Plane, Train or Automobile?

I hate driving. Really hate it. Weird, I know, since the past eight years of my life I have not lived with 2 1/2 hours of my family. I used to not mind driving, but somewhere between the 10+ trips home per year from Kansas City and my car constantly getting battered, abused and hating me, my thoughts have changed.

So moving to Denver, it definitely crossed my mind on how I was going to handle the thought of a one-way trip to Lincoln being 7 hours....yuck! After driving out here I decided...unless there's an emergency, my car will never make that trip again. I'll just fly. Then someone mentioned Amtrak.

I hadn't thought about it much, but I looked up the train route and it goes straight from Denver to Lincoln - perfect! And is actually cheaper than a flight. It would, however, take longer - but it could be fun! I'd never ridden on a train before but always thought it was neat.....I'll give it a try! So I booked my trip home for Christmas on the Amtrak, ready to see if I would be a frequent railrider.

I was scheduled to leave Denver, Tuesday night at 7:15. I got dropped off at the train station at 6:30, only to find out that the train had gotten delayed in the mountains, and now wouldn't be leaving until 12:45. All we had heard on the news was about the snow in the mountains, but yet I didn't think to check to see if it would delay my trip. Lesson learned. By the time we finally got boarded and pulled out of Denver, it was a little after 3am. And in case you haven't tried them out, the benches at Denver's Union Station are not comfortable to sleep on - let alone try and take a nap! 

Needless to say, I passed out as soon as we pulled away from the station and pretty much didn't wake up until we got to Lincoln around noon. 

The trip back was much smoother. We departed Lincoln on time, and even got into Denver 30 minutes early. However, that one left Lincoln at 12:15am, so I slept the whole trip again. I didn't get to experience much of the cars - the dining cars (the bar as many people suggested), etc., so that will have to be saved for another trip.

All in all, the train was not a bad experience. I had nothing to rush to that was time-sensitive, so the delay was not a big hassle for me. As long as you're willing to be flexible, I recommend everyone trying it sometime! I imagine it's usually a pretty scenic route.....not through western Nebraska, though, of course. But if you do go - make sure and check the schedule before heading to the station. And remember, snow in the mountains is good...but not if it's going to disrupt my beauty sleep!