What’s It Like On The Amtrak California Zephyr Train

we flew in last night to Chicago and we've left ourselves half a day to do some sightseeing so where are we going team we're going to be going on the Amtrak California zapper from Chicago to San Francisco so we wanted just to come down and see the bean and we want to try and pack as much in in half a day because at two o'clock we get on a train for San Francisco soap so here we have we've got another large window here with lots of supplies we've got lots of toilet rolls I hope that's not a reflection on the meals they're going to service team that we need three toilet rolls for two days oh my goodness look at all the little towels there but the supplies are very generous so there's four packs of salt and I don't know what the hand soap hand soap there's little uh cups for water this is another hand soap dispenser and we're going to try our trick on this train of putting the putting the uh the plug down while we're at night um lots of handrails around so if the Train's rocking it's going to be secure for us but we've got a massive area for luggage here which you wouldn't have in a normal cabin and then coming over here here's the Sleep above so there's one chair here got a nice pillow and then there's another chair here facing but you you're on the window so as Tina said there's one North one south facing window which is very unique because we're the forward for the character and then there's the stairs to try and get into the top bunk there's another box of Kleenex down here it's a bit dark and here's the upper bunk pulls down at night so that we get two beds so so far it looks great there's bottled water complimentary uh room attendant has just come to us yeah and told us that if we go upstairs there's a coffee station with coffee and also additional bottled water so we're not going to run short of water on this trip so what do you think team I think I think it's looking great Norm it's uh it's it's a fantastic room it is really oh and the other thing I can just see down here normally is we actually have a table yeah little table in this room and boarding was great the um very simple the Millennium Lounge which is their sort of business class Lounge yeah it was just excellent there was it's only about three floors three levels and lots of snacks available package snacks coffee teas soda bottled water um we we felt very well looked after yeah and we had a great half day in Chicago oh we did we saw some fabulous sites didn't we norm and we've been looking with the weather team just beautiful really hot 80 degree day it's two o'clock in the afternoon and we're going to be setting our nearly said setting sales setting sale what do you say on the trade Norm is it all abort I guess so [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] I think it's just awesome Norm we've been on the train for about two and a half hours yeah and we've been up into the observation car which was really nice and I guess we're getting ready to have a first fresh air break yeah okay team first up at Galesburg wow and it is incredibly hot isn't it normal yeah wow it's beautiful so we're having a good time we're just about to go for our dining car experience yeah um and we're just having a stretch of our legs so welcome together [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] it's 6 30 and we decided to get an early start in the dining car as it opens at 6 30 for breakfast I'm having scrambled eggs sausage potato and they throw a croissant as well which I didn't ask for and I'm gonna have this special omelette which is full of vegetables and I'm gonna have bacon on the side with a croissant so after a hearty breakfast we're going to navigate our way back to our room these are the roommates which is in the first Sleeper Car we're in the second Sleeper Car and see one of the coffee stations there Norm on the left yeah 24-hour coffee yep then the bigger bedrooms are here the sleeper class for bedrooms so you can see their rooms are wider than the roommates and here we are coming up to go through from one Carriage to the next through the doors you just press the button it gets a bit wobbly in the middle so there are handrails so these are the roommates that are in our Sleeper Car yes and here's our coffee station we have all the complimentary bottled water on top which we pick one up every time we go past we thought this was a great thing yeah complimentary water and here we are going down the stairs because we're on the lower level of the sleeper car so here's the whole way to our room our rooms at the end it's a shower there are three restrooms just down here which is very handy and we also have one in our room so we're back from breakfast gives us a chance to have a sit down work out what we're going to do but we're on the outskirts of Denver yet going past a really big Cemetery here so you do tend to see quite a different side we're in the dome car coming into Denver we thought it'd be a great place to see the approach to the city and here we are going past I don't know it's quite a lot of industrial buildings and things on the way in and this is a little river that's down by the side we back into Denver funnily enough so it takes a bit of maneuvering and here we are at Union Station in Denver we arrived late so we didn't have the chance to explore it leaving Union Station in Denver passing by Coors Field the Colorado Rockies baseball team ground and going through the suburbs of Denver getting ready for the Rocky Mountains we have been told that the scenery is just stunning leaving Denver so here we are in the observation car and we are all ready we're starting to gain altitude um as we go into the rock is through the Rockies and over the rock is is just beautiful scenery just gorgeous blue skies and a family of elk wow wonderful to see wildlife here's a Windbreak that the rail company put up um because the wind comes whipping off the mountain and buffets the trains on this track so this is a safety prevention it's really neat isn't it so we've we've got to almost 9 000 feet above sea level and so we're coming into the Moffett tunnel which is one of the uh engineering Feats of this rail line and our ears keep popping don't they normally the thing about the morphic tunnel is it's one of many on this track but it's the longest they ask us not to move around from rail car to rail car because of the diesel fumes that could enter into the cars so we all sat where we were told to yeah and then we're out of the tunnel into the bright Sunshine again we are so lucky with the weather gorgeous and just seeing some of these mountain peaks it's it's just wonderful and there's a lake down there and then just Rivers beautiful these are the headwaters of the Colorado River and then it's starting to feel like lunchtime team wow and we have decided to have lunch in our room so we are going to order room service and have lunch in the cabin and they will deliver all your meals to your room if you want to do that but we just felt we'd like some private tasks yes I think you lift the lids off making your way to answer all your questions together okay team where are we today we are at Glenwood Springs and this is another one of those exercise breaks or a smoke break yeah absolutely just about five minutes we've got to get some fresh air which is great let us show you Glenwood Springs and our train there's the station over here Colton is a hotel there no it is a very train [Music] thank you [Music] thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign to the largest rail yard on the west coast and it was the site of a historic explosion during the Vietnam War when some rail cars exploded with ammunitions but just amazing amount of Union Pacific engines here we've never ever seen anything quite like this on our trip from Chicago to Emeryville no they are really wonderful to look at aren't they Norm very colorful yeah so now we're counting down the stations to uh our final destination this is Sacramento and it's going to be the last fresh air break smoke break and it's just wonderful seeing Sacramento it is and you know the main thing is um we were here a long time ago but now we're going to be able to say we have set foot in Sacramento and it's really really nice and we did get a chance to see there's the Old Railway Station building over there yeah but we definitely have got the sense that this is the end of the trip yeah um there's only a few stations left and we are really surprised because we are running at about 90 minutes late and for a train that has gone such a huge distance we think this is really good we love this highway here it's a divided highway and in this Center section of Davis California they have some amazing blooming shrubs that hides the traffic eyesight but just look at the blossoms on that thing we were found them just stunning just beautiful to look at our anticipation is absolutely sky-high to see the first water oh and there it is Norm so we're crossing over trying to get into Emeryville it's um it's just been an amazing trip and we hope our bus is going to be there to greet us we've been guaranteed it will be and here we are at the end of our trip so thanks for joining us on this Mammoth trip

Channel: This Is Our Retirement

Views: 33,778

Keywords: retirement travel, this is our retirement, norm and tina, California Zephyr Train, amtrak trains, long distance train, chicago to san francisco amtrak, chicago to san francisco train, amtrak bus transfer, emeryville amtrak transfer, emeryville san francisco bus transfer, amtrak zephyr train cost, Amtrak’s most scenic train, amtrak california zephyr, The California zephyr, The California zephyr amtrak, The California zephyr train journey, The California zephyr train

Id: dvLtj1n5-nI

Length: 22min 47sec (1367 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 08 2023