Fredrik74

Haven't we all done that already? Just kidding, 200 airlines is impressive and even if quite a few of these would be only a handful of times it still amounts to a huge amount of flights and experiences.

Looking forward to following you on this trip.

stevie

Amazing TR, I love the contrasts between rail and air travel, SE Asia and Alaska.
Also that picture of yourself in 1985 is intriguing for some reason - a kind of poignant snap shot of a moment in one's overall journey.
Anyway thanks for taking the time.

Redwood839

This has got to be my favorite trip report on any site so far. I wish I had more time to travel by rail across the US, I think both I and my wife would love it.

Thank you for incredibly rich text and pictures, what a nice report.

rosensfole

Oh wow Mr. Seat 2A!

I've only read the first 2 sections of your first post and I'm hooked. I'll enjoy reading remainder when I get home later.

One of my regrets is not having kept hand written diaries when traveling - especially as getting on for 40 years of flying has gone unrecorded and my memory is depleting as age creeps on.

Makes note: get popcorn on way home...

offerendum

Leaving at the plane is for me the most appropriate way to handle an odd Cathay F kit. Such a shame.

Seat 2A

Thank you, Fred! For now I'm stuck at 197, leaving me curious which airline will be number 200. Surprisingly, given all of my premium class travel over the years, my 100th airline flown was Spirit - the ULCC modeled airline here in the U.S.. Back when I flew Spirit however, its MD80s still sported decent legroom in comfortable reclining seats with complimentary soft drinks and the like. A far cry from what they've morphed into today. As to following me on this trip, what you see is what you get. I've never been one for incremental posting, so I wait until I've completed the trip and then submit the entire thing. That way there's no annoying waiting for the next installment to post - though I do lose out on a lot of those "atta boy" type comments along the way. Hope you enjoy the entire report!

Thanks, Stevie. Funny, but I was chatting with the fellow on the left just last week - a couple of died in the wool independents lamenting the sorry state of affairs here in the homeland. We still have our beards but maybe a bit less hair up top.

Thank you for your kind words, Red. I wish more people appreciated the text but I suspect a significant percentage of them have neither the time nor the patience and so just fast forward through the pictures. All the more reason I appreciate your comments. ^ As to having time for a train ride, I'd like to think that there are plenty of short but scenic train trips you and your wife could do on Amtrak, some involving no more than a day of travel such as Los Angeles to the Bay Area (1000am to 8/900pm) or Denver to Glenwood Springs (800am to 200pm) or even Denver to Salt Lake City (800am to 1100pm)

Thanks, Mr. R! For a report of this scope I take a bit of time at some point in the day (or flight) to jot down any relevant notes or impressions. Sometimes I can fill up a page or more. Add to that my memories and experiences covering not only this trip but many others and you've got the makings of a fairly passable trip report. Enjoy that popcorn with the upcoming sections!

I'm not sure I understand the source of shame here, Mr. O. Is it a shame to have left it on the plane or a shame to have opened it at all? Looking back at the photo of its contents, the only things of any real value if you could call it that are the skin creams. A tube of that toothpaste'll cost you $1.00, the cheap plastic toothbrush half that and the comb about the same. Mouthwash? Who amongst us can place a value on mouthwash? (Unless you suffer from halitosis ).

You're welcome, LC!

offerendum

It´s a shame to give such a scrap to F-passengers,

Insulator-King

Hideous Fuchsia. I chuckled.
Definitely a multi-mode travel trip. Everything except bicycle and horse.

aviatorzz

Once again, always a pleasure reading your reports. As someone who has, time and time again, wrote and deleted many a report without publishing, I know how incredibly time consuming and tedious reports can be and how much editing can take. I wish I could have the tenacity that you show in posting not only a unique, in depth report but your literary style is incredible.

10/10 would take the two hours to read this again. And again.

Cheers!

Duck1981

Sensational TR

Love the train rides!

Regards from London
Daniel

steveman518

Yet another wonderful trip report! You have singlehandedly tempted me to take the coastal starlight while I'm still on the west coast. I'll also have to let Manny know that you really enjoyed the Pale Ale ^

pjs

Always enjoy your reports. If only I could convince my wife to take some of these train journeys...

Seat 2A

Hideous Fuschia - sounds like a good name for a Punk Rock band..Other'n that, this was my kind of trip indeed. Glad you enjoyed it, I-K!

Hey now, aviatorzz, I really appreciate comments such as yours that acknowledge the huge amount of time that go into not only writing and re-writing a report like this but also editing and re-editing it. Then after that I've gotta add all the language specific to picture displays, of which this report had about 200. People have often asked me why I do it without pay, and sometimes I wonder myself but honestly, outside of sites like FlyerTalk there's not much interest in stories like the ones I've managed to publish here on FT. I'm happy to have a place to publish them because frankly, most of them are way too long for any magazine (This one's 57000 words). Another great thing about FlyerTalk is that people should be able to look up this and other stories ten or twenty years from now. Thanks for the kind words! ^

Thank you, Daniel! I must get over to your land someday to ride the Cornish Main Line to Penzance. Someday...

Temptation is different from action, Steve. Go ride it! And bring some of that fine beer from GBC along!

Thanks, pjs. As to wooing your wife onto a train, start small - maybe a autumn colors ride on the Adirondack from New York to a picturesque town like Westport on Lake Champlain or maybe the six hour ride from Denver to Glenwood Springs as pictured in this report. Good luck!

757

Amazing report, and thank you for sharing. I'm actually going to send this to my father in law to read as he loves rail journeys. Thank you for a very enjoyable read on a rainy Monday evening here in Minneapolis.

krazykanuck

A great read as always, thanks! Also it was nice to meet you briefly over lunch a couple weeks ago in FAI!