Oh My Gosh It's October!

And just like that our trip was almost over. It was time to board the train to come back to reality. 

One last look at the two stadiums. So for future reference, the stadiums are within walking distance of the train station so theoretically if you wanted to catch a Seahawks or Mariner's game you could just hop the train. You definitely need to plan ahead though since it takes 23 hours from the Bay Area!

The whole train experience is exciting in my opinion. Just being in the station and seeing all the different people is fascinating. I took pictures of the stops we were making so I could know where we were. You are kind of in your own little world once you get on board.

We were able to upgrade to a larger room for the way home. The bed was still not 100% comfortable but again, it was only for one night. At least we had our own bathroom and it even had a shower if we wanted to take one. We had a lot more leg room. 

We saw some different scenery on the way home since we were traveling this part in the daytime whereas we had come in during the nighttime. I could see the end of the train behind us when we went around the bend. The trees were starting their fall colors. Some of the stations were really unusual. 

Once again the food was delicious. The flowers on the table were fresh and the staff was so pleasant and helpful. There is a point going through the mountains where you lose service but I was able to catch some of the Giants game on my phone while my husband watched football on my laptop.   

All in all it was a really great trip. Something we hadn't been able to do in a LONG time. Now we are thinking of Catalina Island. I told my husband it is the "island of romance." I was surprised that he had never heard the song "26 Miles - Santa Catalina." 

If you are thinking about taking a train trip, do it. I have to 100% thank my friend Karen@MarvelousMouseTravels for helping us put this all together. She is great and so easy to work with. Highly recommend her for your vacation needs. 

I've been having fun blogging this experience. Make sure to check out the other folks who are doing the Ultimate Blogging Challenge. 

I am not sure if I will be able to connect here the next few days. I am going away for a scrapbooking getaway with my BFF. If I can, I will. If not, I'll catch up with you when I get back!  

Oh My Gosh It's October!

Hey there, two days in a row in the Ultimate Blog Challenge! When I left you yesterday we had just pulled in to Seattle via Amtrak from Emeryville.  We had a good night's sleep and got up on Wednesday morning ready for our first adventure, seeing the Space Needle and Chiluly Gardens. One of the things that I had been worried about was that we did not rent a car. We usually always have a car so that we can go wherever we want whenever we want when we are traveling. I downloaded the Seattle Yellow Cab app on my phone because research had told me that the cab was cheaper than an Uber but we didn't need to use it for this part of the day because our hotel was within walking distance. 

The Space Needle is so impressive. Inside there is a gift shop of course and along the walkway to the elevator is the history of how it was made. I must admit we didn't stop to read much of that because we were just anxious to get up to the top. 

The view is spectacular and there are several spots that are "photo ops" with markings on the ground for you to stand on. One is in the center with a glass floor and you look up (the middle picture above). That is kinda scary. There is also a revolving area where you can sit and have a drink and watch the scenery scroll by. It used to be a full restaurant but now they just have a mini bar and a place to get some light food and snacks.

You could see our hotel from the top, along with the ferris wheel that is down by the harbor. The basket was hanging out over the edge on the outside and I guess it is used to wash the windows. Something I would NOT like to have to do.  Those spiders are painted on the roof and they looked so creepy. My husband got a T-shirt from the gift shop with them on it. 

There is a "miniature" needle in the middle of the gift shop. The edge of the glass area is sloped so when you are sitting on the bench it almost feels like you're falling backward. In the picture in the top left corner we are helping some folks figure out the photo op spot. You scan the QR code they have and then it automatically downloads to your phone. Wonder what they did before technology hit? Polaroids - LOL.

I have some video of the fountain and a little of the scenery going by but it wouldn't download to Blogger so I'll have to figure that out for future posts. I think I got the photo fixed though.  

Chiluly Gardens deserves its own post so come back tomorrow for that. You'll be glad you did! 

Oh My Gosh It's October

Well hello friends in bloglandia. It has been a minute since I posted anything and I thought it might be time to step in and let you know what's been going on around here. It is easier for me to keep engaged if I have a challenge of some sort and I sorely missed finishing the A to Z earlier this year. To help me now I'm going to try the October Ultimate Blog Challenge. The object is just to blog for 31 days. Not sure I can get that many in but I'm giving it a shot. 

For my first post I'll share that my husband and I went on a train trip from Emeryville (just outside of San Francisco) to Seattle, Washington. It has been one of the things we've wanted to do for a while and we are finally able to get away together now that one of us doesn't have to stay at home in case we were needed by my mother-in-law. 

To help me get through the month I'm going to break the trip up into segments. First is the train ride to Seattle. 

We got to the station early so had about an hour to wait before the train left. 

Part of the fun was leaving at night. 

This particular route is called the Coast Starlight on Amtrak and actually runs all the way from Los Angeles to Seattle. 

Since it takes 23 hours to get to Seattle, we decided that it would be worth it to get a "roomette" so that we would have a place to sleep. 

The two seats pull out and form one bed and then the top bunk is the other. 

Honestly it wasn't the most comfortable arrangement but we made it work for the night. We decided that we would contact our travel agent and see if we could get an upgrade for the ride home. They have a "deluxe" room that has its own bathroom and is a little bigger. 

Also on this train is an observatory compartment where you can sit and watch the scenery go by. That was pretty cool. But as we were traveling at night, we couldn't see much - LOL. Still, it was fun to watch the passing lights from the different towns. 

As part of the package you are entitled to 3 meals plus beverages. For the dinner meal you are allowed one alcoholic beverage free if you choose. The food was actually pretty good. For breakfast I had an omelet and my husband had french toast. The omelet wasn't really hot but the cheese was melted. Bill said his french toast was cold. You don't need "reservations" for breakfast but they come around to your rooms during the trip to ask what time you'd like lunch and dinner. 

Each table had flowers and when you were seated, they paired you up with other passengers at a table for four. We ate with different people at every meal. It was kind of fun learning about others who were traveling with us.  

  

I didn't take a picture of all the food but for dinner I had steak which was so tender and juicy. They had some good desserts too!  

We didn't get off the train at every stop but there were a couple where the train stopped longer to refresh supplies and then we did get out to stretch our legs. Along the way I tried to take pictures of what was going past our windows.

Saw the sunrise as we were having breakfast just outside of Klamath Falls. 

Some beautiful scenery going through the mountains. 

We thought the train would have a "bar car" like an actual bar but they don't. Instead they have a space downstairs from the observatory car that has drinks and food you can buy if you want something in between meals. 

            A pumpkin patch!

And finally we made it to our destination, King Street Station, Seattle.  

We had left the Bay Area at about 9:30 on Monday night and pulled into Seattle at 7:30 Tuesday evening. We took a cab to our hotel and settled in for the next 3 days. This was our view out the hotel window:

We stayed at the Hyatt Place. 

 

The Lobby had a shop where you could get drinks and snacks and breakfast was included. 

The room was very nice but we were a bit surprised because there was no dresser to keep our clothes in when we unpacked. 

And this is where I will leave you for today. We settled in for the night and got ready for the first of our adventures in the morning, the Space Needle and Chiluly Gardens. 

Shout out to my friend Karen Fitting of Marvelous Mouse Travels. I have known Karen for many years now but mostly as a scrapbooking buddy. This is the first time I've had her help me with vacation planning and I have to say she is wonderful. We told her what we wanted to do and what our budget was and she put together a package for us that was just perfect. If you are looking to do any traveling, I'd highly recommend her. She even helped us get an upgrade for our train ride home so we could have a bigger space. 

Okay, that's about it for today. So sorry about the photos. I haven't blogged in so long that I forget how to format, especially in Blogger. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have it figured out LOL.