A new West Coast swing was suggested as well. Overall it would feature revisits to Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles (but not the Bay Area other than passing through), rides on the Coast Starlight and Cascades, and new transit lines that were not yet running when we last visited. New to us in Seattle since 2010 would be the University LINK light rail extension and the First Hill Streetcar line, both yet to open but should be before mid-2016. (Unfortunately the Lakewood extension of Sounder is currently not possible to do on a simple out and back trip.) In Portland, the new MAX Orange Line to Milwaukie and the two loops that constitute the Central Loop would give us some streetcar riding as well -- more than we were able to do in 2010. In Los Angeles, since our 2009 visit the Gold Line now goes to East L.A., and on the other end will be open beyond Pasadena to Azusa by this Spring. Also the Expo Line Phase 1 has been in service several years, but by Spring it will be joined by Phase 2 which runs to Santa Monica within sight of the Pacific Ocean.
For the West Coast I worked out two scenarios, one clockwise and one counter-clockwise. Both would result in 10 days out from Chicago and back to Chicago afterwards, so those on the east coast would add whatever time is necessary from there. The clockwise option would be to take the westbound Southwest Chief CHI-LAX, 1 full day and part of another in Los Angeles, northbound Coast Starlight LAX-PDX, about a half day of MAX & Streetcar with the other half the Cascades to Seattle, a day riding trains in Seattle, ending with boarding the eastbound Empire Builder SEA-CHI. Counter-clockwise, the activity would begin with a westbound trip CHI-SEA on the Empire Builder, finishing the arrival day by riding streetcar & LINK in Seattle, Cascades to Portland, half a day of travel in MAX & Streetcars in Portland, with the other half boarding the southbound Coast Starlight PDX-LAX, and then 2 full days in Los Angeles, the end of the second one being the boarding of the eastbound Southwest Chief LAX-CHI. That is a nutshell. While I have worked out what we would do in each city, all my scenarios are based on weekday travel. Obviously during a 10-day trip there will have to be weekend travel sometime in one of the cities we visit. The dates have not yet been chosen either.
Again I am well aware of the desire to reserve and book Amtrak travel using the redemption rules that expire January 23rd. I share that wish. Since it is not possible to know without a doubt that I have the time off from work I usually take, I hope to make a formal announcement around New Years.... both whether this will be Dallas or the West Coast, and which of the options related to each that will work best for us. In the meantime between now and the end of 2015 we can discuss what can work best for us in all regards.
OK so here is an update to the above. It is no surprise that the west coast trip was chosen over Texas, as I've mentioned within this thread. However choosing the direction of travel (clockwise vs counterclockwise) and which dates to travel have been an ongoing project these past few months, as has looking at availability at hotels in the cities in question (more on hotels later!). Following you will see not only the decisions made but the reasons for them.
Regarding the direction this should take, an overall counterclockwise direction is preferred. Why? I think the biggest reason is the overall reliability of eastbound service on the Southwest Chief vs the Empire Builder. For those making same day connections through Chicago, arriving on the Chief one has a better chance of making their onward connection than one coming in from Seattle on the Builder. Of course anything can happen on a given journey, but the Empire Builder continues to have a poor reputation as of late.
With the direction of travel settled (Seattle first, Los Angeles last), now the quest to choose a starting date began. Overall with a 10-day span starting & ending in Chicago, I identified 4 possibilities with start dates in Chicago anywhere from Sunday, July 10th to Wednesday, July 13th. Therefore those 10-day periods would run through anywhere from Tuesday, July 19th through Friday, July 22nd. Now, considering that a 10-day trip west of Chicago would turn into a 12-day trip for those from the Northeast, or a 14-day trip for those who need yet another overnight run from and to Florida (assuming same day connections in Chicago), that eliminated the first and last 10-day time spans, narrowing the choice from 4 down to 2. Between the 2 remaining options (Chicago start on 7/11 or 7/12), I felt that the earlier one gave us the benefit of weekend travel in Los Angeles, where hotel rates might be lower but rapid transit still operating at comfortable levels to give us more choices.
So therefore, this event will begin in Chicago on Monday, July 11th, and end back in Chicago on Wednesday, July 20th. Those coming from points along the east coast would leave over the preceding weekend to continue the journey through Chicago, and the same east coast people could be home by the end of the second week unless personal overnight stopovers are chosen.
Details will be found in the actual announcement.
Edited by KevinKorell, 31 January 2016 - 11:58 PM.
Changed to present, with official announcement
