Monthly Archives: October 2022

Blog, Bucket List, Family Travel, Trains

5 Unbelievable U.S. Train Routes

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When I was a small chi!d my family used to take the train from Missouri to Arizona for vacation. I loved watching the world go by as we glided down the train track, and sleeping on the train was an adventure. Now in 2022, I am receiving requests from clients who want to travel by train so they can slow down and enjoy the beauty of the U.S.

Trains are making a comeback and it’s easy to see why. Ease of travel, inexpensive rates, and gorgeous scenery makes traveling the rails incredibly attractive. And while European train routes get all the attention, there are a few routes closer to home that you should definitely check out. Skip your next road trip and check out these five unbelievable train routes through the U.S. instead.

Amtrak Coast Starlight Train

This 35-hour ride travels between Seattle and Los Angeles. Traversing down the coast opens with the dramatic snow covered peaks of the Cascade Mountains, as the land flattens, bountiful forests and sprawling seas present themselves through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the Sightseer Lounge Car. This two-day trek is mercifully taken on the country’s only sleeper train, complete with the luxuries you’d expect on the Orient Express, including free food, champagne room service, private bathrooms, and a daily turn-down service.

Enjoy three-course meals are served, and in the confined spaces (where the wifi is spotty and the cell service is spottier) strike up conversations with other travelers. You will discover interesting conversation pops up between young adventurers headed to a hiking trip in Oregon and retired nomads breathing in the awe-inspiring views that may have been overlooked in their younger years.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The 1879 gold rush birthed the necessity for industrial transportation capable of hauling mounds of precious metal out of California — thus the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. It didn’t take long for passengers to spread word that gold wasn’t the only precious thing about this railway. Spectacular views of Colorado’s luscious peaks and rivers ensured that the train stayed in operation long after the gold veins ran dry. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gorge route features steep drop-offs that are so awe-inspiring they have served as a muse to multiple artists, including C.W. Mcall, who dedicated an entire song to the Silverton.

“Well now listen to the whistle in the rockwood cut on the high line to Silverton Town

And you’re gonna get a shiver when you check out the river

Which is four hundred feet straight down.”

Pick up a round-trip ticket for a day of adventure. The 3.5-hour trek to Silverton winds across the river five times before dropping you off to explore Silverton. Grab some lunch and roam around the town before boarding and enjoying a relaxing trip back to Durango.

Cape Cod Central Railroad

The luxurious Cape Cod railway offers stunning coastal views and posh upgrade packages. Salt marshes, sand dunes and woodlands are just a few of The Cape’s natural wonders that a trip in this cranberry-colored car offers. If you’re especially interested in the area’s ecosystem, purchase a ticket on the ecology car for a truly educational experience. If fine dining is your thing, opt for the platinum class dining car, where a five-course meal is served in a vintage dining car. If you prefer unadulterated views of the passing landscape, the diamond class excursion car is for you, featuring panoramic windows in an elevated car.

Grand Canyon Railway

In 1901, the Grand Canyon Railway began carrying passengers through Arizona’s wonder of the world. Cowboys and musicians entertain guests in restored locomotive cars as you wind through prairies, deserts and pine forests. This trip is shorter — 2 hours and 15 minutes — so you can easily make a day trip of it, or extend the experience and stay at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. Despite its length, this railway also offers different classes of service depending on your budget and personal preferences. Additionally, they offer different “time period” cars that will transport you to a different decade in the canyon.

We recommend the observation dome for those interested in getting the full effect of the jaw-dropping landscape. This car features a full glass enclosure perched above the other cars, and serves drinks and snacks to boot. The luxury parlor is another great option if the train experience is as interesting to you as the views, enjoy the back deck for some fresh air and cozy lounge seating for optimum relaxation.  

Amtrak Empire Builder

Following the old trail of Lewis and Clark, the Empire Builder is a 46-hour journey through the heart of the midwest. Departing from Chicago, take in the gorgeous amber waves of grain, tunnels, deserts and jagged cliffs. Like the Coast Starlight Train, the Empire Builder is run by Amtrak and offers sleeper cars, making the trip infinitely more comfortable. Seeing Minneapolis glow in the night sky is an awe-inspiring juxtaposition to the mountains of Glacier National Park. Make the ride your own by heading on to the Portland or Seattle for an urban ending to the “big sky Montana” leg of your journey!

Do you want to go on a cross-country adventure aboard a Train or go to an All-inclusive Resort, Plan a Destination Wedding, Book an Unforgettable Honeymoon, or take that Cruise you have been dreaming of?

I am always here to help you with your next travel adventure. Please contact me via email at mary@vacationstoanywhere.com to chat about the travel experience you have been waiting to take! A quick reminder, I can book you anywhere in the world!

Caribbean Resorts

In Antigua, the Art of the “Boutique” Caribbean All-Inclusive 

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Antigua is one of the 2 major islands that make up the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. Ringed with coral reefs, the island is known for its many sandy beaches.

The best time to visit Antigua is between mid-December and mid-April when it’s peak season, making it the perfect destination to escape wintery conditions in the US. A good secondary option is to go to Antigua in May or June.

all-inclusive caribbean antigua boutique

This is not the all-inclusive resort you may be thinking of. 

It’s hidden away on the spectacular Turner’s Beach in Antigua, with 29 barefoot-chic rooms, all endlessly private, individual sanctuaries on the sand. 

It’s a boutique, adults-only all-inclusive, where many of the rooms have their own private plunge pool, all with outdoor showers, all of them just a step away from the sand itself. 

But it’s different here, a small all-inclusive where the focus is on the local. 

You might call it a “boutique” all-inclusive, where the focus is on Caribbean personality, about Caribbean design. 

Owner Andrew Michelin says the aim is to “reflect vintage Caribbean living with a modern indulgent twist, encompassing the small wooden cottages with wattle fences dotted around the islands’ countrysides; the flowering vines between cottages for privacy; bathing beneath the stars with our outdoor showers; and living, dining, and relaxing with the sand between your toes directly on the beach.”

And that extends to every facet of the resort: the food is fresh and organic: think breakfast plates like Antiguan black pineapple custard French toast and dinner favorites like escovitch snapper. 

A fantastic inclusion at this resort is the “snack menu,” from 11:00 AM to 4:45 PM, a time during which it can sometimes be challenging to find a meal at many all-inclusive resorts. And it’s not a bag of chips, either: think local fried chips, pizza, fish and chips, tofu burgers, open-face cajun sandwiches, and coconut cookies. 

And it all comes right to your room. 

There is also the Serenity Spa, a boutique wellness center where the soundtrack isn’t piped-in flute music but the revitalizing sound of the waves just outside the door. 

And then there are the delicious rooms, a lovely mix of pool cottages (either on the beach or in the garden), beachfront sunset rooms, or beach house rooms. 

Keyonna also cleverly labels each room as “distance to the beach.” That means as low as 10 seconds from a “sanctuary pool cottage” to just 60 seconds in a garden pool cottage. No matter where you stay on the property, the beach is less than 60 seconds from your room.

all-inclusive caribbean antigua boutique

In other words, there’s nothing between you and your Caribbean beach dreams. 

And that’s the spirit of this boutique all-inclusive, where the island itself is front and center and the emphasis is on an authentic, unfiltered Antiguan experience. 

It’s the way Keyonna has carved out a beloved niche on an island that’s long been home to some of the Caribbean’s top all-inclusive resorts.

“We’ve ensured that everything possible is made locally – the furniture, soft furnishings, placemats, bread baskets, lampshades, and produce – as we seek to build up those communities surrounding us,” Michelin says. With the added benefit that our food and drinks are fresh, nutritious, full-flavored with no preservatives, just like the food from my grandmother’s kitchen in Jamaica.” 

Please contact me of you are interested in booking this fabulous resort!

Call or text me at 770-402-5103

Email me at mary@vacationstoanywhere.com