Love the x-country itinerary!
Yes, Amtrak would be preferable to Greyhound, I think, particularly out of Oakland. They were searching bags in Oakland, and have a policy prohibiting knives in luggage. Only because I pleaded with the guard to look the other way ("I am going backpacking! I'll DIE in the wilderness without a knife!") was I able to get through with my little knife in luggage. Also, Greyhound really bungled customer service relating to the Bay Bridge closure (among other things, they failed to tell their call center, which is located in Central America, about it for several days). But my driver to Fresno was AWESOME.
