Replying to Christmas on the Coast Starlight

Hi,

I enjoyed your report and the pics, nice to see info on the S.F. trams about their places of origin.

Cheers,

Ed

Glad to see I am not the only one to take take the train to San Diego for just a day trip. I catch it in Camarillo, Ca. Walk over to the harbor for lunch at Anthony's and enjoy the veiws for a few hours then head back home.

I've taken the Pacific Surfliner on a day trip a couple of times to catch a Sunday afternoon Padres game.

Glad to see I am not the only one to take take the train to San Diego for just a day trip. I catch it in Camarillo, Ca. Walk over to the harbor for lunch at Anthony's and enjoy the veiws for a few hours then head back home. Making my first long trip on Coast Starlight from Seattle to Simi Valley in March. Can't wait!!

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??

I loved your train report and pictures, thanks! Last summer my family and I took the Pacific Surfliner train from Anaheim to Union Station in LA and then up to San Luis Obispo with the Coast Starlight, and even if it was so short, we reserved a couple of roommettes (our kids are teens) so we could get the meal and wine tasting and have access to the parlour car, which was fabulous!! We stayed for a couple of nights at the Quality Inn & Suites in SLO (great hotel, good value with free huge breakfast and evening offerings for dirt cheap) and we rented a car for a day and drove up the coast to Hearst Castle, and then back to SLO, where we caught the Pacific Surfliner back to Anaheim...

Thanks again, I would love to do the Starlight all the way from SEA to SAN someday! We live in Alaska, so it's a 3 hour flight from ANC...Happy Travels!

Kelly

Charlie, thanks for your posts and photos.
Looks like you had a wonderful trip.

I did have a great time, thanks. It had been too long since I'd been on the Starlight, and I'd almost forgotten what a great train it is. Now for planning the next trip...

Charlie, thanks for your posts and photos.
Looks like you had a wonderful trip.

I know what you mean about San Diego and cars. Although the Trolley is wildly popular, with only 3 lines and 100,000 daily riders (that swells much higher on Chargers and Padres games), the Coaster, after 15 years, still hasn't really caught on, with only about 5,000 per weekday. The Trolley will soon be extended all of the way up to UC San Diego in the La Jolla area though. Construction starts in 2012, I think. What we need most is a line that extends just a mile west from Little Italy to the Airport... Hey, one can dream

Glad you had such a great time.

Thanks for the info, johnny. I did have a great time, and I look forward to spending more time there one of these days.

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 know what you mean about San Diego and cars. Although the Trolley is wildly popular, with only 3 lines and 100,000 daily riders (that swells much higher on Chargers and Padres games), the Coaster, after 15 years, still hasn't really caught on, with only about 5,000 per weekday. The Trolley will soon be extended all of the way up to UC San Diego in the La Jolla area though. Construction starts in 2012, I think. What we need most is a line that extends just a mile west from Little Italy to the Airport... Hey, one can dream

Glad you had such a great time.

I'm already thinking about the next trip....

Aloha

Hope you are including a trip to the east for Gathering VI, Actual date and city to be decided relativity soon.

Awaiting the decision with bated breath! I have many relatives and friends on the east coast, so I hope it will work out.

I will Tease everyone, All of the cities under consideration are South of Boston, or North of Miami.

Aloha

Sounds like Philadelphia fits the bill with Baltimore and Washington,DC close runners-up!
(PHL has cheaoper hotels and you can get there from the North, South and West!!!

Darn! I was working on connections from Essex Junction to the Downeaster!