Ready?

Ready or not I don't think I can carry much more!

Excited now - see you all soon (well not to soon)!

Full Itinerary

Just 1 week to go so I thought I'd post my full trip details (Kristina can keep tabs on me then) - which should answer all your questions about where and when.



Tuesday 2nd April - flight from Heathrow at 11:15 to Washington DC, Dulles Airport.

I will be staying at DC Lofty for 2 nights before leaving for Chicago on the Capitol Limited train.

The trip between Washington and Chicago will be my first 'sleeper' and I will arrive in Chicago on the morning of 5th April.

I will have 2 days to explore - the bottom picture shows the hostel where I will stay and the 'L' which is Chicago's famous Elevated train system - I will be using this to travel around the city and also hope to get a boat trip on lake Michigan.

Sunday 7th April I will be off to Omaha, Nebraska, after boarding the California Zephyr.

Here I will be staying at the Magnolia Hotel.

On Tuesday 9th April I will arrive in Denver - early morning arrival so full day exploring before overnight stay in the La Quinta Inn



Wednesday 10 April will be spent travelling on board to Salt Lake City, Utah.  I will arrive late - 23:05 and stay overnight at The Camelot Inn before a full days sightseeing on 11th April.

(Not exactly like our Camelot eh)?

After arriving in Sacramento mid afternoon on Friday 12th April I am checked in to a very beautiful and historic building owned by Hostel International.  I will have 2 full days and nights here before changing trains to catch the Coast Starlight to the city of Angels.

Having visited Los Angeles on a previous trip (and not really enjoying the facade of tinsel town) I am literally just having an overnight stay at the Metro Plaza before changing trains once again for the Grand Canyon.

I will arrive in Williams, Arizona at the ungodly hour of 03:50 to begin my day trip to the South rim of the Grand Canyon before spending the night at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel - one of the oldest Hotels there it is still in the style of the Railway Hotels built to house all the railway workers.

After leaving Williams I will be on the Southwest Chief and will begin the longest segment of the trip - it will take more than 24 hours to reach Kansas City by train!

Following a day in Kansas City I will make the relatively short trip back to Chicago to change trains again for the trip to Charlottesville.

Now - I am going to own up straight away to the reason I chose to visit Charlottesville ........ it is the closest big town to Walton's Mountain!  In my defence although there is no such place as Walton's Mountain, Earl Hamner who wrote the series did grow up with his family in nearby Schuyler and until his death his younger brother James Robert (Jim Bob) lived at the family home there.  The Walton's is Earl's account of his days growing up during the Great Depression and the trials and tribulations of the town and his family.

Charlottesville is, of course, also where Thomas Jefferson built his primary home, Monticello.  Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the 3rd president of the United States.

The picture above shows Alexander House Inn, where I will stay and I picked it because of its traditional Virginian styling (including porch and picket fence)!

After staying for 2 days I will make my final train trip back to Washington DC on April 23rd and after a further night in the Capitol will fly home on Wednesday 24th.

phew ........ I'm exhausted just writing it all down!



Time zones & weather

As we enjoy the unpredictable English Springtime (?) my thoughts are turning to the weather I might experience on my trip.

 

 

 

As I travel from East to West I will also travel back through several time zones & I will see quite a variation in the season know as Spring!  I have been keeping a close eye on the changing weather patterns and the differences are causing further packing headaches

 

 

 

I knew I would have to pack an umbrella and a rain coat but had no intention of taking my snow boots - oh the stress of wheeling luggage through snow :S

 

Actually I remain optimistic and have ordered better weather for the trip and as I still have 9 days to go, am confident the snow currently on the ground in Chicago and the predicted bad weather for Washington, will all be sorted by the time I arrive!

 

I'm not sure how the time changes will effect me and British summertime also starts the day before I leave - I suspect I will gain so much time on the way out west I may well arrive before I depart - giving me extra days on my trip????

 

however, as you may know, jet lag only occurs when you travel forward through time zones so my return trip will probably give me more challenges - thank goodness I will have a bed on the flight home!

 

 

 

 



End of an era

NatWest Hucknall branch closed it's doors for the last time today.  There has been a branch there for more than 100 years and although I have exciting times ahead,  the other staff have been very sad about the closure and having to leave their loyal customers to relocate to other branches.

I'd like to thank the the whole team for the professional way they have all dealt with the closure, despite their own sadness - you are a credit to the bank girls!

The Roomette

As I mentioned before - part of my trip is to satisfy my romantic notion of sleeping aboard a train - During 5 of the long segments of my journey, I have booked, what Amtrak loving call, a Roomette!

The Roomette serves as a compartment with 2 seats and a table during the day but at night converts into the perfect bedroom - complete with 2 bunks and washing facilities.

Depending on the train type the compartment has windows that can be looked through at both bunk levels and of course curtains to ensure a good nights rest.

However ............ Imagine leaving the curtain open so that you are woken by the Sun rising over the central American plains or approaching the magnificent skyline of Chicago or the 'Mile high city' of Denver - such imagery has been filling my dreams for the last week!

Part of the inclusive Roomette package is all meals during the trip.

Now having been to America several times before I have been just a tad worried that I will have to live on huge beef burgers for the entire trip - but a little research has settled the nerves and I will indeed be able to eat fruit and vegetables, at least aboard the train!!

 

 

The excitement is continuing to build as my thoughts now turn to suitable luggage for travelling light and the least amount of clothes and shoes needed for the trip - this is proving to be just as taxing as planning the ticket bookings and having decided to treat myself to Upper class travel with Virgin Atlantic, the required dress code for the flight!!!

decisions decisions decisions .........................