SUGGESTED ITINERARIES - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 314

The Ultimate Round Trip: New York-Washington, D.C.-
New Orleans-Los Angeles-San Francisco-Seattle-
Chicago-Boston-New York
Complete this itinerary and you can say you traveled around
the country and mean it literally. Furthermore, you can begin
anywhere along the way. I did it a couple of years ago, starting
and ending in Los Angeles, but here we'll begin with the high-
speed Acela from New York to Washington, D.C., where you
should spend several days. (Call your member of Congress and
ask him or her to arrange a tour of the Capitol and the White
House. They're happy to do it.) Next, you'll be on the Crescent
for an overnight trip to New Orleans. I have three suggestions
for you there: a visit to the National World War II Museum,
a fabulous dinner at Irene's Cuisine, and a night of traditional
New Orleans-style jazz at Preservation Hall. From here, you'll
get aboard the Sunset Limited for the two-night trip to the West
Coast. (See the note at the end of the Texas Eagle route descrip-
tion on page 289 regarding possible schedule changes.) You'll be
crossing two bridges of note: the Huey P. Long Bridge over the
Mississippi minutes after departing New Orleans, and the high
bridge over the Pecos River in West Texas. Leaving El Paso, you'll
pass within a few feet of the Mexican border. In Albuquerque,
you can buy magnificent silver and turquoise jewelry right on
the station platform. The Pacific Ocean will be off to your left
as the Coast Starlight travels north out of Los Angeles. You'll
roll through the magnificent Cascade Range of Washington State
after you leave Seattle on the Empire Builder, which takes you
within 25 miles of Canada as you cross Montana the next day.
You'll see three of the Great Lakes on the Lake Shore Limited en
route to Boston, and Long Island Sound will be off to your left on
one of the regional service trains taking you back to New York.