Last year I went on an Amtrak adventure. Once again, I have redeemed a bunch of rewards points and have put together a 23-night, 7,292-mile trip. Click on the maps to enlarge them.

Leg 1:
Train 6 — California Zephyr
Monday, May 7 — 3:30 am — Salt Lake City, Utah
Half a night, breakfast, lunch, dinner, night 1, breakfast, and lunch on the California Zephyr.
Tuesday, May 8 — 2:50 pm — Chicago, Illinois
1,608 miles
34 hours, 20 minutes

6-hour layover in Chicago. Amtrak layovers are the exact opposite of airport layovers, since you’re downtown. Unless the weather is bad, I’ll go for a ride on Divvy along the river and along Lake Michigan.

Leg 2:
Train 48 — Lake Shore Limited
Tuesday, May 8 — 9:30 pm — Chicago, Illinois
Night 2, breakfast and lunch on the Lake Shore Limited.
Wednesday, May 9 — 6:23 pm — New York City, New York
959 miles
19 hours, 53 minutes

Nights 3, 4, and 5 in New York City. I’ll have two full days to enjoy it. 🙂 I’m still trying to figure out whether the subway or CitiBike is my favorite way to experience it.

Leg 3:
Train 2249 — Acela Express
Saturday, May 12 — 10:00 am — New York City, New York
Lunch on the Acela Express.
Saturday, May 12 — 1:01 pm — Washington, DC
225 miles
3 hours, 1 minute

Nights 6 and 7 in Washington. Capital Bikeshare is a great way to experience the nation’s capital.

Leg 4:
Train 89 — Palmetto
Monday, May 14 — 10:00 am — Washington, DC
Lunch and dinner on the Palmetto. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia will be states #34, #35, and #36.
Monday, May 14 — 9:04 pm — Savannah, Georgia
604 miles
11 hours, 4 minutes

Nights 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 in Savannah. I’ll be spending a week here to attend the 26th Congress for the New Urbanism. I’ll also take some rides on CAT Bike.

Leg 5:
Train 90 — Palmetto
Monday, May 21 — 8:20 am — Savannah, Georgia
Lunch on the Palmetto.
Monday, May 21 — 2:24 pm — Wilson, North Carolina
353 miles
6 hours, 4 minutes

1-hour layover in Wilson. I probably won’t get to venture far from the station.

Leg 6:
Train 79 — Carolinian
Monday, May 21 — 3:55 pm — Wilson, North Carolina
Dinner on the Carolinian.
Monday, May 21 — 6:54 pm — Greensboro, North Carolina
136 miles
2 hours, 59 minutes

5-hour layover in Greensboro. Looks like Lime recently added bikeshare to Greensboro, so I’ll probably give that a ride.

Leg 7:
Train 19 — Crescent
Tuesday, May 22 — 12:22 am — Greensboro, North Carolina
Night 15, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the Crescent. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana will be states #37, #38, and #39.
Tuesday, May 22 — 7:32 pm — New Orleans, Louisiana
865 miles
20 hours, 10 minutes

Night 16 in New Orleans. I wish I were going to have more time in New Orleans. Streetcars, the ferry, and Blue Bikes are on my to do list.

Leg 8:
Train 58 — City of New Orleans
Wednesday, May 23 — 1:45 pm — New Orleans, Louisiana
Dinner on the City of New Orleans. Tennessee will be state #40.
Wednesday, May 23 — 10:20 pm — Memphis, Tennessee
406 miles
8 hours, 35 minutes

Night 17 in Memphis. It’s a huge coincidence that I’ll be arriving in Memphis the day that Explore Bike Share is launched! I’ll bike west across the Mississippi, and Arkansas will be state #41.

Leg 9:
Train 58 — City of New Orleans
Thursday, May 24 — 10:40 pm — Memphis, Tennessee
Night 18 and breakfast on the City of New Orleans.
Friday, May 25 — 9:20 am — Chicago, Illinois
528 miles
10 hours, 20 minutes

4-hour layover in Chicago. More Divvy rides.

Leg 10:
Train 5 — California Zephyr
Friday, May 25 — 2:00 pm — Chicago, Illinois
Snacks on the California Zephyr.
Friday, May 25 — 4:38 pm — Galesburg, Illinois
162 miles
2 hours, 38 minutes

Night 19 in Galesburg. There’s a place to rent cars next to the train station in Galesburg.

Nights 20, 21, and 22 in Nauvoo. I have an aunt and uncle serving a mission in historic Nauvoo, so I’ll be renting a car, since I don’t want to miss the opportunity to visit for free.

Leg 11:
Train 5 — California Zephyr
Tuesday, May 29 — 4:38 pm — Galesburg, Illinois
Dinner, night 23, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the California Zephyr.
Wednesday, May 30 — 11:05 pm — Salt Lake City, Utah
1,446 miles
30 hours, 27 minutes

After my Amtrak Adventure, I will have visited 41 out of 50 states (or 82%). In the map above, the states I’ve been to are in yellow, while the states that I haven’t are in grey. Additionally, I still have yet to visit Alaska and Hawaii.