RAILING AWAY! — The Weekly Opine

New Mexico’s rugged beauty offers ample photo opportunities. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Riding Amtrak, Western style.

Officially, I am hooked. Although admittedly, in the days leading up to my most recent rail adventure I began having second thoughts. Was another 4-nights round-trip excursion on Amtrak really a good idea? Sure, my prior three train trips, to Washington, D.C., New York City and Miami Beach, had all been fun experiences. But maybe a trip to and from Los Angeles/San Diego would be better served by flying.

However, Amtrak had already been paid in full. Fortunately, the morning of the trip I woke up enthused about the prospect of seeing the country from the coziness of a sleeper car roomette.

One reason I am a train travel aficionado is the unhurried, mellow atmosphere at the train station. Another is that, unlike air travel, which is solely about getting from point A to point B, the train ride is an integral part of the vacation experience. Amtrak did not disappoint!

Eat and greet

The Amtrak dining experience is unique; you choose a reservation time and then go to the dining car and are seated with strangers. I’ve shared meals with fun, interesting people and the L.A. trip was no exception. Dinner with a couple from Northern Virginia and a pie-maker from Dodge City. Breakfast with a couple from Pittsburgh. Lunch with a man from Palm Springs and a woman from Riverside, California. Dinner with a woman from Wisconsin and her college-age daughter. Pleasurable, interesting conversation and the food was very good. (So was the wine!)

Same thing when the train makes a stop and you step out for fresh air. Chatted up a guy from Poughkeepsie and another couple from Pittsburgh. Talked with grandparents and their 9-year old grandson whose sleeper room was next to mine. They were headed to the Grand Canyon. The grandson showed me how to make time-lapse videos using my iPhone.

Check out Events

This week’s blog is primarily a photo gallery. Pictures explain the adventure better than words and provide a sense for the Events link at theweeklyopine.com. The three topics previously posted under Events include “Pfleger TKOs Chicago,” “Out of Town on a Rail” and “The Great Spectacle.”

Keep scrolling down here to check out “Railing Away!” photos. They will also reside under theweeklyopine.com Events link.

Midday mellowness abounds in Union Station’s Great Hall in Chicago. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Cozy roomette quarters have a Mercury capsule feel. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Glaciers did a number on Illinois, making it the second flattest state after Florida. Incessant rain has done a number on Illinois farmers. Many bare fields in late-June. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

The Mississippi River is more intimidating when swollen from a deluge of rain. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

The Harvey Hotel in Dodge City, Kansas. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Storefronts in La Junta, Colorado during a stop for fresh air. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Here we go! First close-up of mountains, north of Trinidad, Colorado. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Room with a view, riding through New Mexico. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Big sky in New Mexico the day before the longest day of the year. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A cool formation in New Mexico. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A great wall in New Mexico. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Post-train ride, downtown L.A. seen from Griffith Observatory in the Los Feliz neighborhood. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Holy Toledo! The Griffith Park cave that was staged as the bat cave in the 1960s campy TV show, “Batman.” (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

View from hills in San Diego looking toward downtown. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

In the land of milk & honey, heading north on Hwy. 5 between San Diego and L.A. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Another room with a view, from my hotel balcony in Century City. Just beyond the foreground is Beverly Hills and hilly Benedict Canyon. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Heading home after a splendid SoCal trip. Mountains at dusk north of Lytle Creek, California. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

On the way home New Mexico was still magnificent! (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Final sunset of 9-night vacay. Near the Colorado-Kansas border. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)