Boarded Amtrak in Emeryville, CA this morning (near Berkeley) headed to Denver. I’m posting twice in one day because we are stuck in Reno. There is heavy rain ahead of us and they want to ensure the track is not washed out. Good call. So we wait. I was able to upbid on my seat and got a roomette for 1/2 price which includes all meals and one free alcoholic beverage with dinner. 34 scheduled hours on the train deserves a roomette. The food has been really good; much better than I expected. Vegan chili for lunch and flatiron steak for dinner. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, I just wanted the chili and didn’t want red meat twice in one day. I’ve enjoyed my roomette immensely and also enjoyed meeting other folks at the dining car table. At dinner a woman was seated at my table – wearing a Smoky Mountains tee shirt.

Some pics below. I don’t have the premium version of this blog hosting site, so I can’t post videos. The scenery through the Sierra Nevada range has been beautiful. The Rockies are tomorrow.