On Sunday, March 8, I decided to combine a longtime wish to see the country by rail with another longtime wish to visit distant relations.
On Monday, March 9, I learned:
1. I should have come here to Amtrak Unlimited before I signed up for Amtrak Guest Rewards, so I could give someone here a referral bonus (sorry).
2. The truck-caused derailment in North Carolina injured Amtrak passengers and affected rail travel across the region. (Were this a cruise line, I would expect fabulous deals on tickets due to cancelations by spooked travelers.)
3. Chase no longer offers the Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard for new members. (Even though the AGR welcome email I have since received still mentions it repeatedly.)
4. The Voterama in Congress summary in my local newspaper of last week's votes showed that lawmakers keep trying to de-fund Amtrak. Although the measures to do so were defeated, I took this as a now-or-not-likely-later sign I should plan my June trip now, rather than waiting for last-minute deals and upgrades.
So, I just booked my round-trip travel from Florida to Oregon to visit, as my chosen moniker here implies, my niece and family in Eugene for an end-of-school event in June. Roomettes all the way, and if I could figure out how to copy and paste the itinerary here I might. However, as the trip is still months away, I have time to lurk here and read travelogues and advice. I'm not active on social media, nor am I particularly outgoing in person. (My general response to crowds is "eek," with scintillating conversational interjections such as "meep" and "urk" when I have to talk to strangers.) I do believe in trip reports, so I plan to write of my experiences here when I travel. I'm not so good with inserting photos, but I hope to learn as I go.
Though I doubt I'll post much here unless I have questions, I am glad to have found this forum. From the browsing I've done, you're a well-informed and caring community. I already have a shopping list of items to include in my carry-on: clothespins, duct tape, flashlight, ear plugs and whatnot.
--Auntie C
On Monday, March 9, I learned:
1. I should have come here to Amtrak Unlimited before I signed up for Amtrak Guest Rewards, so I could give someone here a referral bonus (sorry).
2. The truck-caused derailment in North Carolina injured Amtrak passengers and affected rail travel across the region. (Were this a cruise line, I would expect fabulous deals on tickets due to cancelations by spooked travelers.)
3. Chase no longer offers the Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard for new members. (Even though the AGR welcome email I have since received still mentions it repeatedly.)
4. The Voterama in Congress summary in my local newspaper of last week's votes showed that lawmakers keep trying to de-fund Amtrak. Although the measures to do so were defeated, I took this as a now-or-not-likely-later sign I should plan my June trip now, rather than waiting for last-minute deals and upgrades.
So, I just booked my round-trip travel from Florida to Oregon to visit, as my chosen moniker here implies, my niece and family in Eugene for an end-of-school event in June. Roomettes all the way, and if I could figure out how to copy and paste the itinerary here I might. However, as the trip is still months away, I have time to lurk here and read travelogues and advice. I'm not active on social media, nor am I particularly outgoing in person. (My general response to crowds is "eek," with scintillating conversational interjections such as "meep" and "urk" when I have to talk to strangers.) I do believe in trip reports, so I plan to write of my experiences here when I travel. I'm not so good with inserting photos, but I hope to learn as I go.
Though I doubt I'll post much here unless I have questions, I am glad to have found this forum. From the browsing I've done, you're a well-informed and caring community. I already have a shopping list of items to include in my carry-on: clothespins, duct tape, flashlight, ear plugs and whatnot.
--Auntie C
