Bucket List Amtrak Adventure

So when I lived in Mississippi my family frequently took the train to New Orleans. The City of New Orleans runs from Chicago to New Orleans and we used to play spoons and eat a picnic lunch on the four hour trip. The very first time I rode "the City" I was in the first grade.  My class went on a field trip from our school in Magnolia, MS to Osyka, MS.  It was only a ten mile trip but I was hooked on trains from that day. That was way before Arlo Guthrie made our train famous.

I boarded a train with my family today...22 hours from Seattle to Sacramento. This trip had been on my bucket list for years and I finally did it.  We flew to Seattle three days ago and visited with my oldest niece. The weather was amazing - not a cloud in the sky for all three days. Took photos at the very first Starbucks. Bought t-shirts at the U of Washington.  Ate lots of seafood and walked many miles which was a good thing because on day two I bought a dozen cupcake minis at Cupcake Royale and the five of us ate every one after lunch.

The Amtrak Coast Starlight was very nice and the service was excellent...sleeper car 1132. A big thanks to our car attendant Paul - he took great care of us.  We had a wine tasting in the afternoon and dinner with white linen tablecloths and napkins. We spent most of our time in the Parlour Car taking photos as we passed through large and small-town America. Which reminded me of my first grade trip and Magnolia...our small town with a famous train running through it.

Lunchtime assault