Next Adventure: Travel to Los Angeles

 I know it's been a year since I blogged, but I am going to Los Angeles to visit the Nixon and Reagan Libraries!  I will board Amtrak's Sunset Limited in Houston, July 13, and will spend two nights in a roomette, arriving in Los Angeles Monday morning.    While in Los Angeles, I will use all public transportation possible.    I have asked my granddaughter to show me how to use the apps for Uber and Lyft, as that is how I will travel the last few miles to the Reagan Library.

I have been watching YouTube videos on Amtrak, so that I won't act like a total dweeb on the train!   The best piece of advice so far:  The train will not be on time!    Accept it, and enjoy the adventure.   The cost of the roomette (quite expensive) includes all meals in the dining car, and visits to the Observation Lounge Car.

I bought the N scale trains with my jury duty pay.   I earned it, I'm gonna have fun with it.   The above train is a pretty faithful model of the Sunset Limited as it goes through Houston.    From right to left (don't ask) coach, observation lounge, dining car, sleeper (I have a roomette) and the baggage car.  I currently have two Santa Fe engines attached.    I have my eyes on two Amtrak engines on EBay, but that priority has not come up yet! 

I will stay in downtown LA for four nights.   Two days are for presidential libraries and the train rides it will take to get there.    The other two days are unscripted, but could include a train ride along the Pacific Coast, and maybe a visit to the Getty Center.    They have a train that rides on a cushion of air to take us from the parking lot, to the world-class art exhibits on top of a hill.

I am really hoping I like riding Amtrak.   I have never taken Amtrak in all these years!   If I like it, I can see myself taking Amtrak from Houston to Boston (three different trains and three different classes) in order to visit a number of presidential sites, museums, etc all over New England, and Eastern New York.   I really don't want to drive, as it is a 28 hour drive to Boston!   At my current pace, we would be talking about 4 travel days in the car before the vacation really starts.   My days of driving straight through are long over.

So sit back, and check back about July 14 for my next entry.