Rick's Redbird Roost: Railway Rick

Welcome to the new and hopefully exciting adventures of Railway Rick. Tonight I embark on what undoubtedly will be the trip of my lifetime. I’m filled with excitement and also trepidation. This trip was born out of some depression, some desperation, and perhaps a hope for renewal and rejuvenation. It was a busy summer at the lake, as usual, with my annual parade of visitors. I love my parade; I love my friends and family and wouldn’t trade my time with them for anything. Well, maybe one thing, but she’s out of my reach. This was my first summer without my love, my Goose, my Monica. Even after a year, the feelings and the hurt is still so raw, as the tears on my keyboard can attest. So, somewhere in the gauntlet of visitors, and during the flood of memories this summer, an idea began to form. I needed to get away. From the lake, from the pain, from the memories. I needed to find some renewal, some hope. And maybe make some new memories. One day this summer, my gatecrasher brother-in-law Mark looked up from his phone and said “Did you know you can cross the entire country by train for just a few hundred dollars?” I grunted and moved on with my day, but a few weeks later during a low moment, that comment came back. I said “Why not?”, and thus I was off and running. The research and planning began.

I began looking at Amtrak pricing and schedules and maps, and my long cross country trip took shape. Amtrak has a $499 Rail Pass which allows you up to 10 train “trips” within a 30 day period. A ride from Syracuse to Chicago on the #49 train, the Lake Shore Limited, counts as 1 trip. Then when you change trains, like to ride the #7 Empire Builder train from Chicago to Seattle, it counts as trip #2. So my proposed route, with 1-2 day city visits along the way, became this:

Syracuse to Chicago, across to Seattle, down the coast to San Francisco/Oakland, then to Los Angeles. After those 4 legs of the journey, I would continue across the south over to New Orleans, then up to Washington DC, and finally New York City. 7 Cities in 21 days, with a lot of riding the rails in a coach seat in between. I moved the travel window around a bit and landed on this sports junkie’s jackpot of a trip. If I left on September 20th, my city stops would magically line up with the opportunity to see 6 major sporting events! NFL games in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York! And 3 baseball games in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles! Whoa, the trip just got a lot more expensive but what the heck?!! Wow, I began to get excited. Then I dug into the details. Where to stay, and what else can I experience in these cities along the way. I spent hours down the rabbit hole timing out events, making reservations and scouting out tickets and prices.

Here is a brief overview of what I have planned. We’ll see as the trip unfolds whether I can keep up this proposed pace and hit the highlights of this plan.

Chicago 2 days - Bears game, deep dish pizza, rooftop Sinatra concert, city bus tour, Chicago river tour, jazz club dinner, Hancock tower city view

Seattle 1 day - Pike Place Market, waterfront exploring, Space Needle, Mariners game, late night music

San Fran/Oakland 2 days - Giants game, Ghirardelli’s chocolate, sunset cruise, Fisherman’s wharf, train to 49ers game, Haley Reinhardt concert

Los Angeles 2 days - Catalina Jazz Club*, Hollywood Blvd, Walk of Fame, Mel’s Diner, Warner Bros tour, Universal Studios tour, cocktail at Musso and Franks*, wax museum, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Dodgers playoff game, Hollywood Bus tour including Santa Monic pier, Griffiths Observatory and Rodeo Drive. Also Du-Pars* for lunch, and a trip on Angels Flight*. (* as seen on the Bosch TV show!)

New Orleans 2 nights but just 1 day - bus tour, voodoo and ghost tour, dinner and jazz cruise, some Bourbon street night life

DC 2 days - night bus tour, FBI tour, Washington monument, Capitol tour, Smithsonian American History museum, jazz dinner

NYC 2 days - Times Square, Broadway show with my nieces, city bus tour, Central Park, Empire State Bldg, Giants vs Eagles game

Whew. We’ll see how that goes and if I survive it!

The planning and the packing is all done. Including a fancy new electronic plug that can charge 7 items at a time, noise canceling headphones, plenty of snacks, fedora and new jacket. And I’ve packed a few Goose items as traveling companions.