Riding the rails: Oakland to Portland by train

We’re so excited we can hardly contain ourselves. The kids were abuzz all day anticipating our first real train ride. Not a subway train. Not an amusement park train ride. Not even a Bart train going through the transbay tunnel to SF. We’re taking an overnight Amtrak train from Oakland to Portland, bunking up in a sleeper car. It’s going to be awesome. I’m just as excited as the kids.

I’m envisioning a trip back in time with images of riding through the foggy night aboard the mysterious Orient Express. I see myself lounging in the parlor car alongside women adorned in their finest feather hats and mink stoles, while men in smoking jackets sip cognac, peering out of velvet curtains drawn back with gold tassels. I’ll enjoy the view out of walls of glass in the observation car and feast on elegant multi-course meals served on real china in the dining car. I hear there’s even a movie theater car. This is traveling in style. It better be, since it cost almost $1000 for two adults and two kids to ride in a family bedroom, decked out with two bunk beds.

The train is here! The train is here! I see the lights coming down the track. “All aboard!” The announcer says over the loudspeaker without any pizazz like in the movies. We are greeted on the platform by an extremely happy porter who says, “Welcome Lo family! I’ve been waiting for you since Los Angeles.” Wow, do I feel special. He must love his job, living out his boyhood dream of riding trains all day.

We arrive at our family bedroom (there’s only one per sleeper car) and it’s less than glamorous. It’s past the kids bedtime and the porter has already set up the bunk beds ready for sleep. Pillows and clean bed linens are provided, but these aren’t 800-thread count Frette linens. The door opens right into the beds. I’ve slept in New York City hotel rooms that did the same thing.

I feel grimy from running around prepping for our trip and reserved cleaning myself up because I wanted to take advantage of the rare opportunity to take a shower on a train. On YouTube, there was a video tour of the shower with a door proudly displaying the Amtrak logo etched in glass. I open the door to the shower room and there’s a plastic curtain and a box of bar soap. It actually looks exactly like a shower that would be on a moving vessel, no frills. The water is hot and clean towels are ready for use, so I quickly shower and towel off. A spa experience, it was not.

The porter warns us that it might feel like the walls are closing in-not a pleasant thought. For respite from feeling trapped, we can head to the parlor car or sightseer car. The train is on its way and I immediately feel like I’m going to suffocate in this tiny room. This must be how cattle feel when being transported in a cargo box. Normally, the first thing I do is explore but I resisted the urge and popped my Dramamine and went straight to bed. My son did too. I’ve never seen him fall asleep so fast. I think the sheer excitement and anticipation wore him out.

It was a surprisingly comfortable & quiet night’s rest. I didn’t even hear the 3 am horn which usually interrupts my sleep at home when the train passes through town.

We head up to the dining car for a hearty breakfast. There’s a full menu of options: eggs, French toast, sausage bacon, yogurt, croissants, cereal, and since meals are included in our sleeper car ticket, we order it all. We eat our fill as we watch the beautiful scenery of the Cascade Mountains pass our window seat. Most of the other travelers in the sleeping car are retired people enjoying their golden years. There are few young couples, maybe on their honeymoon? They probably share my romanticized idea of a trip on a train. I only see a handful of other kids but my kids are definitely the loudest, as usual.

We spend most of the ride back in our bedroom, which is transformed back into seats by the porter. It’s a lot more spacious and comfortable in this orientation with a long sofa and side table. I take a nice mid-morning nap because there’s not much else to do on a train. We have lunch, a simple meal of salad and Kraft mac n’ cheese and hot dog for the kids.

After 18 hours on the train, we stop in Portland, as the train continues another five hours to its final destination, Seattle. I wish we had a few more hours on board to enjoy the afternoon wine & cheese tasting, steak dinner, and an evening movie. When I get off the train, I still feel like I’m moving. I pop some more Dramamine and head out to explore the city.

This is the first leg of our Oregon road adventure from Portland down the Oregon coast in an RV. Stay tuned for the next leg of our trip: Two days in Portland. I’m excited about coffee, donuts, and books, a few of my favorite things.

-Catherine Lo