Palm Beach to the Panama Canal,
the West Coast, Chicago, DC and Back
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By GERRY and PAMELA BARKER
North Palm Beach Life Published April, 2020. We call it "October Odyssey." And odyssey it was: An almost month-long journey, starting in September, 2019, that would take us from Florida to the Panama Canal, over to California's West Coast and back across the country to Florida. It all started when we boarded Amtrak to go from West Palm Beach to Tampa. At Tampa, we boarded Carnival Miracle for the 13-day cruise that would make stops at Cartagena, Columbia, the Panama Canal, Guatemala and Cabo San Lucas before docking in Long Beach, Ca. After a visit to the Queen Mary there, we spent two days in Los Angeles before boarding Amtrak's iconic Coast Starlight for the trip to San Francisco. We spent three days there, including a day-long excursion to the Napa wine country. From San Francisco, we took Amtrak's California Zephyr on a two-and-a-half day trip to Chicago through some of the most scenic country in America. We met up with friends in Chicago, where we spent the night at the historic Palmer House, before getting back on the train and take the Capitol Limited to Washington DC. |
Article IndexCartagena, Columbia The Panama Canal Antigua, Guatemala Cabo San Lucas The Queen Mary in Long Beach Los Angeles Napa Valley Amtrak's Coast Starlight Amtrak's California Zephyr Chicago Amtrak's Capitol Limited Washington DC After a day in the nation's capital, we took Amtrak's Silver Meteor back to West Palm. What an adventure!
Please join us we re-trace the trip through photo and video. Ready? Let's go!! |
Our starting point - West Palm to Tampa...
Our trip started at the
West Palm Beach Amtrak station |
The next stop was Tampa, where we had an overnight stay before boarding Carnival Miracle at the Port of Tampa.
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Photos/Video by
North Palm Beach Life 
Carnival Miracle would be our home for the next 13 days, departing Tampa bound for the Panama Canal and then the West Coast of California.
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Sailing under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge...
It seemed like Carnival Miracle barely made it under the iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge as we left Tampa, but it was probably just an illusion. Thank goodness.
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Days at sea aboard Carnival Miracle ...
Pam strikes a pose with Cruise Director Chloe Loddo, whose energy and enthusiasm sparkled throughout the voyage.
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Pam gets her groove on in the Frankenstein night club
The deck hallways featured colorful panels depicting famous figures and detectives.
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The steakhouse on Miracle featured a very special dessert -- "The Art of the Table." A chef literally prepares sweet treats into a work of art tableside to cap your meal. Too pretty to eat -- but we did!
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After two days at sea, we reach Cartagena....
