Taking advantage of a business trip to the East Coast, I decided to spend the weekend in New York with my daughter. I had to get from DC to NYC, thought briefly about flying then decided to take the train. I had heard it was fast, I'm sick of airports, and I'm even more sick of being nickeled and dimed by the airlines. But that's another rant.
I headed to Union Station really early in the morning for the 6:20AM train to New York. Easy check-in, easy to find the gate, and I didn't have to take off my shoes! All looked good until there was a familiar announcement: our departure has been delayed while we find substitute equipment. Hmmm. Sounds like United to me. But a relatively quick 10 minutes later we were boarding.
Lots of room, quiet, no popped ear drums. Get up and walk around if you feel like it. I could learn to really like this.
I didn't realize how small the states are between DC and New York. We got through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware in no time, and didn't spend much longer in Pennsylvania. I think the longest haul will be through New Jersey. Then I'm off and the train heads on to Boston.
I can't say the scenery was all that great, although there were some beautiful spots back in Maryland. But I'd sure do it again. Has anyone out there tried SF to LA?
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I've done NYC - DC - NYC for a day trip on the Acella Express before, and it was amazing. I love trains in general though. I take them whenever the travel time is reasonable because I also loathe dealing with airports and airlines.
I haven't done SF to LA yet, but I've done similar length (and longer) trips on Amtrak. Its always a lot of fun. The long haul trains that you'd ride on that route (Coast Starlight I believe) have great lounge cars with huge windows that wrap up around the walls into the ceiling. They also have larger seats in coach and full service dining in a dining car. One direction will probably be an overnight trip though, and I'd REALLY suggest a roomette on whichever direction that is.
I'm going to do it again. For some reason I liked it much better this last time. Years ago I took the train from Chicago to NYC, and hated it -- couldn't sleep for one thing. But for a short trip it's terrific.
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