Hooray for a gelling plan!
But color me mystified at the idea of planning anything 9 months in advance. I’m leaving tonight = Thursday for a 5-day weekend in Costa Rica. I decided to do that on Tuesday evening. That’s about as far as I ever plan travel ahead: 48 hours.
When using Amtrak it’s wise to reserve tickets as far in advance as possible for two reasons. First, they use their own peculiar dynamic pricing so in advance is likely to be vastly cheaper and secondly, there are limited seats and especially limited sleeper choices on the scenic Midwestern and western long distance trains so if you want a sleeping berth on a certain day or week, to be sure of getting it you better snag it early, months early. Amtrak accepts reservations up to 11 months in advance. Those scenic long distance western US trains go once a day each direction, some go only 3 or 4 times a week.
I’ve ridden the Amtrak from LA to Chicago, as well as Route 66, so I can answer any questions.
I can’t add much because the last time I took the Rte 66 trip I was about 5 years old. We went from L.A. east, and turned off before the official end of the road, because our destination was in Ohio.
I have fond memories. I wish I could find the picture of us four kids posing in the Petrified Forest.
Preeeeee-cisely.
I’m going to book my tickets from DC to Chicago and back fairly soon. I looked at the pricing online and both directions claimed “only 1 left!” for sleepers.
It may not have been that close, on the eastbound Southwest Chief, as we got well-placed roomettes across the hall from each other on the upper level.
Now, we haven’t planned anything ELSE out, beyond expecting that our first night will be in Springfield, IL and we need to be at LA Union Station on the 20th.
Ran across this:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/route-66-highlights
I’ve not been on that route in a long time; I assume the Capitol Limited still stops in Cleveland for an hour (~Midnight - 1) and pauses a bit in Elkhart for allowing passengers to take photos of the nearby railroad museum displays.
They combined the Capitol Limited with one of the Silver routes last year - so the train goes all the way from Chicago to Miami and back - and is notoriously non-punctual. I doubt there will be any longer stops that aren’t abbreviated to try to get back on schedule. On the plus side, I can now catch it in Alexandria, VA - no need to either change trains or brave DC traffic to get to the train.
I’ve booked the outbound part of that; have been waiting for some points to hit my account before booking the return.
My family drove on route 66 in a ‘57 Chevy. Of course this was in 1957 and it was the new family car.
That counts. It’s even more pure. No I40 cutting on into pieces.
It sure does!
Our trip is just over 4 months. So far we have made ZERO concrete plans, beyond Springfield, IL being our first stop.