The train ride on the California Zephyr was one of my most memorable journeys. I had always wanted to see the great Wild West of

The train ride on the California Zephyr was one of my most memorable journeys. I had always wanted to see the great Wild West of
I decided to take the western half of the train journey from San Francisco area to Denver, CO which covers the Rockies half, and then spend a day in Denver and fly back.
The most striking aspect of Santa Fe was its Pueblo Revival architecture. I immediately fell in love with this part of the United States which embraced its Native American heritage and proudly displayed it, instead of European aesthetics.
Magnolia Gardens is a historic plantation turned into a museum. It lies on the Ashely river near North Charleston. Charleston is surrounded by a lot of historic plantations along the Ashley and Cooper rivers, with tours available around the estates.
Chicago boasts one of the largest Central/Eastern European immigration histories in the world. Thus, though most guidebooks skip them, I decided to visit the Ukrainian and Polish neighborhoods on my second day in the city.
The city-center of Chicago is called the Loop, as it is surrounded by a loop of elevated train systems, called the ‘L’. When the clouds parted, I strolled around the Bean sculpture, Millennium Park, the Pavilion and the Waterfront.