Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I took a short hiatus from blogging, to go on a quite spectacular 11- day trip to celebrate my 60th birthday (gulp)! We were looking for new and memorable experiences to mark this milestone, and boy did we meet that brief!

We had a few ideas on the table, and finally decided to ride the California Zephyr through Colorado and Utah. I’d never been to those particular states, and never slept on a sleeper car either!

We did a lot of planning (see my post on tips for mature travelers), ensuring we got the full train experience, while spending a decent amount of time off the train exploring this beautiful part of the country.

Check out this fun itinerary from East to West, and back again!

Day 1

Uber to the airport. For our trip, we planned to rent a car in Altoona PA for the last leg, drive to a PSU football game in State College, then drive home and return the car near our house. So leaving the car at the airport wasn’t an option- and that’s a case where Uber or ride sharing is the best.

Whether or not it fits with your plans, it can also be expensive to leave your car for days at the airport. Be sure to check out the costs of Uber versus airport parking.

Fly to Chicago. During this shorter part of the trip, my husband and I sat together, and I was glad, because there was a lot of turbulence. He even thought it was a rough flight, so I wasn’t too happy. See my post on dealing with a fear of flying.

Finally, after much stressing and praying- we made it. Phew! The layover was supposed to be two hours, but with delays it was more like four.

At least we found a great hot dog place for lunch!

Arrived in San Francisco about 8 pm. With every flight delay, we kept changing dinner reservations, and finally just cancelled. But we were really happy with this hotel, right at Pier 39 in Fisherman’s Wharf (Hotel Riu- see it here). It had a great little cafe, so we got snacks for dinner- sushi, a panini and some hummus and pretzels. We tend to do this a lot if our timing is off for sit-down meals. It works great!

Day 2

The hotel offered quite literally the hugest, most incredible breakfast I have ever had- and it was free!

Hop on-Hop Off Bus.

We always ride these buses in every city we visit. It’s an awesome way to get an idea of everything worth seeing, and also get a lay of the land. They always provide a set of ear phones so you can hear a little narration of different areas, with some interesting history of the city. Warning, the narrators’ conversations on the SF audio are very cheesy!

Also know that the SF bus can get cold if you’re sitting on top, which you really must do! Especially if you take a sunset tour, which we also did on this trip. You might think all of California is warm, but remember San Francisco is in the north and cooler.

Fog Harbor Lunch. We finally got to the restaurant we intended to visit the night before. I love seafood, and was excited to try their ‘world famous’ clam chowder. So good. After lunch, we took a walk round the Pier, so many cute shops and food places!

Took uber to our hotel in Emeryville across the bay, near where we were getting the train the next morning. Left the bags, freshened up, and took the ferry back to the city. I loved it-had a drink while enjoying the ride. The view of the city is amazing.

The ferry station in San Francisco is incredible and has everything. Still full from lunch, we had ice cream, then took the sunset bus tour. I really did wish I had brought a winter hat! This tour was slightly different, so we truly saw everything riding the two buses. This one went over the Bay Bridge to Treasure Island, so we got off there to take an Uber to our hotel.

Day 3

We got up early and had another decent (and free) breakfast. We met a couple who was actually taking the same train to Grand Junction, Colorado. The walk to the station was pretty short, so we did a good job getting a very close hotel.

Got there with plenty of time to spare (my husband was worried).

I plan to write a blog post specifically about traveling on Amtrak trains, so won’t go into huge detail now. But suffice to say it was fairly easy getting to our seats and figuring out where things were located like bathrooms, dining cars, and (my favorite) the observation car! After realizing how small our roomette was (beware people with claustrophobia like me), this car was a blessing, with huge windows and space.

Meals. It’s really nice that these are included in the sleeper car costs- they were not bad! The seating awkward at first, because you have to sit with another couple in order to save space. But it actually turned out to be somewhat fun meeting new people from all over the country and world. My husband can quite literally talk to anyone, which made it way easier for me, as I’m more shy, and am not a fan of small talk. (See my “When An Introvert Loves an Extrovert’ post).

Case in point, we had an amazing conversation with two fun and interesting ladies, a therapist from San Francisco and retired teacher. They were so easy to talk to, I think I shared way more about my personal life than I intended (maybe because she was a therapist!). Delightful people.

At dinner, we sat with a couple- Fred and Shirley from Ohio. They were on their honeymoon- he was 90 and she was 87! Inspiring!! Everyone has an interesting story to tell-Fred was in the Vietnam war, and worked on repairing airplanes while in the Navy.

When it got dark and there was nothing to see, we played Rummy and watched an episode of my husband’s favorite show, Andor.

Day 4

We ate breakfast with an interesting guy from Indiana, who was really helpful, since he and his wife have taken many Amtrak trips. There were cool canyons and rocks to see as we rolled through Colorado. We met a couple from Oregon who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary too!

Finally it was time to get off the train in Grand Junction, CO., where we rented a car and drove through the most amazing views to Gateway Canyon Resort. Warning, if you plan to visit this resort (which I do highly recommend), understand that there is literally nothing else in this town, except the Gateway General Store, but even that was closed. So the resort is IT- plan accordingly! It is beautiful though!

After some swimming and drinks on the patio, we got a pizza and had a nice pre-birthday night. My husband got me a beautiful string of pearls!

Day 5- 60th Birthday

I splurged on a relaxing deep tissue massage at the spa to start the day(I wish I would have known we could use the facilities like the sauna and steam room the entire time we were there!), and drove to Palisade to get the wine trolley!

This trolley took us to four cool wineries. We met a couple from Denver, celebrating their first anniversary! Rob was wearing an Eagles hat and t-shirt, so we bonded over that immediately (Go Birds!). He even bought me a wine flight for my birthday- he and his wife Martine were just sweethearts.

After this incredibly fun wine tour, we headed back to Grand Junction for my birthday dinner. We stayed at the Hotel Maverick, mostly because their restaurant, ‘Devil’s Kitchen’, was up on the rooftop with dazzling views, and a creative menu too.

I’d say this was a pretty decent birthday!

Day 6

After breakfast at the hotel (scrambled eggs again?), we drove about an hour to Moab. There, we went to a funky, popular lunch place, the Trail’s End, with a “polygamy burger”-that made me laugh 🙂

We did a little shopping in Moab for souvenirs. I like to get things people can use/eat. So I got my daughters some special hot honey made in Utah.

Time to get on the four-hour tour bus to Arches National Park.

We had a great guide, who showed us every arch and ‘Who Do’ (who you think I look like?). Just like clouds, people can see literally anything in these rocks. Popular ones are the Gossipers and Three Penguins.

Among many other things, we saw the famous Delicate Arch, that is on the Colorado license plate and serves as the main state emblem. It was critical I get a photo of my husband and this Arch, since he went here with his nephew years ago and never took a photo with him and the Arch! Checked that off the list!

The tour we took had a few shorter hikes, and a long-ish one out to the Double Arch.

If you go, be sure to bring water, hiking shoes and walking sticks.

It was 94 degrees even in late afternoon, so a bit uncomfortable.

But driving back, we saw this beautiful sunset hitting the rocks.

We picked up Subway hoagies and took them to our special ‘hotel’, Under Canvas. Yes, we stayed in a glamping tent! Book it here!

This place is supposed to be a ‘certified dark sky park’, meaning one of the best places to see stars…but it was cloudy, boo. But then it started lightening-incredible natural fireworks!

I was in my element drinking my wine looking out over this peaceful spot.

Day 7

It was amazing waking up to the sun shining through the tent. My rating of the comfort was 9/10. The bed was super comfortable, although the bathroom situation was weird. You have to actually walk to the ‘bath house’, which if you’re an older traveler and have to pee in the nighttime, it’s a pain. It did have running water and toilets though!

Free coffee and drinks were available in the main tent in the morning, and we enjoyed them on our porch, taking in the incredible view of mountains.

We then drove back to Moab, since we had heard of a great breakfast place-Cactus Jacks Pancakes. FYI, you cannot have an alcoholic drink like a Mimosa or Bloody Mary until 11:30 am in Utah. Good to know.

The next stop was Dead Horse Point to check out what we heard (from a lady on the train) were amazing views. It was a $10 entrance fee to drive up through this incredible park and see some of best views in this area. I say it was well worth it. 

Back to Grand Junction AGAIN, to get a cheap hotel close to the train station. After a nap and freshening up, we went out for a casual dinner at the Ale House in town to unwind.

Day 8

We got up early, had yet another free breakfast- and made it on time to return the car and catch the train to Chicago. No missed trains so far!

At lunch we sat with a cute couple from England, who had literally traveled everywhere! They were with a tour of 27 people, going to places like the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and NYC. Even though close to 70, they had only been together 4 years- is this a theme?

From the observation car, we had wonderful views of the rocky mountains.

Our dinner date was with a couple from Granby, CO. Come to find out she was in the Colorado Bowling Hall of Fame! I TOLD you that everyone has a story!

That night I’m not proud to admit that I had a total meltdown, because I didn’t want to sleep in that small roomette car. We finally got to bed late and I guess we managed a few hours of sleep. But the meltdown was so bad that we discussed possibly getting off the train early, driving back and skipping the next train altogether. Ugh.

Day 9

Got up early (to someone yelling ‘Good morning, Good morning!’ at 6:30 am!), and ate breakfast with a couple from Australia. The wife also had a hard time with claustrophobia and was up most of the night, so I didn’t feel so bad.

We decided to stick it out and finish the train ride. We sat in the spacious observation car all morning, and saw lots of Iowa and Illinois farms.

We ate lunch with a cute couple from Wisconsin, he wanted to sing Happy Birthday to me…no thanks!

In the afternoon we wanted a break from being near so many people, so hung out in the roomette. 

Got off in Chicago to a wonderful surprise. Apparently if you book a sleeping car, you have access to this incredible lounge at Union Station. Free snacks, soft drinks, a bar, and full complement of specialty coffees. Plus comfortable seats with outlets. This honestly started to make booking a sleeper car worth it.

From here we took the Floridian (it goes to Miami) to Pittsburgh. We decided that since we (well me) had a hard time sleeping on the bunk beds, we’d try sitting up in the seats that night- we had to get off the train at like 5 am anyway!

Day 10

Did we sleep? I would say, ‘sort of’, maybe 2-3 hours with pillows and our legs up on each others’ seats. But we made it to the Pittsburgh station to wait for about two hours (old time coffee machines where you need coins? OY. ) We were in Business Class (thank goodness), so got to board first, and better yet, lots of extra leg room.

This train is called ‘the Pennsylvanian’ and took us from Pittsburgh to Altoona, Pa. You forget that Pennsylvania has beautiful scenery too! The Horseshoe Curve is apparently worth seeing.

After getting off the train, we rented a car. We had time to kill in Altoona, and all I can say is that you can 100% find things to see wherever you go. We found the home of the very first Sheetz store, a railroad museum, and the Boyer candy factory that makes the famous mallow cups.

You apparently need to try ‘Altoona Pizza’, so we dared it for lunch. It’s made with old bread, green peppers, salami and American cheese. Not my thing, but when in Rome.

The Altoona Grand Hotel was cheap (like most things in the town), but we had a whirlpool tub in our room, and the pool was actually open! (they never are these days)

It was so smart to stay here; only a 45 minute ride to State College. I would highly recommend doing this if you’re going to a Penn state game like we were doing the next day. Save yourself the traffic and aggravation.

The hotel even had a special welcome for PSU fans, and a special drink too!

After some swimming and a hot tub soak, I even napped for a bit, and was able to floss, moisturize my skin and finally feel back to normal after all the crazy train trips. We had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant- and finally slept!

Day 11

Yet another scrambled egg breakfast, but ok. A very easy and scenic drive through the mountains of PA to State College, and it was great to see my daughter and her new apartment! We had a lovely Mediterranean lunch, and took an Uber to the game (that we won 52-6).

We started the two- hour car ride home around 8 pm, so it was a very long but great day-the perfect ending to the trip. We got home safe and sound, tired but thankful for a memorable whirlwind trip. I’d do it again, but with less overnights on the train.

And now I’m 60! It’s time to settle into home life again, try to take off the ten pounds I’ve gained, and get into shape for the next trip!

Have you been on a trip out West, and/or tried a sleeper car? I’d love to hear your highlights and reviews!