We loaded up at 9:15 this morning for a field trip. First stop was the Essex Steam Train. They have an interesting combo trip where you ride the train to a river landing and then board a boat for a trip on the Connecticut river. Lunch was served, bag style, while we cruised a few miles on the river, then back onto the train and back onto the bus. Next we went to the Groton Submarine Base Museum and a tour of the original nuclear submarine, the Nautilus. Not a life I would have enjoyed. Tonight was the live auction of n-scale trains but in all the years I've been to these conventions, I've never even bid on anything. I skipped the auction to play with my computer.
Amtrak has something called AmtrakGuests Rewards. It's basically a points thing where you get points for riding Amtrak OR for using their GuestRewards credit card. Two years ago I accumulated something over 80,000 points. and redeemed most of those points for a trip that took me around the country with a stop in Hartford CT for the National N-Scale convention. I documented that trip with my entries in August of 2007. Now I'm using new points to attend the same convention in Portland Oregon. In addition, I'll take a side trip to Klamath Falls, OR for the Spokane Portland and Seattle Railway Historical Society convention.
BTW, Amtrak discontinued their credit card agreement with BankAmerica. They now have a similar deal with Chase.