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Background

As I’ve mentioned before in a few threads, I’m a lucky man because I’m close with my Father. How close you ask? Well, he did give me his name at birth which certainly got us off to a good bond. We weren’t always as close, growing up my Father worked a lot of hours and I tended to have a smart mouth and was often in trouble for what my teachers called “pushing the envelope”. However, in 2009, he cottoned on to the idea of us riding a long distance train together and a tradition was born. We started with a simple eight hour each way ride from Maricopa, AZ (south of Phoenix) to Los Angeles but have since moved up to the best and brightest (for Amtrak at least). This included The Coast Starlight from LA to Portland, the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago, the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago, the Crescent from Baltimore to New Orleans (I actually wrote a trip report for that one: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...orleans-3.html) and the Silver Star from Cary, NC to Miami.

But that impressive list notwithstanding, until this year though one line was missing. The elusive, California Zephyr…arguably Amtrak’s most premier train. It runs from Emeryville, California (essentially San Francisco, just across the bay) to Chicago and we decided to ride it all. My Dad was even kind enough to treat us to First Class there, a sleeper to Chicago and then sticker upgrades home to Raleigh AND all the scotch I could drink. Now that my friends, is what a Father should do. As I always like to spell out at the beginning, the logistics were:

Friday May 31st:
AA Coach RDU-JFK
AA First JFK-SFO

Saturday June 1st-Monday June 3rd:
Amtrak Sleeper EMY-CHI

Tuesday June 4th:
AA First ORD-RDU



I know you want to come along with these two fine gentlemen!

AA 4549 RDU-JFK ERJ-140 1425-1600

Friday dawned beautifully for Durham, albeit hot but hey, it’s the south and I headed over to the house to pick up my Dad. I live only three miles from my parents and as much as I used to love living in Phoenix while they lived on the east coast, there’s something nice about knowing they’re always right next door with their wisdom, advice and comments about how much gray hair I’m getting. Anyway, after seeing our dog and getting blonde hairs shed all over my suit pants it was off to the airport.



Unfortunately, everyone else had the idea of going off to the airport too and RDU had closed its elite security line that morning so it took forever to get through. Plus my Dad who has precheck abandoned me. Maybe I’ll change my name after all!





We were through it soon enough and off to the RDU Admirals Club. How about those snack offerings? Pathetic!



The first of many! The agent up front wouldn’t give me drink coupons even though we were in First on a three class transcon so I was stuck with the choices of Bud, Bud Light, Coors or Coors Light. Not that it matters, but I chose Coors.



After a nice talk with some gentlemen on their way to Milan we broke camp and headed to the gate.





I have a plan one day to make an album dedicated to people who caught me photographing them. Anyway, that’s the lovely single class ERJ-140 in all its action. Truth be told I don’t mind it on a sub-500 mile flight.



Tight legroom in 3C but at least no one reclines. My Dad and I have this thing about the “invisible line rule” which means neither of us can cross the invisible halfway point between the seats”. I’m apparently much better about it than some of my brothers.





On our way!



It’s always a relief on a day when you are making a connection to the last flight of the day and you absolutely have to be somewhere when things start off well. After this there wasn’t much else interesting about the flight. We got a soda, we read our books, glanced out the window, told stories, laughed. You know…Father-son stuff







It was a beautiful day for flying though…that’s Chinocteague Island, VA.





A nice early touch down, easy taxi to the gate and with that we were in JFK and I could breathe easier.

AA 177 JFK-SFO 767-200 1800-2140



Great welcome to JFK isn’t it? Oh well, everything about Terminal 8 beats the old Terminal 8. You guys know what I mean.

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Of course our flight was going to be leaving out of Gate 44, right next to the island terminal’s Admirals Club but we’re not about Admirals Clubs on First Class tickets are we? A-hahahaha, no…of course we aren’t.



There was a little back up to get in as the entryway shares space with the Gates 1-12 Admirals Club and the check-in people double as customer service agents but we were in fairly quickly.



We were just in time for tea.



I like my tea a little harder, thank you.









Everything I ate was good especially the Salmon BLT, Italian Wedding Soup and Southwestern Spring Roll.





Can’t knock the views. That’s the first 777-300 of AA’s I’ve seen and the new livery is growing on me all the while.



How could you not want to hang out with that man?





Dinner was brought out right before we left. I didn’t try any of it, but I really like the look of that cheese tray. Right when I was taking this one of the contract employees who stocks the food told me photography wasn’t allowed. Right.



After finishing up our talk with the people sitting across from us who were off to Zurich we walked back to our gate. This will probably be the last 767-200 I fly (at least with AA, maybe I’ll get a US one somehow) and I will miss them. I first flew them in the early 1990’s and have flown them in every cabin over several iterations of AA’s interior. I’ve flown them to California and to London and I can’t imagine transcons without them. But, I’ll be excited for the A-321s. Sorry about the bad picture above, it was the best I could do.



Now that’s a cabin! See the guy by 3B? He was blocking the boarding area so we had to go around him when they called for First. I promptly explained to my Dad what gate lice was AND the GA apologized to us! Bonus!





My first time in row 2, definitely better legroom than I had been expecting and as you can’t have your bag under the seat in front of you anyway, I think I prefer it to row 3.



Champagne? Do you even have to ask?!? Dig those electronic controls too. Next came the menus, my first time seeing the new style.

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Luckily JFK wasn’t too crowded today so we had a mere 20 minute or so wait to takeoff. This was good because it had been approximately thirty minutes since we’d consumed alcohol at this point.





New York was too hazy for a good view of Manhattan today but at least I got to see the Verazzano.



AA now offers a Samsung tablet and Bose QC15 headsets in F and J on this route. I liked the tablet better than the DigEplayers they used to have, and definitely better than the portable DVD players before that.



The flight attendant had earlier remarked to my Dad and I that she was working as a purser today and hadn’t done it in a while and was worried she wouldn’t do well with it. I told her just to give us lots to drink and we’d be okay. When she came to take drink orders he ordered a gin on the rocks and I a scotch on the rocks. She replied “I take it you guys want doubles”. Oh. Yes. You can also see the mixed nuts and the marinated cheese antipasto in that picture.



The appetizer was the same as it was in 2007 when I first flew First Class on this route (if there’s one thing I like doing when I write is to say “the x was the same as the y the last time I did z” so I hope you’re cool with that) but it’s still good. That’s a sizeable hunk o’ prosciutto too. Bread selections were passed around at this point which included pretzel rolls, wheat rolls and cheesy bread. The important thing is Cary Grant (shown there in To Catch a Thief ) approves.



Salad was offered from the cart (notice the fresh double) and the options were lettuce (obviously), tomato and goat cheese and chicken with dressing options being vinegrette or Caesar.



Earlier we had pre-ordered our entrees and thankfully, the choices were observed. When the F/A took our dinner orders she had said “I see you two selected the salmon and the beef, do you still want those?”



Right after they brought out the entrée I wish I had said I didn’t still want it. First of all, who decided half an onion was a side? Who decided anyone wanted three bites of steak?



Tough, overcooked steak at that. One of the worst beef entrees I’ve had on a plane in fact.



Gotta love the oversized wine glasses though, I hadn’t seen them before and they were a real treat. The red I ordered (a Cab Sav I believe) was pretty good too.





Thankfully, dessert saved the meal. You can’t go wrong with a build-your-own-sundae and the cart service is nice, old fashioned class. Plus, they had a very tasty Port.



By this point someone was really tired (I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’t me) and he fell asleep in the amazing position of sitting up gripping a coffee mug. Being the good son I reclined his seat all the way back so he wouldn’t awake with a stiff back and then decided I’d go full recline myself. Here you can see how far the seat goes back. For a daytime flight it’s pretty good though not the best if you fly it overnight and want good sleep.



Pretty soon I decided I didn’t really want to rest so I got down to some serious business as you can see by my laptop. This was my first time using Gogo (I paid $20 for two hours) and I found the speed okay not great. I certainly wouldn’t try a Youtube video on it, but for my email, Facebook and FT it worked okay.



It was especially fun making my own moving map.





The sun continued to set slowly as we worked our way west and twice I saw planes pass by us. One, a Southwest 737, was so close I was able to determine just what kind of 737 it was. Exhilarating, but also somewhat eerie.

Sadly, in the meanwhile our flight attendants went and set up camp in the First Class galley. There were four of them up there gossiping (not quietly either) and at one point I walked up with my empty wine glass and asked for a Diet Coke and they seemed a little put out by my request. They also never came and refilled said glass. What was really frustrating was they had been great during the meal service so I had high expectations. Worst crew on an AA transcon I’ve had in years.

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Eventually they showed back up to bring us the pre-landing service which could be a bit more expansive I think, especially as it had been about 4 hours 30 minutes since dinner by this point.



As we came over San Jose my Dad woke up which was good as it meant I could talk again (silence is NOT one of my things) and we glided down into SFO for an early arrival.







Emeryville

Now here’s why I love Flyertalk. We decided to stay in Emeryville at the Hilton Garden Inn which is a 0.5 mile walk to EMY Station (amusingly, it’s a 1.2 mile drive due to one way roads). Of course, Emeryville is a 21 mile drive from SFO which includes a Bay Bridge crossing. We were looking at about a $75-$100 cab ride. My Dad was complaining about this so I said “do you want me to ask some Flyertalk friends about giving us a ride?”. He said yes and I proceeded to do so. As it turned out Top of Climb was staying that night at a SFO Airport Hotel. Despite the fact that he was on vacation (or “holiday” I guess, he’s from New Zealand) with his girlfriend, he agreed to keep his rental car longer and drive 42 miles round trip in exchange for one beer . Now that is friendship! Instead of a boring, expensive cab ride we had an enjoyable car ride swapping stories and laughs and then a drink at the hotel bar which even had Anchor Steam on tap!



Did I mention ToC always brings me English candy? They made the trip even better.

The hotel I might add was quite nice for a Garden Inn, it’s a huge structure right on the bay and just off I-580/I-80. The lobby is small for the size, but the breakfast room was large and the bar had a good selection of booze (including the Anchor and brands like Tanqueray Ten). Check-in was easy and we were even “upgraded” to a bay view.



We thought about dropping in and asking if they knew where the nearest NRA Office was.





A picture in the bathroom? Faux marble? I’ve made the big time at last!



The Bay View. You can see the new Bay Bridge span on the right.



Breakfast was the usual HGI stuff though my Dad said the cooked to order poached eggs were really good. Also, on the way out we stopped to get a Wall Street Journal and the manager said as I was Gold we didn’t have to pay, definitely a nice touch that left us with a positive impression of the hotel. I also liked that it was right across the street from a Trader Joes where we could get alcohol from the train. The check out lady there gave us quite the double take when she saw all we were buying was a bottle of scotch and a bottle of gin…at 8 AM.

Amtrak Train #6 California Zephyr EMY-CHI 0910-1440 (+2)

Well we survived the walk (obviously) despite carrying a total of three bags, two pints of liquor, several bottles of soda and candy and of course an unspoken amount of emotional baggage.





This was one of the nicest non-East Coast stations I’ve been to and one of the few I can name with a little in-station snack shop. I really liked the outdoor seating too.



And there it is. The excitement obviously was building at this point and there’s something really awesome about being close to those big GE P42 Diesels and feeling the amount of power they have that gives one a rush.



Look at my Dad in the bottom left corner, his mind is literally blown.



About to board car 0632 where our excellent, and I do mean excellent, Sleeping Car Attendant (SCA) Dennis keeps watch to prevent interlopers. Also appreciate that my Dad is wearing a suit coat, gotta respect a man who dresses up…especially in 2013.

Day 1







Our room by day. Very comfortable and clean though as always I wish they had more storage space. All there is is a little spot above the chair you can see below and a small closet across from the sink.

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My way to travel, lying down looking out the window.



My Dad’s way…in the throne.





Always bring your own supplies. Amtrak sells a can of soda for $2.25 and an airline sized bottle of crappy brand booze (think Dewars) for $7.



That sign is the biggest lie since “New York / Newark”.



So we had expected the trip to get good once we hit the Sierras but it started getting interesting just north of Richmond as we followed the Bay. It was almost like being on the Surfliner or Coast Starlight again.







We were seated in the second to last car which meant plenty of times you could look ahead and see the whole train. It was a long consist today with several sleepers and coaches, baggage car, dining car and café/Sightseer Lounge.







Once we left the Bay Area and headed towards Sacramento the views got even better. Here is a gorgeous vista somewhere outside Dixon, CA.



I’m a big fan of stepping onto the platform for more pictures but sometimes they don’t open the doors. Luckily, I figured out I could quickly open the window in the door, take a sneaky shot and then go back upstairs feeling like The Thief of Bagdad. Please, no one tell Amtrak.



It’s better though when you’re allowed to get off, like here in Davis, CA. My favorite part is watching the smokers run through the doors and start puffing like they’re coming back to the surface after four minutes underwater. Makes me glad I never took up the habit.



Pulling into Sacramento which is an annoyingly hard city to get a good skyline shot of.





Oh hey there’s one, it just also has I-80 in it.



Yay, lunch time! Our companions today were a man on his way to Boston who was afraid to fly (so instead he spent over 3 days getting there) and another man from Chicago who clearly did not want to talk.

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I always start my first lunch with the burger, it’s consistently good and about what Amtrak can handle without screwing up.



Amtrak recently downgraded their desserts. They got a newer, crappier cheesecake and replaced Haagen Daas with this Gelato (which tastes like vanilla ice cream anyway).



Train equipment in Roseville, CA. That massive scary looking black engine is a snowblower/thing that haunts my nightmares.



We continued moving westward and ever higher into the mountains and the views got more and more stunning with each passing minute.







Post-lunch I decided to take a little walk. Here is the sightseer lounge which I never spend enough time in.





We passed through Colfax, CA while I was in there.



A brief stop in coach. The Superliner cars are certainly nicer than the Amcan coaches that run the eastern US but they still tend to smell really really bad it and only gets worse the longer the train goes for. My threshold in one is about seven hours.



We tended to hang out with Interstate 80 most of the day (all the way to Salt Lake City actually). It was helpful because if you got a look at an exit number or mile marker you could cross check with Wikipedia to know exactly where you were. My Dad keeps telling me to bring a road atlas on these trips and I keep telling him I forgot and this is somehow not my fault.







Our SCA was nice enough to tell me to get my camera and go to the windows on the opposite side of my car so I could get this amazing look at the American River Canyon. It was right about now that we realized this trip was going to make the Empire Builder look like Metro North from Rye to Grand Central.







When I was a kid my Mom taped a PBS special about the Donner Party and we used to watch it whenever it snowed. The story has always stuck with me and it was a big deal to see Donner Lake and Donner Pass. Can you imagine deciding to strap homemade snowshoes on your feet and trying to climb that mountain? I certainly can’t and I’m getting chills just writing about it.



Entering Nevada. One state down, six to go.

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Reno, or to quote my Dad “a glorified truck stop on I-80”. Apparently, the train used to run along surface streets and you could take a look at downtown but they built this tunnel to eliminate at-grade crossings. Good for them, bad for me who wanted more photos of casinos.





Sparks, NV which used to have a station til Amtrak realized how dumb an idea having two stations within five miles or so of each other was. Speaking of dumb, wow Sparks way to be different by having a big letter on a hill outside your town, no one ever thought of that before!







Very quickly the views became quite desert-y. As a seven year veteran of Arizona and Nevada it was a nice homecoming for me.



Ah a dinner reservation, I know what this calls for!



Your health! By the way, drinks in plastic glasses is so uncivilized, what is this? College?



Our backdrop during dinner, sure beat talking to our companion, a rather boring gentleman whose job was delivering RVs all over the US.







I always joke with my Dad that I’m ordering the steak to get the most of his money. But it’s also because it’s really damn good. The wine wasn’t bad either. Amtrak did enhance (in the good way) the sides and we got to choose between baked potato, mashed potatoes or rice and the corn salsa deal was new and really good.



See, American? It’s possible to have a well cooked steak.





Another “enhanced dessert”, the chocolate parfait better known as, a chocolate pudding cup.

A quick hop off in Winnemuca, famous (as far as it goes) for being mentioned in the song “I’ve Been Everywhere”.

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Time for one last nightcap for my Dad then sleep while checking out that gorgeous desert scenery. Three guesses for who gets the bottom bunk and the first two don’t count. Still don’t know? I’ll put it like this, my Dad told me I could have the bottom bunk (which is wider, longer and doesn’t feel like you’re in prison) when I paid. Fair enough!





My plan was to stay up til Elko so I could get a little more fresh air and also keep to a normal sleep schedule. I was glad too because that bus shelter as a “station” cracked me up. Also, the town had wifi and new visitors were allowed five minutes free!



Even better than a curtain!



Up in the top bunk, showing how prison like it is (I apologize for my picture being slightly NSFW). The little holder on the left is a lifesaver for someone like me who sports glasses.



Goodnight, Flyertalk!

Day 2



Not a bad way to wake up! This was somewhere east of Helper, Utah. My Dad and I worked out a schedule where he’d get up a little earlier, shower first, then I’d get up and he’d go to breakfast, secure us a table and I’d shower and then meet him in the diner.



Speaking of the shower, here it is in all its glory. It’s really a crappy way to wash yourself and made worse by the fact that Amtrak only provides you with a bar soap. Luckily we had liberated a bottle of shampoo and conditioner from the HGI so we were set. Also, it does cut time out of your morning routine because you can shower AND go to the bathroom all at the same time! Oh I don’t shave on these trains because I’m convinced I’ll slice half my face off.



Back in the diner, I find dining cars are much more full on western US trains than eastern US trains. When my Dad and I did the Silver Star (Cary, NC to Miami) last year we had no companions at one of our meals.





I tried the special and it was actually amazing, though as most dishes do it did need hot sauce.



Previously my only experiences with Utah were using SLC so this view of it was a real eye opener. Now I want to come back and spend some time checking it out more closely.



So this time we decided to play cards. I’d never played Gin Rummy so my Dad taught me. Trust me on this, keep an eye on your wallet and if that man says “want to make it interesting by putting a couple bucks on it?” DON’T SAY YES! I should have known a successful lawyer would be a card shark!



How helpful! That’s in Green River, UT.



Sure, that’s a Super 8, but it’s the Super 8 with the best view in all the world.





By now we had lost our old friend I-80 (but made a new friend in I-70) and we started moving through the canyons that separate Utah and Colorado. Our SCA Dennis was very helpful by giving PA announcements about what we’d see and of course the route guide Amtrak provided had a ton of information in it as well so we were well informed of all the 5 Ws.



By now Utah had given way to Colorado and as we were early, we were able to walk around Grand Junction a bit.





So I have this plan to make a photo album one day called “People Giving me the Stink Eye”. This is definitely going to be on page one.

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A little retro train stuff for you (question: is there a term trgeek like there is avgeek?)



That’s a lotta horse! Something like 20 times what my car has AND the train was pulled by two of them.





Once we got going again Colorado proved to be just as beautiful as Utah.





Outside Glenwood Springs we joined up with I-70 and the Colorado River and made our way eastward at a leisurely pace. The top speeds this train gets to is 79 MPH and that’s not until Nebraska.



Speaking of Glenwood Springs, we arrived early so I, surprise surprise, hopped off the train and wandered around.



Old Amtrak logo sighting! That’s almost as awesome as seeing a Tulip!



High technology at this station.





It seemed like a very pleasant downtown and I was sorry I couldn’t have lunch here.



As it was I was having lunch on the train. Today I ordered the special which is the only lunch dish which comes with a salad. Oddly, why is the lunch salad better than the dinner one?



The special certainly sounded good on paper but wow was it gross. The chicken was most likely a Tyson patty you’d get in an elementary school cafeteria and it was covered in some gross sauce. A big disappointment for this meal. We also weren’t thrilled with our dining companion, an architect from New Haven that was a bit too arrogant for even our tastes.





Meanwhile back in our room, the view kept getting better and better.



Stopping to let the westbound Zephyr pass us. Them cows look mighty tasty.



Red rocks are not just for Sedona, Arizona anymore!

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That’s the northern most point of the Colorado River that people are allowed to kayak in. A fun fact provided by Dennis who did us numerous solids on this trip.







It was fun seeing snow on the rockies, especially as it was something like 90 degrees when we left Durham. This is in Frasier/Winter Park, CO.



Meanwhile, the card game had started back up. I’m pretty sure my Dad only became better at Gin when he consumed Gin. Though every so often I’d skunk him and feel better about myself.



The Moffett Tunnel is a huge deal in the engineering world and Amtrak always touts it as part of this trip though I don’t know why, once you’re in it it’s just dark. Still, it’s nice that it cut something off the trip and allowed us to go through the Rockies.







Coming into Denver was absolutely amazing. Traveling in switchbacks down the mountain as we could see the city approach was as good as anything else we’d done that day. Sadly, this was to be the last really gorgeous part of the trip, but at least it finished with a bang.





Dinner was served as we pulled into Denver, once again very early. So early in fact that we had an hour layover. Still no way to find us a Sunday New York Times though, something we had been attempting to do all day. As for dinner, I really enjoyed the turkey shank, far more than I thought I would, and the sides were once again quite good. I also tried the new cheesecake which is far inferior to what it replaced, damn you budget cuts! We also had our only really good company of the trip…a couple in their 80’s who had been married some 60 some-odd years. They had some great stories and their love was an inspiration. Maybe I WON’T die alone!





There’s a beautiful train station in downtown Denver but it’s currently under renovation (as part of the light rail to the airport project) so they’re using this concrete s-word hole in the meantime.







If you squint and look at the left you can see the station we can’t use.







As I’d said earlier, the train ride got lamer from here on out. Actually, that’s not correct, the ride was still great, as was the company and fun, laughs, fun, laughs…good times were had by all, it was just the views that got lamer. We were now following Interstate 76 northeast out of Denver and after coming through the canyons, mountains, desert etc. it wasn’t up to snuff. In fact, my Dad and I have decided we have to do this train again, but we’re only going to ride it from Denver to Emeryville.

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Don’t my patented out the window lean in Fort Morgan, CO. Once again, mum’s the word on this.



Enjoying the observation car while my Dad sawed logs in the room. Seriously, I love this man but a good pair of earplugs are as necessary a staple as breathing when you’re in the same room as him.

Day 3



As you can see today’s wakeup scenery was much different from yesterday’s. Today I woke up somewhere in Western Iowa which was flat as a pancake and just about as interesting.



Breakfast was good though, you can’t go wrong with the “Railroad French Toast” though wow were our companions awful. My Dad said it was getting to the point that he was dreading going to the dining car because we kept getting stuck with people we didn’t like talking to.



A nice touch, even if it was really crudely drawn.





The morning passed quickly as we moved across Iowa, now following US 34. Of course more cards were played and I finished off a novel. We had acquired an Omaha paper but still wanted a Times and there were still many miles to go til Chicago.



Off the train at Osceola, IA whose station looks kind of like a factory. Lunch was served around here but they had run out of everything except the burger, veggie burger and salad. Shame too as I’d wanted to try the brat.





Crossing the Mississippi River after moving through Burlington, IA. This put us into our seventh and final state of Illinois.



The Land of Lincoln looks a lot like the Hawkeye State, at least out west.





Our first Illinois stop of Galesburg where I was made fun of by fellow passengers for not knowing who local hero Carl Sandberg was. Well excuse me!



Aurora, IL (setting of Wayne’s World) meant we were getting close. Good thing too, we had a dinner date at Gibson’s Steakhouse and I was excited to eat something not on a plastic plate.



And there it was…the Windy City, the Second City, the whatever kind of city you want but for us it was the end of the line. We ended up about a half hour late due to having to wait in Iowa a solid hour for freight traffic to go by (welcome to Amtrak).



It was our longest and our best train trip. We saw more amazing sights then I could do justice to with photographs and all the purple prose I could muster. Plus we had our usual amount of fun and father-son bonding and I could tell how much it meant to my Father that we took the trip and frankly, that is it’s own reward. But don’t worry, we weren’t done having good times just yet!

Chicago



We were still a little early so we relaxed at the Metropolitan Lounge for a few minutes. It’s a step down from an airline lounge, all that’s offered is coffee, soda, pretzels and chips and the wifi was the worst I’ve used in close to a decade. But hey, it beats the zoo that is the Chicago waiting areas.



I wish Amtrak used the Great Hall for their waiting and boarding, they instead use some awful windowless dungeon that is so bad I wouldn’t want to put the photo anywhere near yous guys.



Look at me hanging out the window of a cab to take a picture of Whacker Drive like some stupid tourist. But who cares? It’s a good shot. It’s funny, I never spent time in Chicago until a few years ago when I moved to Durham. Now I’m up there frequently and the city is really growing on me. Sure, you stand a good chance of getting murdered, but that just adds character to a city!

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Speaking of character, how about this joint? Classic ambience, excellent bartenders, reasonable prices for what it is and amazing, amazing steak. Plus the service is always impeccable. My Dad and I have come here three times together and we always have a great experience.



Starting off with an Alaskan King Crab Cocktail and a scotch on the rocks cocktail.



My Dad has a thing for anchovies. In fact, he tells servers “I want a Caesar salad with as many anchovies as you can give me, you cannot give me too many.”. Gibson’s is the only place we’ve been that takes him seriously.



Okay here we have:

- My bone in sirloin
- My Dad’s Chicago Cut (bone in Ribeye)
- A delicious Malbec
- Blue cheese scallion potatoes
- Gross mushrooms my Dad ordered (?)
- My first ever Old Fashioned (delicious!)
Another amazing, perfect, wouldn’t change a stroke, meal at Gibson’s in the book. Can’t wait to get back!



Well all good things must come to an end, including great meals. We piled into a cab and heading out towards O’Hare enjoying far less traffic than we thought.



Now that cracked us up…the vomit collection fee. I don’t even want to think how many people go the next day “$63 to go from Wabash to LaSalle? WHAT THE HELL??!?!”



We were at the ORD Hilton tonight which I’m always happy to be at, especially when you have a 7:15 AM flight. An easy experience getting checked in and I was nice to my Dad and didn’t make him share a bed with me like I did my brother when I wanted a Junior Suite Upgrade. The hotel was also nice enough to let us have coupons for the coffee shop instead of breakfast at the restaurant as we were leaving too early. Though frankly, for an airport hotel, their restaurant should open before 6 AM.







I come for the location but I stay for those views.





Now, my night was not over yet. I don’t come to Chicago without letting Sweet Willie know as not only is he great company but he has an encyclopedic knowledge of every awesome place to hit in the Chicago-Land area. This time we went to Hala Khaiki in River Gorge, IL. I know that drink is far less manly than my usual scotch/beer etc. but hey, it was my first Mai Tai and it was very tasty. Of course we had a great time and I was reminded why I want to come back to another of SW’s Chicago Dos

AA 1722 ORD-RDU 737-800 0715-1000



After a way too early wake up (think 4:50 AM) we headed to the airport. I love my Dad but if I could change something about him, I’d make him a better sleeper. He has a serious case of gotta-get-up-and-go and sometimes I just want more ZZZs. Anyway, despite me calling AA and confirming with them that my Dad (a Platinum) was sponsoring both our upgrades, AA couldn’t check us in at a machine and we had to see an agent who said they were trying to use my account to sponsor both upgrades. It. Shouldn’t. Be. This. Hard!



Through security, my Dad does not understand the importance of stopping when I’m taking pictures so he doesn’t ruin my foreground. Oh and want to guess who once again abandoned me after he got pre-check? Yeah, him! I also made a right proper fool of myself when they caught me with a bottle of water in my bag. A bottle of water I’d gotten at the HGI Emeryville and completely forgotten about. Oh, the humanity!





I’ve always liked this lounge, ever since I first used it in 1994. The space is huge and there are so many different places to sit. But hey, you know what I DON’T like?



That being the sole option for free breakfast. The fact that US, DL, UA and AS and any decent wife and mother serve a better breakfast is an utter embarrassment. Don’t forget, you have to PAY to be in this lounge so you should at least get a little cereal or a bagel. Okay, rant over



Weird seeing how few MD-80’s come here now, but I guess I’d better get used to that. The farthest 738 was ours.

CMK10

Boo, I wanted new paint!



Nice to be on one of the newer cabin 738s, even if this one wasn’t Sky Interior.



A pre-departure drink! A pre-departure drink! Oh my God a pre-departure drink! Actually, as this plane was booked to 7/16 in First and maybe 50 in Coach there would have been absolutely no excuse not to provide one. Still, mmm OJ.



Old meets Old.





As you can see it was really hazy today (a strange theme to the trip in fact) which ruined what is often amazing views of Chicago.





So this is the “service” on a morning, non-meal flight. Pretty pathetic as on AA you have to pay for an upgrade somehow and this flight was 647 miles and about 90 minutes. But hey, they gave us a second Biscoff so I guess that’s something. If you too are upset by this, if you feel what I feel and see what I see, you can comment on it here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ck-basket.html




My seat in awesome reclined with butt scooted forward mode!







And with that we were home where the family dog was VERY excited to see us. So excited that I got a full on running leap with her paws right into my crotch. Now that spells “I missed you!”.

Conclusion

What else can I say about this trip I haven’t already said? The ride was everything we couldn’t ask for and if there were minor disappointments with the flights and stuff like that then even my worst histrionics couldn’t dampen what we saw and the fun we had. I’m very lucky to have the relationship with my Dad that I do and I won’t soon forget it. I will close with one last picture of us, taken during our dinner at Gibson’s and of course, I welcome any questions or comments you have. Thank you for reading as always and I’ll see you in my next report.

Loose Cannon

Thanks for the Trip Report and the pictures. Glad to see you had such a lovely trip. I got to vicariously partake of your trip.

I'm glad to see you did not get kicked off any flights for taking pictures in the cabin. You did took some lovely pictures. I always try to get a window seat when I fly.

Back in late November 2006 I used miles and flew F on AA117 JFK-LAX on the B-767-200 and sat in 2J. I had the beef and had no complaints about the service. Of course the best part was the Hot Fudge Sundae.

I've taken Amtrak a number of times but never for anything near the length of the trip you took.

BART has a station at SFO and that is a viable option to go across the Bay. However, I'm not sure how close the BART station is to Amtrak.

ma91pmh

Another great report CMK10

Between this and Seat2a's report I'm feeling inspired to take the Zephyr train with my family. Is it possible/practical to use points to travel first class on this? Looking at amtrak looks like it would be at least $1200 to put a family of four in a small sleeper room. But it sure does look fun