were pretty good and treated us well, we feel they need to do a more frequent job of cleaning the sleeper restrooms. The toilets need to be scrubbed far more often and it mystifies me why the waste containers for paper towels overflow and tend to stay that way. Next trip on Amtrak? No planned yet. Thanks for reading.
The Southwest Chief delivered us early into Los Angeles on the morning of October 8, with SCA Simon Gonzales, who I have met before. ( He lives in Albuquerque! ) I also met Cynthia, a server in the dining car who listened to me sing in the lounge car several years ago. This trip was fine, although I slept poorly. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on Highland Avenue in Hollywood and used the Red Line Metro. One night we tried to take it back from downtown and I had not studied the schedule - it had stopped running for the night and the police told us to leave. A cab from the Millenium Biltmore delivered us back to the door of our hotel after 1 am.
On the morning of Friday, Oct. 11, we made our way back to the Metro to go to Union Station. My friend succeeded in doing a pratfall on the sidewalk. I heard my name yelled out and there he was sprawled face down on the sidewalk in one direction, his cane flung another direction, and his roller bag in another. A security guard came running to assist him. I gave him a hard time and we became known as Oscar and Felix during our trip. A bruised lip, skinned fingers and a sore knee bothered him for several days, but he kept going. So we arrived at Union Station and found the new First Class Lounge, which has been widely discussed. Other than I hope they have since put up some signs, it is a nice facility and the staff genuinely cordial people. I have never used a redcap before, but availed ourselves of the ride in the cart out the back door an d around the end of the platforms to the Coast Starlight.
Jaime was our car attendant, from the Philippines, and he was a nice gentleman, as were all of our car attendants. In previous years I have ridden this train coach from LAX to San Luis Obispo and another time to Oakland in coach, but never north of the Bay Area. While the interior of the Pacific Parlor car was a bit tired looking,( missing wooden molding ) it is an elegant car and we really liked dining in the calmer atmosphere of the Parlour car, presided over by Flavio. The DVD player was missing, so there were no movies in the theater. The scenery speak for itself and the next morning woke up arriving on a chilly clear morning in Klamath Falls. Continuing northward, it was alternately sunny and foggy crossing the Cascades. This is truly one of Amtrak's great scenic delights. Coming down the west side of the mountain range we were stopped for nearly two hours by what was said to be a minor freight derailment. The smokers were getting antsy, as our location in a gully was not a place to let people off. Finally we started moving again. Arrival in Portland, where we stayed two nights at the Vintage Plaza hotel, was about and hour and fifty minutes late. Those for Train 28 were put on a bus in Eugene to get to Portland ahead of us. The trip on the Coast Starlight was indeed beautiful and I'd take that train again in a minute just to go over the Cascades.
Two nights were spent in Portland, attending such events as the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and the Oregon Symphony in Arlene Schnitzer Hall. That evening an old friend, who was a school classmate of mine in New Jersey many years ago who I have visited a number of times at his home in suburban Portland, came downtown with his wife and we had a fine Italian dinner. The next morning we took the 8:30 am Cascades to Seattle. I know, I know, why didn't I take the Empire Builder from Portland? Because I specifically wanted to ride the Empire Builder east out of Seattle. The run up the Cascades in the early evening light proved my idea worthwhile. We were only in Seattle a few hours, admired King Street Station, and had a nice lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront. Jimmy was our SCA on the Empire Builder, a very friendly guy who was kind to the passengers.. The next morning was fabulous crossing the southern edge of Glacier National Park. This is not new to me, but the colors of autumn along this route were astounding. Much has been written of the Empire Builder recently. Yes, we ended up being six hours late into Chicago, a few hours later than I would have cared to be, but overall it was very enjoyable, with pretty good food, cordial passengers, and the aforementioned dining car crew.
Following the Chicago Gathering my friend and I departed Chicago on the Southwest Chief to return to Flagstaff, where I am now surrounded by my two kitties who are happy to see me. We arrived only about ten minutes late last night. This was a good trip, also. The dining car was staffed by only two, as opposed to four on the EB. The LSA was Chuck, who has been a manager of food service for a golf resort on Catalina Island. He was very professional and while the operation got a bit bogged down with heavy demand, he and Ignacio did a good job of serving the meals. I thought we needed another server. I had the steak the first night, which was quite good, but the mahi mahi last night ( which was pretty good on the EB ) was a disappointment. ( dry and tough ) It was made up for by dessert and great dining companions.
As the reader can tell, we had quite a successful two week journey. Amtrak in many ways does an excellent job with what they have to work with in a number of ways. My two main negatives are that the equipment is getting worn out looking. The lower level of some of the lounge cars looked something like a hovel, beaten to death. While our car attendants were pretty good and treated us well, we feel they need to do a more frequent job of cleaning the sleeper restrooms. The toilets need to be scrubbed far more often and it mystifies me why the waste containers for paper towels overflow and tend to stay that way. Next trip on Amtrak? No planned yet. Thanks for reading.
Glad you had a safe trip home
