Accomodations

For about five minutes in the trip-planning stage Tim and I thought of doing coach seats for the entire trip. It would have been significantly cheaper; however, it would mean no showers, no food, and no privacy. The no privacy issue wasn't really that big of a deal, but the no showers (for me anyway) and no food were bigger deals. We would have had to buy food or try to bring on enough food to last for seven days, a harder task since we've decided to do carry-on only luggage.

So from Syracuse to Chicago, a thirteen-hour overnight trip, we'll be sitting in reserved coach seats. No big whoop for one night, and we'll be saving a little money this way. But from Chicago to Portland, a two-night trip, we splurged on a Superliner Roomette. THIS is the really exciting part. With the roomette are beds (of course), a picture window, electrical outlets (not guaranteed in coach), water, newspaper, shower stuff, climate control, and, best of all, meals. We'll get to eat all meals in the dining car, which I hear is kind of awesome. Also, with the roomette, we can bring our own wine and beer, now a key factor since we found out Rogue Brewery is Newport. The return trip is the same: roomette from Portland to Chicago, coach from Chicago to Syracuse.

Some trains also offer onboard entertainment. I hope we have one of those trains because I bet onboard entertainment is amazing.