bobnjulie
Lead Service Attendant
Had a great run up to Reno on the Zephyr. We were watching the weather report and it looked like it was going to rain and snow like crazy so we went for it. While the snow moved south and we didn't get the snowstorm we had wanted, it was still just beautiful and any train trip is a great one to me!
We left from Emeryville and with the nightmare traffic due to the rain, we did not get to Emeryville as timely as I would have liked and so did not get to grab our breakfast from Subway. Due to the lateness of the trip, the cost of a roomette was only a $10 difference between coach and a roomette so the roomette was a no brainer. One of the special aspects of our trip was that my mother and step-dad decided to come and we were able to arrange for the them to have a roomette across from us going and behind us coming back. It was their first trip in a roomette and her first semi-long distance trip and I really wanted them to have a great experience.
We were met by our attendant at the door, Pete. He was really on the ball. He offered to take our bags but since we've become veterans, we had packed lightly and went on up by ourselves. I did mention that my parents would be joining us at Martinez. We were underway about 10 minutes late but called ahead and let my parents know we were on on way. Once they boarded in Martinez, my husband helped them up the stairs and I waved them on down! They were smiling and really seemed to settle in nicely. Pete then came by and gave us all a great orientation... lots of energy and spoke clearly to my parents. We had lunch and all had the Angus burger - a first for me since we usually eat breakfast later so I also eat a bit lighter at lunch. It was really great! I took a picture about halfway though... I always want to take pictures but normally forget and jump right in! We also wrote their meal tickets for them, showing them what we had written... you know, Amtrak Dining 101! We moved to the observation car after just so they could get the full experience but they seemed to be like us and were so ready to retreat to their roomette. They were able to look at the canyon coming out of Clovis and then since we were on the opposite side, they moved in and shared our seats to watch the snow coming down and look at the view. While it wasn't the storm I wanted, the snow was sticking to the trees and was special.
The overnight in Reno was nice. We stayed at the Silver Legacy, mostly since it's so close to the station. I checked the status of the returning Zephyr and since it was right on time, we skipped breakfast and went to the station, hoping for the last call for breakfast. Our Zephyr came in on time. The odd thing that happened was our attendant didn't have our names! We were in the right car and she took our bags and told us to go on up to breakfast. We had French toast - super yummy! - and then went back to our roomettes. Since we weren't told any differently, I guess everything was okay. I think I may have seen our attendant when I was making a cup of coffee but never actually caught her name and had any interaction with her until she had me wait for the cart to take us to the station. Oh well, at least we had Pete on the way out. Our conductor was Jeff and he's just great! He came by and collected our tickets. The trip home we had some snow and another fabulous lunch. One thing which made us all giggle was that at breakfast, my step father asked if there was chocolate and our server was "What? Chocolate?" He meant chocolate milk but that was it! He had acquired a new nickname so when we went to lunch, she just smiled and took care of Chocolate!
It was just a great trip and I am hoping that all of us will be able to take another trip soon! I have attached the link to our pictures. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97163322@N02/sets/72157641778070153/
We left from Emeryville and with the nightmare traffic due to the rain, we did not get to Emeryville as timely as I would have liked and so did not get to grab our breakfast from Subway. Due to the lateness of the trip, the cost of a roomette was only a $10 difference between coach and a roomette so the roomette was a no brainer. One of the special aspects of our trip was that my mother and step-dad decided to come and we were able to arrange for the them to have a roomette across from us going and behind us coming back. It was their first trip in a roomette and her first semi-long distance trip and I really wanted them to have a great experience.
We were met by our attendant at the door, Pete. He was really on the ball. He offered to take our bags but since we've become veterans, we had packed lightly and went on up by ourselves. I did mention that my parents would be joining us at Martinez. We were underway about 10 minutes late but called ahead and let my parents know we were on on way. Once they boarded in Martinez, my husband helped them up the stairs and I waved them on down! They were smiling and really seemed to settle in nicely. Pete then came by and gave us all a great orientation... lots of energy and spoke clearly to my parents. We had lunch and all had the Angus burger - a first for me since we usually eat breakfast later so I also eat a bit lighter at lunch. It was really great! I took a picture about halfway though... I always want to take pictures but normally forget and jump right in! We also wrote their meal tickets for them, showing them what we had written... you know, Amtrak Dining 101! We moved to the observation car after just so they could get the full experience but they seemed to be like us and were so ready to retreat to their roomette. They were able to look at the canyon coming out of Clovis and then since we were on the opposite side, they moved in and shared our seats to watch the snow coming down and look at the view. While it wasn't the storm I wanted, the snow was sticking to the trees and was special.
The overnight in Reno was nice. We stayed at the Silver Legacy, mostly since it's so close to the station. I checked the status of the returning Zephyr and since it was right on time, we skipped breakfast and went to the station, hoping for the last call for breakfast. Our Zephyr came in on time. The odd thing that happened was our attendant didn't have our names! We were in the right car and she took our bags and told us to go on up to breakfast. We had French toast - super yummy! - and then went back to our roomettes. Since we weren't told any differently, I guess everything was okay. I think I may have seen our attendant when I was making a cup of coffee but never actually caught her name and had any interaction with her until she had me wait for the cart to take us to the station. Oh well, at least we had Pete on the way out. Our conductor was Jeff and he's just great! He came by and collected our tickets. The trip home we had some snow and another fabulous lunch. One thing which made us all giggle was that at breakfast, my step father asked if there was chocolate and our server was "What? Chocolate?" He meant chocolate milk but that was it! He had acquired a new nickname so when we went to lunch, she just smiled and took care of Chocolate!
It was just a great trip and I am hoping that all of us will be able to take another trip soon! I have attached the link to our pictures. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97163322@N02/sets/72157641778070153/
