All good ideas, thanks. I’m kind of leaning away from a southern Summer vacation, though. Maybe we’ll save a southern road trip for a Fall or Winter getaway.
The Rail Pass is a great deal, but it is good only for coach travel, you can’t use it to bid up into a sleeper car roomette or bedroom.
I love traveling by train and I live a mile from an Amtrak stop on the California Zephyr, so I endorse the idea of a train vacation, if not this one then in the future. A couple of things to keep in mind to ward off frustration or disappointment.
Sleeper reservations include quite good food and drink in the dining car, included in the room cost. Coach passengers can sometimes pay for meals in the dining car, depending on availability but there is no guaranty-there is a cafe car for everyone which is more like convenience store fare.
And they do indeed fill up sleeper cars early in the season so do reserve early when you decide to do it. Earlier is virtually always cheaper, often by a lot and Amtrak accepts reservations up to 11 months out.
Thanks BBB, great Amtrak travel advice!
Da Nada. PM me if you’re serious about an Amtrak trip and I’ll give you some sites to check out and lots of tricks and tips so you have a good trip and don’t have to learn anything the hard way.
On my bucket list is California Zephyr to San Francisco, then the Coastal Starlight up to Empire Builder through Glacier National Park back to Chicago and then a short jaunt on the eastern part of the California Zephyr back home to Nebraska.
The canned cocktails, assuming they’re still available, can help you ignore the fact that it’s convenience store fare. 
Also good to know!
There’s no such place and trains don’t go there anyway. 
Sure there is~it is just above Dorothy and Toto’s Kansas-just click the heels of you ruby red slippers twice 
and murmur “I wanna go home”!
Those are nice shoes; probably don’t have them in my size. 
So far black patent leather Birkenstocks have worked for me, much more practical and comfortable for traveling.
So “There’s no place like home” gets me to Kansas & “I wanna go home” gets me to Nebraska. I see one problem. I’m from neither of them; what do I say to get home?
E.T. go home!
I thought he just wanted to phone home
When his Über arrives at the end of the picture, he starts yelling “E.T. go home!” a zillion times and I wish I could’ve been there to toss his wrinkly butt on the ship.
I know you eliminated the UP, but there are nice spots in the LP - Specifically Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Traverse City area.
For Wisconsin I will add Interstate State Park – nice bluffs overlooking the St Croix. There is a companion park on the MN side – some nice stuff there but the camping is much better in WI. The boat ride is nice too. Though that is on the far side from MI.
Just an FYI on trains – there is a additional train (the Borealis) that goes between Chicago and Minneapolis same route and most if not all the same stops as Empire Builder. First year they expected ~150k passengers and it was ~200k
I like the Boulder Junction area – there are several campgrounds in the Northern Highlands / American Legion State Forest and the Heart of Vilas County bike trail is paved.
Brian
Something different, Great Lakes cruises. Lots of different companies and experiences. Ships are way smaller than Carribean monoliths. Different numbers of nights; one lake or more. Put in at a city/attraction area for the day trips, food, exploration. The ship sails you while sleeping to the next city. We did a Viking river cruise in Europe, same program.
Amtrak, hope they can keep the schedules a bit better now. A few years ago we went from Iowa to Flagstaff, AZ. Arrived on the dot - exactly 24 hours late!
Absolutely right, but I’m Michigan born and raised-- been all up and down the west coast of the L.P. Looking for something new. I like your other suggestions, thanks!
Interesting… 
I would have preferred a margarita slushie but the canned margarita I had on a trip out to Illinois was acceptable. Must have been my first trip; all others were on a Superliner, on which the cafe is downstairs from the observation deck.
Drinks on the train are like ballpark stadium overpriced, aren’t they? The last time I took Amtrak, which was a round-trip Ann Arbor to Chicago in maybe 2012-13, I brought a 6-pack with me. Is that still doable or have things tightened up, security-wise?
Here’s the Amtrak.com hootch policy:
You may bring aboard your own private stock of alcoholic beverages subject to the following limitations:
- You may consume private stock alcoholic beverages only in Sleeping Car accommodations for which you have a valid ticket.
- You may not consume private stock alcoholic beverages in any public areas.
From what I hear they are fairly strict about it. Just don’t drink booze, yours or theirs in a coach seat. Sleeper passengers can bring their own. Everyone can buy and drink in the Cafe Car or dining car, Amtrak stock only.
Hers Cafe Car drink prices-they don’t seem too extreme.