I’m starting to think about my November trip to Kailua-Kona on the leeward side of the Big Island. I can’t take Amtrak to Hawaii, of course; but I can ride the train to the west coast and fly from there.
[edited 2023-02-20]
There are five options that I can think of, and I’m strongly gravitating toward my current fantasy.
[another edit on 2023-02-21]
Thanks to commenter, sjdorst, and several folks on the AllAboardRailDiscussion@groups.io list, I’ve found out what the Emery Go-Round is and how it connects the Amtrak station to BART; so I now plan to use that westbound; and if the Zephyr is late enough that I’d miss the last Emery Go-Round bus of the day, I’d still have the taxi as Plan B so it wouldn’t mess up the whole trip.
Eastbound, it doesn’t really work because of the time of day and reduced service on Sundays, so I’m still stuck with a taxi fare of (probably) $120 to $150.
I’ve also decided to spend the night eastbound at the Hyatt House across the tracks from EMY. It could be close to midnight, or maybe even after, by the time that I can even claim my checked bag and get a taxi; but my body clock will still be on UTC-10, so when I get to the hotel, I’ll probably still have enough presence of mind to get undressed and crawl into bed, and I’ll have more time for a leisurly breakfast in the morning.
I’ll still let it stew for a few weeks just in case I think of anything else I should consider.
I hope this is of interest to folks who might want to plan a trip involving Amtrak and I’m not just boring people with my personal problems. If there are folks who do find it interesting, all my current travel plans, both actual and tentative, can be found here.