All Aboard!

Day #1:  Sacramento to Nevada

“It's not getting from A to B. It's not the beginning or the destination that counts. It's the ride in between...This train is alive with things that should be seen and heard. It's a living, breathing something -- you just have to want to learn its rhythm.” 
                                                                                                                                                   ― David Baldacci, The Christmas Train

So the adventure begins!  Just for a little background --- we decided in the Fall to travel to the East Coast this summer by train.  We made our reservations on New Year's Eve '18 -- Sacramento to Chicago on the California Zephyr, and Chicago to Boston on the Lake Shore Express.  We booked a "roomette," and as we started looking into the sleeper cars we realized it's not exactly going to be the compartment on I Love Lucy.

The more we researched and measured, the more we realized our "compartment" would be roughly the size of 1/2 our king-sized bed.  As I said, this will be an adventure!!  Then, a couple of weeks ago we received a message from Amtrak saying that the Chicago - Boston leg of the trip had some track repair being done, but not to worry, they have arranged "alternate transportation."  Not to worry?  Pretty sure this meant a BUS.  After some calling and wangling, we decided they will be dropping us off in Albany and we'll drive from there to Rye.

We flew to Sacramento on Saturday afternoon, spent the night (after preparing for train food at the Black Bear Cafe), and boarded the train this morning.

Checking out of Sacramento.  Ready for adventure!

Ready to roll!

Sacramento train station.

 

We settled into our little compartment with 2 comfy chairs and a big picture window.  After some pretty junky scenery, we headed out of Sacramento and settled back to some gorgeous landscapes.  We climbed the Sierras and went through the snow-covered Donner Pass, where we saw an eagle's nest with eagle in residence (magnificent), and then back down the mountains, following the Truckee River through miles and miles of open land.  We're mostly just relaxing, looking, and enjoying.  We're also listening to "Rebecca" on Audible -- one of my favorite books and one of our favorite movies.  Really enjoyable.

Mimi gets the upper!

The most interesting part of the trip so far (other than the beautiful scenery) is the opportunity to meet lots of different people.  At lunch we chatted with a really nice young man who is expecting his first baby in a couple of weeks.  He was asking for parenting advice!  We also ate with a very taciturn man, not particularly interested in socializing (see picture below).

"Hey Boo"

In the observation car in the afternoon, I had a long conversation with an arborist from Denver, and learned about the trees outside the train, the trees in Denver, and the influx of the Golden Locusts.  Very passionate guy!

We ate dinner with a couple from Northern California, and he regaled us with stories of his service as a bodyguard to Charles Schwab, George Shultz, and meeting Henry Kissinger, Tony Blair, and Gavin Newsom.  Very interesting!

The sun is setting over the Nevada plains, our steward Jay is making up our beds, and I'll sign off for the night (we're fairly off the grid -- no wi-fi, so I'm using a quick hotspot connection).  Praying the rocking and rolling will put us right to sleep!