Once Hads graduated from Columbia College in Chicago this past Spring (I myself still have another year to go, but thats another story), we determined that the best way to use the abundance of idle time that summer afforded us to embark on a cross country road trip. Although tentative at best, the plan was for us to take Route 66 from Chicago to San Francisco while making pit stops along the way in New Mexico, The Grand Canyon, Los Angeles and finally a drive up the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. However, because both of us were sans car this summer we had to drum up another means of transportation and fast with the date we were planning to head out rapidly approaching. After ruling out car rentals, whose weekly fees were criminal, we looked to trains as a last resort. And thanks to some shrewd travel finagling by Hads we were booked on the Southwest Chief bound for the Grand Canyon one week prior.
Initially we thought that by opting to take the train we would be missing out but the charm of our sleeper car quickly quashed any of those notions. We had also come prepared with two grocery bags filled with (for the most part) non-perishable comestibles as we were on a strict budget. So, it was a happy surprise to hear that breakfast, lunch, and dinner would be complimentary and on top of that it was not the stock menu of club sandwiches and chips we had anticipated but rather a varied and flavorful assortment of meals.
Undoubtedly the greatest advantage of taking the train was waking up to the Colorado Plains and seeing the New Mexico desert unspool outside the window of the dining car.
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