Christmas on the Coast Starlight
Originally posted in the Amtrak Unlimited forum (2011)
It's been a quiet journey so far. I got on in Seattle this morning, and we're in Portland as I write this, on time. As I mentioned in another thread, the train isn't crowded and the crew seems to be in a good mood. Someone hooked up the Sirius XM Frank Sinatra channel into the intercom, so we've been hearing holiday songs throughout the trip. There are colored lights in the my sleeping and in the diner. Our SCA Cindy has been very solicitous, even though she's been running around a lot; she got volunteered into taking lunch reservations.
Apparently lots more people are getting on in Portland, although the three sleepers plus transdorm don't seem to be full. My lunch companions were able to do an onboard upgrade to a bedroom.
Lunch was pretty good. I had a seafood stew special that tasted better than it looked. Tried a new dessert I hadn't seen before: key lime cake, which was quite nice.
The wifi isn't working. Otherwise, the train is in good shape. I'm in a refurbished Superliner I.
The SCA tells me that the sleepers are in fact full, and many will turn over again tomorrow. She says that it's reasonably calm today, but they'll be slammed tomorrow.
Apparently the PPC we have was a last minute substitution, and wifi hasn't been installed in it yet. But otherwise we're doing fine. We arrived in Sacramento over an hour early, and we're waiting in the station now. Bet the people on the 5:40 Capitol Corridor train were surprised to see us!
I had the turkey for dinner last night and it was yummy. Ate with a grandma and her granddaughter on the way to Disneyland. The little one is having a great time on her first train trip. Also joining us at Eugene was a grandmother who had trained up from LA only a few hours previously, only to turn around and catch 11. She said she was escaping dysfunctional family holidays, but maybe she's just a foamer!
I've posted a trip photo album that's a work in progress. Also some more photos of riding San Francisco's F-Market trolley today. Well, what did you expect me to be doing if I'm not on Amtrak??
Back on the Starlight southbound this morning after a couple of very pleasant days in San Francisco, seeing friends and riding trolleys and ferries. Weather is bright and clear, if a bit cold.
This train is also decked out in Christmas lights, and the crew seems to be still enjoying the holidays. I decided to upgrade to a roomette for the PPC, the wine tasting, and the three meals, but I didn't wait to do an onboard upgrade, figuring that by the time the paperwork was done. I might miss breakfast. So I paid more than I would have liked for a transdorm roomette, but I don't plan to spend much time there.
We're on time leaving San Jose.
Remainder of yesterday's CS trip was very pleasant. Glad I sprung for the roomette upgrade, as I got three meals and a wine and cheese tasting. Spent almost all of the time in the PPC. Beautiful sunset over the ocean, photos to come. Checked in at a nice little inn in Santa Barbara, but got up early today to take a day trip to San Diego on the Surfliner. Great sunrise this morning, and more spectacular beach views between SBA and Ventura.
Saw a Cascades engine go by at Chatsworth, zoomed past too quickly to see which one.
Well, it is possible to take a return trip in a day from SBA to SAN, but it's a long day. Nevertheless, I had fun. Saw some spectacular ocean views from the train, but boy, SoCal uses every inch of the beach -- I've never seen beach houses so closely packed. And there seemed to be miles of RVs parked in every conceivable location. The weather was very nice -- sunny and 70 -- which was a pleasant change from winter Seattle weather.
The morning southbound train was pretty much on time. In the afternoon, it was announced that our train, which normally would be a through train, would terminate in LAUS, and we'd have to make a cross-platform transfer to continue north. We did, although we kept getting stuck behind Metrolink trains, and ran 20-25 minutes late for most of the run.
Business class on the Surfliner was nice. In the morning, we got coffee, juice, muffins and pastries; in the afternoon, it was wine, sodas, water and a snack pack with what I can only describe as "new age" snacks -- gluten-free potato chips, a nut/dried fruit mix, and so on. Because of being a holiday week, the passengers didn't seem to be the usual business types, but it was a jovial bunch nonetheless -- especially a couple of ladies who had a bit too much wine (and I think beer from the cafe car as well).
Of course, I had to spend my time in SD riding the San Diego Trolley to the border and back, which was a fun excursion. Lots of people of all ages -- kids, families, teens, retired people. Many folks seemed to be using the trolley for shopping; the stops with malls were very popular.
The trolley parallels I-5 for some of its route (one exit: "Miles of Cars Way" -- no joke!) and I'm just puzzled why an area with pretty decent transit is still up to its eyeballs in cars. But as the saying goes, it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.
I spent a couple of chilly and somewhat foggy days in Santa Barbara -- visiting with family, taking a city tour [even though I dislike rubber-tired "trolleys" on principle], and checking out the mission, and the Maritime and Natural History museums (all great). Then on New Year's Day, I boarded CS 14 in bright sun and 84 degrees. Oh well.
The Starlight was on time, and the coastal views were spectacular, as always. The operating and on-board services crews were both excellent and jovial, perhaps because the train wasn't very crowded. The food in the dining car and the PPC was good, and the wine tastings were fun, as usual.
I'm already thinking about the next trip....