Go By Train!

Please go by train! Here's Portland's handsome Union Station, located on the banks of the Willamette River, just north of downtown Portland, and just east of the newly popular Pearl District. The 'Go By Train' sign is one of Portland's icons, and seems now--more than ever--an important reminder. Amtrak is always teetering on the brink of total shutdown, but a trip on the train remains, for my money, just about the most romantic way to see the US. I've traveled cross country a couple times on the train, and always enjoy the leisurely journey. What a treat to watch Glacier Park out the window, or to wake up to views of pelicans on the Columbia River. And detraining into one of the big stations always makes me feel as if I've just stepped out of a 1940s movie.