Seattle - Alexis Hotel

Sunday October 4, 2009

We arrived in Seattle near 9:00 pm and that was the end of the train trip. The Alexis Hotel paid our cab fare on the short ride from the train station.

Lobby

Room

The Alexis is a Kimpton hotel like the Argonaut that we stayed at in San Francisco. Their decor is always a little 'different'. This one wasn't really to my taste but it was comfortable for our brief stay and the staff was pleasant. Our room had a little balcony overlooking a courtyard.

Being a Sunday night there wasn't much open in the area. We gave up on trying to find a cup of coffee, went back to our room and set up the laptop. After hearing a couple of horror stories about taking the Clipper (boat), we decided to book the float plane instead. This meant we'd be getting up early again.

Coast Starlight - Oregon & Washington

Sunday October 4, 2009

What in tarnation?! We left sunshine and palm trees the day before and woke up to this! We didn't know where we were but it must have been in southern Oregon.

I don't remember what we had for breakfast but it must have been edible. Dinner on this night was better than the night before. The two women at our table remarked on the grumpy waiters.

When we got to Eugene, Oregon we half wondered if we'd see Glenn's son and wife at the station. It's just as well they didn't show up because it was cold and horrible out and by the time the train stopped, our car was far beyond the station.

Our compartment on the train was not bad. It wasn't as large as the one we had on the Via Canadian train, but it was bigger than we had years ago when we travelled on Amtrak from San Francisco to Seattle. The bathroom with shower is behind that door in the bottom right picture. It was like one of those Greek bathrooms where you shower and the whole room gets wet, except in this case the room was tiny and the shower was just a hand held model.

By the time we reached Portland we were back to sunshine. I didn't take any photos because we've done the trip between Eugene and Seattle a few times before.

Coast Starlight - San Luis Obispo area

Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009

The train follows the coastline for 104 miles.

Looking back at our train

On we go northward toward San Luis Obispo. Some info about it from the train's brochure:

• It was founded in 1772.
• After several thatched roof fires, missionaries developed the technique to make the red tiles that define mission architecture.
• It was the first city in the world to ban smoking in all public areas in 1990.
• The word 'motel' was coined here in 1925 when the Motel Inn was established.

Somewhere around here we crossed a trestle that had been built on the east coast and shipped around Cape Horn to be assembled.

Next is Paso Robles - the Pass of the Oaks - half way between LA and San Francisco.

Farther along we come to Steinbeck territory. First, King City, a mission site where John Steinbeck's dad was the town's first railroad agent. Then to Soledad, used as a backdrop in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. And then to his boyhood home of Salinas at the head of the Salinas Valley, the 'Country's Salad Bowl.'

There seems to be a lot of 'Capitals of the World' in California. Castroville is listed as the 'Artichoke Capital of the World.' And here's a place where Glenn wouldn't want to hang out: Gilroy, the 'Garlic Capital of the World.'

We rode through a lot of nice countryside and farmland. Near sunset we went by some ugly oil rigs.

By the time we reached Oakland, we were asleep.

Coast Starlight - "Trails and Rails"

Saturday October 3, 2009

For me, this next section was the most interesting part of the trip. It's not that it was especially beautiful but because National Park Service guides are on board as part of the "Trails & Rails" program, and they give interesting information on nature and the area's features and history. In this case the guides were an elderly couple.

This particular program was hosted by the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail as we were following a section of the 1,210 mile route. In 1775-1776 a Spanish expedition consisting of thirty families trekked overland from Arizona to San Francisco.

Another interesting feature about this part of the trip is that the train travels through a restricted military base that many people wouldn't get to see. The Vandenberg Air Force Base is used for testing missiles and for launching satellites. It was also supposed to be used to launch a space shuttle but that didn't happen. I can't remember how many storeys high they said that flag is on the side of the building, but it was huge.

We were told this location was chosen because there is nothing but ocean between this point of land and Antarctica.

There are particularly rough seas in this area. The lady ranger brought by a photo album with pictures like this showing the Honda Point disaster of September 1923 where seven destroyers ran aground and 23 sailors died. It was the biggest peacetime loss of US Navy ships.

On a lighter note, the ranger brought around two abalone shells. One was large, just like the shell we had in our house when I was a kid. The second was an example of the puny size they tend to get to these days. I can't remember if she was talking about farmed or wild ones since I didn't take notes, or if I did I can't find them. Unfortunately we couldn't hear everything that was said. Even though loudspeakers were set up, some people came to the car to socialize or play games. Across the aisle from us a very loud Russian talked non-stop to a girl at his table. The more the rangers tried to be heard over him, the louder he got.

When the rangers left the train later on, I was sorry to see them go.

Coast Starlight - Santa Barbara area

Saturday October 3, 2009

With happy hearts we carried on to Santa Barbara.

Between LA and Santa Barbara, the train passes through Van Nuys, the San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley and Oxnard. Oxnard is an important agricultural area known for sugar beets, lima beans, lemons, oranges, walnuts, celery and especially strawberries. Its beach and sand dunes have been used in movies to represent Middle Eastern deserts.

This picture reminds me of an old western movie scene.

Santa Barbara is a place I've wanted to visit for a long time so I was happy to go through it even if we only saw the train station. We arrived here probably around noon.

I have no idea where these pictures were taken other than they were in the area. We saw more surfers.

Since there was no dome car on this train, the photos often have window reflections.

Also, we still had the wrong setting on the camcorder, giving the chopped-off-top-and-bottom shape we see in this photo.

I liked this countryside and would love to go horseback riding there.

The Coast Starlight begins

Saturday October 3, 2009

According to the Coast Starlight information sheet, Los Angeles was once known as El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de la Reina de Los Angeles.

We arrived in Los Angeles at around 9:00 am. It was sunny and warm. The Spanish and art deco style station was sprawling and clean. We no sooner stepped off the train than a porter (or 'redcap' as Glenn calls them) drove up in a cart and whisked us and our luggage across a plaza to an indoor lounge. I'm glad we didn't have to walk all that way. He told us to remember his name because he would be back for us to take us to the next train when it was ready for boarding. I think he wanted to make sure he got his tips.

The Coast Starlight

When we boarded the train for the 10:15 am departure, we were surprised to see that our car had two decks. Our compartment was on the upper deck. I was also surprised that nobody was around to help with the luggage. I had to lug it up the stairs myself, which wasn't my idea of first class service.

But the Coast Starlight sounds romantic, doesn't it? Never mind that there's no dome car to see any stars during the nighttime portions or that most of the route doesn't even go along the coast. I'd wanted to take this train for a long time.

I pictured relaxing in a window-side seat and enjoying the view, sitting down to nice dinners in the dining car and now, since we were tired from getting up at 4:00 am, having a nap in the afternoon.

Probably no one imagines rowdy kids in the compartment next door and paper thin walls so that you can hear every word. "Dad! Can I go up on the bunkbed?" "Dad, can Jason come up here too?" Bounce, thump, thump. We were travelling off-season but I didn't take into account that it was a weekend when families are more apt to travel. There went any hope of having a nap. With the racket, we couldn't relax or even concentrate on reading. We could also hear the senior couple on the other side of us, but their voices weren't nearly as penetrating.

And probably no one imagines anemic-looking, re-heated skinless chicken for dinner served by surly waiters but that's what we got on our first night on the Coast Starlight.

Before that though, we went to the dining car for lunch. Unfortunately a bunch of loud kids herded in right behind us, so we went back to our compartment. Turns out you can order in.

Worse than the kids in the room next to us was a family on the main floor. I felt sorry for their neighbours. The kids seemed fine but the parents were always hollering. At every stop, the dad was outside holding a baby while he puffed a cigarette next to its face, and invariably he'd start yelling at somebody.

No, this wasn't anything like taking the train trip across Canada where most of the travellers are seniors and the food is good.

We sat in our room seething. We paid a lot of money for this trip, especially to have a compartment with a bathroom. I resented it and started thinking of ways to escape. It was too far for Glenn to fly so that was out. We wondered about renting a car, or taking a bus but those things would take more money and more time than I had. We were too far south for any easy alternate plan. We felt completely trapped. As I worried about Glenn's blood pressure going up and up, I racked my brain trying to find a way out of this horrid situation.

An employee went by our open door and asked how we were. We told him. Before long our room attendant appeared. She had a terrific personality and was the saving grace of the trip. Then she said the most astounding thing about the man and two kids in the room next to ours. "Well, you know they're getting off in Santa Barbara." What? They're not going all the way to Seattle? Why would anyone pay for a compartment for such a short trip? It could have been that he was trying to be considerate of fellow passengers. Who knows. Who cares. We were just so happy at the thought of some peace at last.

Amtrak train route - San Diego to Seattle

Here are two maps showing the train routes we took.

To get from San Diego to Los Angeles we took the Pacific Surfliner commuter train. Although it carries on up to San Luis Obispo we had to get off in LA in order to catch the Coast Starlight to Seattle. In total, it's a two day trip. We had taken part of this trip before but only north from Oakland, California, where the train departs at about 10:00 at night.

I didn't take pictures from the Surfliner since it was just becoming daybreak. Initially the route paralleled the highway we'd driven in the car before, by the coastal towns of Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas and Carlsbad. There were help-yourself snacks on board and it was an enjoyable ride.