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Comment by Kevsmom93 on July 16, 2014 at 6:59pm

Pam when you take a train you can't be in a hurry. Our railways our shared and it's very unusual for a train to arrive anywhere on time. When I read reviews for Amtrak that's is one of the biggest complaints. You have to go into it with a very patient attitude. Just keep that in mind if you're traveling with kids :-) We were super lucky as we only arrived 45 mins later than scheduled into Chicago. 

Thanks for the tip on buying tickets for events through the base travel agency. I haven't seen anyone else mention that before. And I'm sure a few touristy events can be fun but for the most part I will be speaking to my hubby with a camera surgically attached to his face! We will want to check out the scenery we never tire of that kind of stuff. I can look at the ocean literally for hours trying to find a burst of spray searching for whales when we go to the coast here in Ca. 

tysmom there are always stops you can break up a long trip such as the one my husband and son took by staying the night for instance in Glenwood Springs, Co. It's amazing how many stops the train makes between here and Chicago. I'm sure you can plan it anyway you want through a travel agency or Amtrak. 

Comment by tysmom on July 16, 2014 at 10:20am

The first time we were there we did the touristy things. But after you settle into visiting you find more local things to do. Hiking is great....Kailua has a great beach....cookouts....kayaking....the Farmers Markets.....golfing is a favorite of my family and military can get discounts. Just being tog and playing cards....I want to go back!!!!

I am sure the train would be a great trip...isn't there a pass where you can stop and get back on?

Today a few friends and I are going to make cards for Operation Write Home. Check out their web site. They send boxes of cards to service members who are being deployed for them to send home to loved ones.

Comment by Pam on July 16, 2014 at 9:42am

Kevsmom - I would love to take a train across the country. Our flight from Atlanta to Honolulu was soooo long!  And we even broke it up and went Atl to Dallas and then Dallas to Honolulu.  But even then, the last leg was 8 hours.  Try keeping a 7 year old amused for that long in a seat!  But it was worth it to see our son and see Hawaii for the first time.  And there was no way my 7 year old was giving up the window seat.  We've only been back five days and I'm already scheming to make my way back.  Our son is stationed there until the end of 2015 so we may have to dig deep in the pockets!  On the bright side, we saved a ton of money purchasing the tickets to all the tourist things through the travel agency on base.  We had to wait in line there, but it was worth it.

Comment by Kevsmom93 on July 15, 2014 at 7:46pm

tysmom I know we'll figure it out maybe next year? And so true not only cheaper but a lot quicker too. About five hours out of S.F. It was a pretty big deal when we made our plans for the Amtrak kind of a once in a lifetime thing, very expensive but that's how my husband wanted to do it so we tapped into a retirement fund and away we went!

One of those sunburned bodies was probably my son! The lights sound pretty ;-)

The only downside on our train trip was for me not the guys really hard to sleep everything at night is much more pronounced I swear we were going to fly off the tracks more than once.

Comment by mrsb on July 15, 2014 at 6:36pm

There's not a lot to see over the ocean, just bluish gray and clouds.  It is a beautiful sight when flying in at night and seeing the lights on Oahu, and during the day you can see all the sun-burned tourists on the beach!

Comment by tysmom on July 15, 2014 at 6:28pm

The Amtrak goes by my house 2x everyday and I have not been on it. Almost one time when it was cheap to Chicago.

PS No window seat for me over the ocean, USA mainland, YES! And you will make it to HI, your in CA so flying is not as expensive as from Chicago or GR Mich.

Comment by Kevsmom93 on July 15, 2014 at 4:40pm

tysmom- just FYI this girl hates heights...and I hate flying :-( So, imagine being on an Amtrak going through the Rocky Mountains, yah I was terrified...at first and then I realized how cool it was! We took an Amtrak from Sacramento to Chicago Union Station for our son's PIR in June 2013. It was my hubby, my then 18 year old pre-Marine son and me all cozy in this amazingly compact sleeper car "room." Best way to describe it was like playing the game Twister (dating myself with that one). We had a blast actually, our car attendant Thomas who was awesome would to come by to find out what the heck we were up because of all the laughter. Well it was my husband and youngest son like a comedy act I was well entertained. We like to joke that our son Ryan slept his way through almost every state. I have several sleeping photos and boy are they cute :-) 

So maybe I haven't been to Hawaii like so many...lol But I have ridden the Amtrak Calif. Zephry from Ca. to Illinois and back. One of the most scenic and beautiful rides you'll ever see of our country. I highly recommend it to everyone. And there are numerous tunnels!! So if y'all have any questions about a train I guess I'm the one to ask....all this on a Submarine wall for Hawaii pretty silly.

Comment by tysmom on July 15, 2014 at 1:51pm

Kevsmom: When you come to HI you will understand about the highways...three of them have tunnels through the mountains!!! One goes around the island, well kinda....

Aloha to all of you!!!

The sailors go by last names  so if you say do you know Jim....they won't. Hey do you know Smith who is a MM?? That would work...then again my son does not know everyone one his boat, at least I do not think so....

Comment by mrsb on July 15, 2014 at 11:31am

I'll have to do it when I go home for lunch; it's on my little computer.  :)

Comment by mrsb on July 15, 2014 at 11:19am

LOL Kevsmom!!  People can look on my page and see pics of our sons at PIR-I should try again to upload the one of you, me and our sons, what a great picture!

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