Category Archives: Trip Reports

Chicago Seminars Friendships and an OC Meetup on Saturday October 25 at 12pm

Chicago Sign

Chicago Seminars Friendships and an OC Meetup on Saturday October 25 at 12pm

Good afternoon everyone, I had a great time at the Chicago Seminars (and not just because I won a prize in the raffle).  My favorite part of attending various travel conferences is meeting people.  I love when blog readers come up to me and tell me how much they love my blog (thank you!) and how some of my articles have helped them plan and book their upcoming vacation.  I also saw some familiar friends, like Ray, the grandfather of churning, who always has fascinating stories (and outfits) to share.  If you go to travel conferences often, you will start to see many familiar faces and start to form very good friendships.  I have even gone on a few trips with people I have met at travel conferences.  Traveling with someone who plays the miles and points game with you is great.  If you are skeptical of attending travel conferences, read Why you Should go to Travel Conferences by Yourself #Rant

Grant and Ray Chicago Seminars 2014

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Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip Summary and my Train Traveling Thoughts

a man sitting on a couch and looking at a model train

Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip Summary and my Train Traveling Thoughts

For those of you not following along at home, here are the 5 parts of my Amtrak Coast Starlight journey:

I promise this is my last Amtrak post for a while.  While on the train, I had a lot of free time so I passed the time looking out the windows, taking pictures, and writing blog posts.  The journey took me from Seattle down to Los Angeles and stopped several times (sometimes for 2 minutes, sometimes for 45+ minutes), it just depends on the train traffic and if we are ahead of schedule or not.  Train travel is not for everyone, but it is worth considering a trip across this great country.  Here is a map of the journey:

Amtrak Coast Starlight Train Stops Map

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Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip – Part 5: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner in the Dining Car and Parlour Car

Parlour Car Logo

Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip – Part 5: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner in the Dining Car and Parlour Car

If you like looking at pictures of food, this post is just for you.  First things first, you need a reservation for lunch and dinner in the dining car and the parlour car.  Both restaurants are in adjoining cars and serve different meals.  You need to make a reservation otherwise you will not be able to eat at either restaurant.  The Amtrak attendant will walk through the parlour and sleeping cars and make reservations for everyone.

Lunch Reservation

The dining car has 16-18 tables while the parlour car has only 8 tables (so the parlour car reservations fill up faster).

Parlour Car Table Parlour Car Table 2

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Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip – Part 4: Bedrooms at Night, Showers, Parlour Car, and Movie Theater

By popular request, here is is what the Amtrak bedrooms look like when the beds are all folded down into what I like to call “sleep mode.”  Prepare yourself for some slumber party pictures…

The upper bunk…

Grant in Bunk

My friend Victor in the lower bunk…

Victor in Bunk

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