Touring in the Good ‘ol US of A.

/ Garrulous Gwendoline

It has been such a terribly long time since I had the free hours to write even a simple story that I feel a little embarrassed to come on now reaching out for help, but am wondering if any of my American readers, and others who are in the know, can advise me on a potential holiday for next year.

Apart from five days in San Francisco, which preceded another five days driving up the Pacific 101 to Astoria, then double-backing to Portland and Seattle before crossing into Canada, hubbie and I have never been to mainland USA.

However, my Aussie girlfriend, who usually resides in Texas, is marrying in San Francisco on 26th April next year. Despite this being the day after Anzac Day, one of the most commemorated in Australia, we are intending to be there to witness and celebrate this significant event. We’re bringing our Aussie accents as a gift (joke).

And then after that … I’ve taken it into my head that I might like to ride some of the Amtrak network and stop off visiting places along the way. I see they have some package deals, which you can also customise (customize). I love train travel, and I’m a little bit stuck back in those 1940s films where the glamorous starlight wearing silk pajamas and false eyelashes climbed into her upper bunk and said, “Goodnight Johnnie”, just before she pulled her curtains closed. Plus, I can sing nearly every word of Chattanooga Choo Choo from memory, including the introduction. The Andrew Sisters or Bing Crosby – pick the version of your choosing. And let’s not forget the eight-minute rendition kicked off by Glenn Miller in the movie Sun Valley Serenade (1941). Watch it here. It switches stars and tempo in the last third – fascinating!

Okay, so 2025 might not offer the same exoticism, but I still maintain you see more from a train carriage than a plane (despite what Don Ostertag said in his most recent post) but, where to go? All I know is we are curious to spend time in New Orleans, have never seen Niagara Falls, nor, for that matter New York or Boston, from where we would like to fly on to London (as I have quasi family in Kent and would like to spend my big 70 with them).

Once upon a time I had a dream to hire a campervan and spend a week in each US state. Then I realised that would take a year and still only scratch the surface. Australia is a big country which no tourist could hope to encompass in a month or two – although plenty try. But – the States? Geographically, we’re kind of the same square miles if you leave out Alaska and Hawaii, but Australia is nowhere near as densely populated (26 million versus 333 million). You can drive 100 miles without seeing another car (or a gas station, by the way).

From the outside looking in – where the heck to start?

22 thoughts on “Touring in the Good ‘ol US of A.”

  1. Pingback: USA Here We Come | The Reluctant Retiree

  3. Sounds like an adventure coming up. These look to be interesting websites. I’ve read The Man in Seat 61 on a few occasions: good to read a personal perspective I always think.

    https://www.seat61.com/UnitedStates.htm

    https://www.roughguides.com/articles/how-to-travel-the-usa-by-train/

    https://www.polrail.com/en/polecane-trasy/california-zephyr#:~:text=The%20California%20Zephyr%C2%AE%20is,and%20the%20Sierra%20Nevada%20Mountains.

    https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/bus-train/train-travel-usa

    https://www.the-backpacking-site.com/transport/usa-by-train/

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. Our voting is done on Tuesday. A person can get two hours paid to go vote. If they are not back in two hours they can forfeit the 2 hours pay. There’s no time to have fun visiting food stalls, etc.

    As far as Trump is concerned, he’s already screaming the election is crooked. He is so far gone. There will be thousands at a Harris rally and Trump claims there was only a few paid people and the crowd was nothing but an AI creation. He was ranting so bad last night he got pulled off the air on Fox News, Murdoch’s station. No one would have thought Fox would even say anything against Trump let alone pull him off the air.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • What a pity there isn’t time for the sausage sizzle. It’s nicknamed the “Democracy Sausage”.
      I kind of understand the history of how your elections came to be scheduled at an odd time, but I had no idea it was paid leave.
      Also, going on a tangent, do you still get paid to donate blood? Ours in entirely voluntary.
      I’ve been keeping an eye on your political process and noticing that rightwing news is starting to edge away from Trump. Who’d a thunk it!
      Surely Murdoch cannot stay his career course for much longer either, but he is grooming one of his sons in his image. Hard to imagine how he (senior) turned out the way he has, as his father was well-respected, and his mother even more so. She was well-known as a philanthropist, and a real lady. He is the epitome of never letting the truth get in the way of a good story. Trump may turn out to be his personal Frankenstein creation.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      • Paid leave for just two hours. Paid for blood? I know a college kid that sold his extremally rare blood almost on a monthly basis. The only time I ever gave blood was when it was designated to help the little son of a friend. Also I gave on Blood Drives where the only payment was coffee and a donut.

        Nice to hear that at least one member of the Murdoch family is a kind person. Recently Murdoch’s Fox News was ruled by a court that not only is it not news, but it is biased propaganda. Of course the morons who watch it don’t know what the words mean.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        • My husband has medals for the number of blood donations he has made. He doesn’t now. I can’t remember why he stopped. I’ve given a number, but with low blood pressure it takes a looooong time to extract a pint, especially in winter. Some where I still have my mother’s book, which was how it was recorded in the sixties. Our hospital system depends on such donations, and every so often there is a callout for a specific type. And yes, we get a drink and snacks. When I was a kid and I would go with mum I’d get barley sugar for doing nothing!

          Interesting to hear Murdoch’s Fox has been called out. Not that it will make any difference to those who are caught in its echo chamber.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply

  6. First I have to apologize about my crack about train travel in the US, Gwen. From what I understand AmTrac has really turned rail travel into a fine sight-seeing experience.

    Second, another cravat, don’t put any money down or make plans to come to the US until after our presidential election. If Trump wins you might not want to come. Plus, the exodus of travel will be out of the US.

    PS: However, if our wonderful Kamala Harris becomes our first woman president, a journey to the US will be a joy.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Oh, I knew were storytelling about the train travel 🙂 But you are also correct, the view is not always what one imagines.
      And I started to write something about the presidential election and then deleted it, but yes, if Trump gets in, it will not only throw holiday plans into disarray, if you get my drift.
      Every day as I watch events unfold, I couldn’t be more grateful for our compulsory voting scheme; and the lack of glitz and glamour in the lead up. That DNC sure was some event! You would have been kept busy if you were working it. Fingers crossed it had enough television viewers to inspire people to get out and vote no matter the weather, etc.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        • Thank goodness for that option! (even if Trump thinks its rigged). We have that too, and we use it on occasions – or prevoting in person which is also possible. But part of the fun of the day is lining up with others, chatting, buying cakes and muffins from schoolkids’ stalls, a barbecued sausage in a bun from Rotary or some other fundraiser. Although Covid has disrupted some of that pattern…

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

I love comments!