4/23/2017 10:20 AM
I’m on the California Zephyr heading to Chicago.
The train pulled into Emeryville at 8:45 AM. There might be about 50 of us that boarded here. Folk with sleeper cars were up front… and us cheapskates (non-sleeper car types) boarded the cars in the middle and the back. Unlike the regular type train I usually take (Amtrak’s San Joaquin) the boarding took about 20 minutes. One would be lucky to go past 5 minutes wiith the regular train.
So far along the way we have picked up passengers at Richmond and Martinez… adding about 7 more passengers. (Yeah, I looked out the window… and counted.)
The thing is, there is no wifi service on this train. (I did kype a signal at Martinez to update facebook) so, blow by blow blogging is not going to be published until I get to Chicago on Tuesday probably. Sorry… dems da breaks.
Now I’m sure you’re asking, “Wait… if you are not in the sleeper car do you stay up for 51 odd hours straignt?” Nope. Unlike the regular train, the lounge seats on this train have a generous lean back.
See? So, to add to the comfort I brought along a fleece travel blanket… that I’ll use as a pillow.
Next, I’m going to check out the scennic car.
SCENIC CAR
This is pretty neat. You can see all the way up and around. And conveniently the cafe car is down below. The cafe car is not to be confused with the dining car… but more on that later.
Also, in Sacramento (where we picked 50 or so more folk) a California History Society volunteer got on. So, as you sit watching the scenic majesty out the window you also get a running commentary of what you are viewing outside. This however is only available in the scenic car between Sacramento and Truckee.
BTW… this is Larry who sits across the aisle from me and is also going all the way to Chicago. So far we’ve been chatting about common interest… since we’re about the same age… and connected common common taste in music.
A general word about the folk traveling on the train as of the moment. A lot of them are in their 70’s.