We left Omaha in the middle of the night, boarding the California Zephyr a few hours later than expected. Previous hesitations over dropping the extra dough for a sleeper car quickly dissolved into gratefulness for our foresight. Our train attendant, Linda, had already turned down the beds in our "Roomette" so we simply had to decide who would take the top bunk (Kai did - thank you honey!). Soon after crawling into our respective bunks we fell asleep, swaying to the sounds of the train.

We awoke to the sun rising over a spectacular landscape slowly slipping by outside of our picture window. It was magnificent. The views would continue to astound us over the next 40 hours, the time it would take us to reach our final destination of Sacramento. The California Zephyr is one of the most scenic train rides in the United States, passing through the states of Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. Meals are included with the purchase of a sleeper car, along with other amenities, like a consistent supply of coffee and juice, daily newspapers, and, our favorite, access to showers and clean towels. We were both looking forward to experiencing such a luxurious, stress-free, way of travelling.

Music By: The Head and the Heart, "Down in the Valley" (Album: The Head and the Heart)