ffI

It was by mistake that I started reading this report last night and I was only able to enjoy the earlier train sections before sleep. I was bleary eyed and distracted all day at work (probably giving everyone the idea I had pulled an all nighter) and could not relax until after dinner when I could read the rest. Bravo as usual.
Please keep writing these even if now you are splurging on motels at LAX and bunks in the Marine Highway Ferries.They are still adventurous reports

goback

Awesome, as the young ones say. Always enjoyable to read your reports Seat2A!

I particularly liked your comments about first on JAL. I likewise like the more open layout.

Your train travel is also very interesting and I hope to catch the Zephyr one day.

Many other thoughts, but can't remember them all.

Thanks again.

PS I might even write up a report of one of my regular trips to the Solomon Islands.

dc2005b

Wonderful read as always Seat 2A! I have just added Alaska Marine Highway to my list, seems like a fantastic way to spend a few days.

MSYtoJFKagain

A Seat 2A report? Always amazing!

I always appreciate the depth and candor of your reports. You've definitely inspired me to expand my travel horizons. I'm going to be on that JAL flight JFK->NRT->JFK next year (albeit in J, F is still just out of reach for my mile earning).

Has there actually been progress on the problem of commercial train traffic hampering Amtrak trains? My last experience outside of the Northeast Corridor was severely impacted by a CSX train taking priority over us heading up on the Vermonter. We were shunted aside for nearly 3 hours! This was 4 years ago so I hope you're correct.

I also managed to ride the Italian rails recently and got to experience all three flavors of the Trenitalia system. Their newest high-speed set, the Frecciarossa 1000 are very comfortable and affordable to boot! I actually preferred the slower Intercity Regionale trains. As you said, enjoying the countryside is the best part. In this case it was the hills of Tuscany rolling by. Quite the day.

Thanks for the report and I hope we can twist your arm for a few more!

Seat 2A

Thanks, NLG! Given the popularity and expediency of photo reports, I've always wondered how many people actually read my reports as opposed to simply scroll through the photos. The bottom line of course is enjoying the overall product in whatever manner that may come about, but it means a lot to hear from folks such as yourself that the writing contributed to the overall quality. I am definitely looking forward to that 200th airline though at this point have no idea how or when it's going to come about. I wonder if there'd be any interest in a report on my 2000th flight/2 millionth mile flown aboard a 737? That milestone will be coming up shortly.

I hope you still get a chance to visit your old hometown and Mt. Shasta now and then. What a beautiful mountain! Driving north up US 97 is far preferable to me than taking I-5.

Good Lord! I knew my reports occasionally resulted in sleepless nights but your experience sounds downright deleterious! Glad you got through it though and thanks for the kind words, ffl. ^ BTW, I really enjoyed that Travelodge at LAX. It was like a trip down memory lane right through the nineteen sixties reminding me of some of the nicer motels we stayed in when I was a kid. Per my tastes I would feel more comfortable paying to stay there than enjoying a comp suite at a Starwood type property.

Hey Now! Good to hear from you again, GB! Didn't you used to live in Adelaide? Thank you for your comments on this report. Writing about the First Class service aboard airlines like JAL is almost as enjoyable as flying up front with them. I may have another flight to write about next month. One thing you'll find about riding First Class aboard the California Zephyr is that you can do so for a mere fraction of what you' d pay for a similar journey in First aboard the Indian Pacific or The Ghan. That said, there'd also be a distinct drop off in service quality re. meals and the lounge compared to GSR's Gold Kangaroo Class but I should imagine the savings as well as the scenery would more than make up for it. As to a trip report on the Solomon Islands, I'm sure I speak for many when I say "Bring it on!"

Thanks, DC! The Alaska Marine Highway is a great way to see and enjoy some of North America's most scenic coastal regions, and at a very affordable price (if you're not bringing a car along). I'm already plotting a trip for next April

Tocsin

To add my thanks, Seat2A, and confirm that your TRs are a delightful way of passing a few hours! They are the very opposite of the 'lots of pictures, one-liners' type of TR - I look at those as well, but somehow don't spend as much time on them. Please keep them coming...

iwantanupgrade

Geez, go away for 2 weeks, you wont miss anything. Fantastic as usual

flycal312

Chalkie

Dear Seat 2A

Thank you so much for a wonderful TR. I feel better about the world just by reading your TR. I admire your approach to travel and we have much in common about what we like and for what we look. I am 42 days away from retirement, and next May I move to Vancouver, Canada for a few years so I can easily travel the Americas. The Inside Passage and the Denali National Park are on the list. Your report about the California Zephyr has now put that on the list for me too.

With the end of my working life may bring the time and desire to resume writing TRs myself. To my shame, it's been a very long time since my last!

Kind regards
Chalkie

Seat 2A

Thanks, MSY! I don't know how you're funding your upcoming JAL flights, but if you're using miles - and especially is you're using Alaska Airlines miles - it's only like 15000 more miles each way, which would be worth purchasing. Although JAL will give you a nice ride in J, the difference in space and in particular meal service is substantial up front. I'll be flying JAL First in a couple of weeks so I'll likely update you all. That trip'll probably be worthy of a trip report (especially given the return airline) - assuming anybody still wants to read another long trip report from me.

BTW, thanks for the update on the Italian trains. I've never been to Italy, but from pictures and movies I've seen, it looks like a great country to ride a train through. Someday...

Thanks, IWAU! This has got to be one of the busiest trip report forum on the internet! Hope you get those upgrades!

Thanks, cal! I think I've still got a report or two left in me. And that includes that Qantas report, even though it'll be about a year and a half late. Good luck finding that First Class award on Qantas. They can be one of the tougher premium class seats to find. And hey! Congrats on 10 years as a 75K! Me too, though this'll be my last year. I'll cross the 75K barrier in late November. Also, I'd love to take you up on that Woodford sometime. I've got a Houston connection coming up in November, but it's uncertain at present if I'll have enough time to do anything other than rush to the next gate... Also, it's late afternoon, probably while you're at work. We'll know more in the coming days...

MSYtoJFKagain

I'm trying to inspire a European rail adventure for you!

I'm funding this trip with some AA miles, mostly via credit cards. I thought about going for F tickets but it's an extra 20k miles per ticket and at my current earning rate I won't have the time to earn that before we need to buy our tickets (330 days out). My next goal is to get my first international F on KE out to Seoul and back.

iaflyer

I’ve read either all or almost all of your trip reports and was glad to see another one posted. I read every word of your wonderful report. I fact, I read the second half as I crossed the North Atlantic enroute to Minneapolis - after seeing the JAL cheese tray, I rang the flight attendant and asked for some fruit and cheese and go along with the TR. couldn’t enjoy any Woodford but got the savor to cheese with the TR. I enjoyed the mix of travel modes a lot - the train and boat mixed in with the flying made for a nice mix. I hope to see the Australia report, I bet it’s a good one - Keep ‘em coming!

TheFlyingDoctor

Can always rely on a Seat2a report to be compelling reading. I now save them for long trips of my own - on this occasion a near-11 hour, four country run of trains from Bristol in the UK to the southernmost province of the Netherlands. I'm glad that I took the inspiration from earlier accounts and thus now some of what you write about is a reminder for me too. In fact I've just this summer taken another pair of rides on the coast starlight - I do wish they'd found a way to keep the parlour car in service, though. I suspect this time it'll be the Alaskan marine highway that proves an irresistible component of a future trip!

As for the time it takes to compile these accounts, well, I have settled on a sixth month turnaround for my own lengthier travels - typically using the winter holidays to write up my summer adventures! I think there's some advantage in that - if you can't recall a detail after that time, or lack the motivation to flesh out notes made in transit, then likely the reader won't miss it either. Plus then a piece can be submitted whole, which I much prefer. So I hope we still see a few more of yours, whatever the lag to the events described.

On which note, do you have any aspirations for airline #200 , or would you prefer to leave it to fate?

Kiwi Flyer

Thanks Seat2A for another wonderful report. A great way to fill the time in transit in an airport lounge with glass in hand reading your prose. Keep it up.

Seat 2A

Thank you, Chalkie. What an adventure the next chapter of your life is shaping up to be! Vancouver will make a great base of operations to explore our fair continent and, should you be so inclined, it'd be a pleasure to read any trip reports you care to favor this forum with. Here's to many great adventures ahead ^

Thanks, iaflyer! One of the most enjoyable things about flying First Class with JAL is the effort they put into preparing and presenting their meals. JAL's food is best described as culinary art and - to their credit - the flight attendants seem well versed on how best to present it. Indeed, I enjoyed JAL's food so much that I'm coming back for seconds. Thirds actually, as next week's flight between LAX and NRT will be my third in First Class aboard JAL. It'll be hard to come hungry after a round of pre-flight lounging at the Qantas First Class Lounge at LAX, but maybe I'll put off lunch until we're off the coast of Canada. As to the Australia report, it'll be well over a year and a half in the past by the time I finally get it submitted, but hopefully there'll still be two or three readers who might find it worth their while.

Thanks, Doc! It's always fun to read of some of the cool places people have arranged to read my trip reports from, and your run from Bristol on down to the nether reaches of the Netherlands is one of the better ones I've seen mentioned here. Cooler yet is reading that my reports have inspired similar travels - especially on Amtrak which could use the extra business. Sadly, Amtrak's current president (Richard Anderson -ex of Delta) is working hard to cut costs and services on many Amtrak trains. He's meeting a lot of resistance but unfortunately many of his nefarious machinations have already come to fruition. I would recommend that any potential First Class Amtrak riders plan to ride sooner than later, especially if you want a hot meal prepared onboard. To that end I've just cashed in a slew of points to book my first ever deluxe bedroom - quite an upgrade from my usual roomette. It'll be on the Empire Builder between Seattle and Milwaukee in three weeks - a nice exclamation point to my 21,900 mile routing back home.

As for my 198, 199 and 200th airlines flown, I have recently booked and purchased the requisite tickets. I won't disclose the airlines just yet, but I will allow that the three flights will be aboard a 767-400, an A330-200 and an A320-200. Hopefully I'll have the corresponding trip report published by year's end!

Thanks, Kiwi! I see via FlightMemory that you've been pretty busy yourself. On that note, welcome to the 5 Million Miler Club! ^^ Here's to many more happy contrails =============================== >