Amtrak Vacations

Amtrak Vacations

My husband and I love trains, and think its an easier
journey than flying somewhere if you have the time. We just took a three day trip from the San
Francisco Bay Area main station,
Emeryville to Reno, Nevada. The train
journey, and two nights hotel cost us
under $400. We took one of my clients
with us, a lady who is 88, loves to gamble, and she was in Heaven. We’ve done this trip several times before,
so know what to do.

The journey from the bay area to Reno goes through the
Sierra Mountains, no snow yet, and it was a relaxing six hours. We took a picnic lunch with us, to save
walking to the restaurant car. This is
the California train which goes to Chicago,
then connects to a New York train, so it was full of long distance
travelers. There is also lots of
foreigners on board, who want to see America .

Reno is a very historic town, which goes back to gold mining
days, surrounded by cattle stations, and it is a growing retirement area since
the taxes are kinder than those in California.
Virginia City is an interesting old mining town, and Carson City is also
worth a visit. I always try and
recommend that overseas visitors pay a visit to
Nevada since it is so different than California.

We stayed this trip in Harrah’s Hotel, just across the
street from the train station, which was so convenient. We had dinner at the Steak House in the
hotel one night and it was without a doubt, the best meal I have had in
years. It was their 50^th
anniversary, and the menu was outstanding at a price of $50 per person.
We had crab cakes for the appetizer, a wonderful salad with
strawberries, and a petite filet with
two stuffed prawns as the entrée and a baked Alaska for dessert. A great prize for a spectacular meal.

We spoke with a charming Amtrak lady on the train who recommended us taking the
Empire Builder, or the Northern
Route, Portland to Chicago for our next
trip after my husband told her we loved train trips. We decided that going across the northern
states, like Montana, Idaho, and
Washington when there is snow on the mountains will be a delightful sight to
see.

Our return journey was two
hours late, and it seems that Amtrak often has delays since freight
trains take priority over passenger trains.
This always tickles me since I have never known Rail Europe to have
delays so how do they manage to get freight trains around Europe.

Do look at going to
Seattle, or Vancouver on the train, both great journeys. Los Angeles
is also an enjoyable experience.

The Amtrak staff were so efficient and especially helpful if
you need assistance with the elderly

Maureen Jones

All Horizons Travel/Frosch

825 Santa Cruz Ave

Menlo Park, CA

650-961-2340 Direct

www.allhorizonstvl.com