thursdaysd

OK, my last trip I went east and never got to Asia. This time I'm going west, and still not getting to Asia. In fact, I'm currently in Portland OR, and after Seattle and Victoria I'll be heading back east.

I'm not posting a trip report on fodors for this journey - I've been having a great time, but it's not very exciting - but I am blogging. This trip was partly about checking out Portland, and partly about train travel. I've been riding Amtrak across the US, and will ride Via Rail back across Canada. I've been lucky enough to meet up with fodorites in New York and Chicago, and am looking forward to another meeting in Seattle. I'm currently staying with my eldest ex-step-daughter in Portland, and will stay with a woman I met on last year's tour of Bulgaria at my next stop, so this is a much more people oriented trip than usual.

If you are interested in the blog, the intro starts here:
http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...g-portland-or/

The trip proper starts here:
http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...25/taking-off/

crellston

Great blog thursdaysd! It is tempting me to do something similar..

Smeagol

Do it Crellston, you have been ( and always go) to some interesting places. Would love to read about it.

thursdaysd

Thanks, crellston. Do consider it! Besides the California Zephyr, and the Canadian I'll take from Vancouver to Toronto, there are three other routes across the US (well, most of the way, the Florida to New Orleans leg has been out since Katrina). The California Zephyr worked out so well I'm seriously considering another trip, taking the Capitol Limited to Chicago, the Empire Builder to Portland, the Coast Starlight to LA and then the Southwest Chief back east. (Although the Coast Starlight had aproblem this trip.)

The Amtrak website isn't bad, and seat61 has a lot of info. Do book early for the best rates, though.

Kathie

We are looking forward to seeing you next week! We were just talking last night about whether the unusually sunny weather would continue so we can grill salmon for you. If not, we'll likely opt for a neighborhood seafood spot.

thursdaysd

Kathie - really looking forward to seeing you! Do you prefer red or white wine?

I can't believe the weather. It's supposed to be 90 (!!!) in Portland on Sunday.

Smeagol - sorry you don't find my trips interesting...

simpsonc510

The Southwest Chief and the California Zephyr are both great trips. Those trains pass right thru my town!

thursdaysd

simpson - if I'd known, I'd have waved. Unless I was asleep, of course. You do miss two night's worth of scenery, but you get two day's worth you don't get on a plane. And no TSA security drama.

Smeagol

Erm Thursdays I didn't say I didn't find your trips interesting, infact I had just clicked on your blog before I read your comment.... I was actually just giving Crelleston some friendly encouragement if thats ok.

hawaiiantraveler

You are bringing back pleasant memories thursdaysd of when we took our children on the same train route you took out of NY.....must have been 17 or so years ago.... We also stopped a few days in Chicago then Denver and the CA Zepher split in two and we took the Desert Wind on into Las Vegas and finally into LA.

Following along on your blog also and enjoying. Are you stopping off in Banff? The Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise hold a lot of fond memories for a younger mr and mrs ht. Can't wait for your impression of the Canadian Rockies.

Aloha!

Kathie

We tend to be red wine drinkers, thank you.

90 in Portland - you can see just how strange the Pacific NW weather has been. Fortunately, it's not that hot here!

thursdaysd

ht - glad about the memories! The CZ doesn't split any more, you just get to go to San Francisco (really enjoyed SF). The Empire Builder splits, part goes to Portland and part to Seattle.

To get to Banff you have to take the ridiculously expensive private Rocky Mountaineer, so I'm going to Jasper. I'm spending two nights there, and am already signed up for a Sun Dog tour of the Icefields Parkway.

Kathie - cool. I was going to buy wine in the Willamette Valley, but it just reinforced my dislike of Pinot Noir. I'm thinking Cab or Merlot with fish?

crellston

Thanks for the encouragement thursdayd and smeagol. Just got the Rough Guide to USA from the library and hadn't really given much thought to much about how big the USA is. At various time we have visited, the bigger cities such as NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Miami etc, but would really like to incorporate my love of the blues (both Delta and Chicago) and the many different genres of American food with some of the spectacular scenery.

I love travelling by train so will have a look at the Amtrack site to see how feasible it would be to do what I want to do.

So many places, so little time!!

magical

It is time for revisiting old memories,isn't it? Thanks for writing , thursdayd.
I am looking forward to what your impressions are about the Rockies, Lake Louise, and the ice fields.
I do hope the glaciers have stopped receding.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first trip across US, and return across Canada going back some 40 years. At the time, I had made a mental note to return to the Canadian Rockies.....it's one of those places worth a revisit IMHO. 6 years back, we did that, and again enjoyed the natural beauty of the Rockies, and the drive from Jasper to Banff, stopping at the ice fields, and the many glaciers along the way. We were appalled to see how far the ice field had receded....clear sign that the Earth is warming. Also, the glacier at Lake Louise is just a miniature of what it used to be, a mere 34 years before.

We did take the Rocky Mountaineer, on a different trip from Vancouver to Jasper. You are right....it is frightfully expensive, and not at all worth the money. We are not much for train travel, partly because of our experience with RM journey....basically, lack of ability to move about or get any exercise on a long journey, while being fed large meals on the train, albeit chef prepared meals.

thursdaysd

I have high expectations for the Rockies.... I won't make it to Banff, only the RM goes there, not Via Rail, but Jasper sounded lower key, more my style.

I am a big fan of train travel, but the trick for long journeys is too break them up. My two days on the California Zephyr felt just right, I'm not sure how three on the Canadian will work out.

BTW, I'm about to leave Portland for Seattle (Cascades, a day train), and have decided I don't feel any urge to move to Portland after all!

Kathie

Sorry to hear you didn't like that Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. That's what we normally drink with salmon. But if the weather cooperates and we get to grill salmon, we can have a soft merlot with it. With white fishes and shellfish we like dry white wines.

The Cascades is a nice train, used to ride it regularly to the Portland area.

rivet

If you are looking for some exercise in Jasper, you might consider walking around Beauvert Lake at Jasper Park Lodge.

thursdaysd

Had a lovely GTG with Kathie and Cheryl in Seattle. Such fun to meet fodorites and put faces to names.

i preferred Seattle to Portland as a possible place to live. Am now in Victoria, which is overrun by tourists. The weather has gone bad, so I may stay in and write. (After visiting the museum, which is right next door.)

Kathie

We enjoyed our visit with you!

The weather has turned, we have light rain here today. Enjoy the museum!

Kathie

Here is an article and some photos of the new Dale Chihuly museum opening tomorrow here - you'll have to come back!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...l#s=more227438