Riding the California Zephyr

Arlo Guthrie sang about the City of New Orleans, a train I’ve never been on. A few years back Ransom and I took the Lake Shore Limited from New York to Chicago and the Southwest Chief from there to San Bernardino. Today I’m on the California Zephyr. We crossed the Rockies yesterday and are headed west to Emeryville, CA, the end of the line, followed by a 30-minute bus ride to San Francisco.

I’m traveling with my buddy Malette. We spent two nights in Chicago where the highlight was Lyric Opera’s performance of My Fair Lady. There were tempo problems I thought, but it was thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.

When Ransom and I did our transcontinental trip, we were in a room with a couch facing an easy chair. We could both read or one could stretch out and nap while the other relaxed. We had our own bathroom, with shower en suite.

This is NOT that room! I didn’t do my homework well enough and we are in a "roomette" with two seats facing each other -- close enough together that finding room for four legs ain't easy! Those seats become the lower bunk and the upper bunk drops down from the ceiling. I was in that upper bunk the first night. It was not, I am guessing, unlike being in a coffin: the ceiling was inches from my face and the “bed” (I use the term loosely) was just a tad wider than I. I slept horribly and hardly.

Dinner that night and breakfast in the morning were both acceptable: better than one might expect, but hardly gourmet. The linguine carbonara seemed to have corn and lima beans in it until I realized they were a side dish that shared plate space with the pasta. The morning eggs were fine, but the “flaky” croissant, as the menu dubbed it, was flake free and square-shaped (?)

But the views! The Rockies were spectacular. A late spring storm last week left snow everywhere, even in the trees. I took lots of short videos, none of which will do it justice I’m sure.

Whatever shortcomings Amtrak delivers it also provides the best way to see this magnificent country.

Addendum: there’s no Wi-Fi onboard so I can’t post this yet. We just left Winnemucca, NV – four (4!) hours late. Clearly we won’t be painting the town in San Francisco tonight.

Addendum redux: the Sierra Nevadas were also gorgeous. Not as impressive perhaps as the Rockies, but beautiful nonetheless. We remained approximately four hours late so bolted the train at Richmond and took BART into the city. Just spent the night at the lovely Executive Hotel Vintage Court -- thank you, Ransom, for making the reservation. Now on to look for Tony Bennett.