chuljin
Lead Service Attendant
Bay Area EveryRail ‘Pilgrimage’, May 24-27
From May 24 to May 27, I took an Amtrak trip from LA to the Bay Area and back, with a goal of exploring every one of the rail systems found there. I managed all except ACE, which wasn't operating any day I was there. In retrospect, I could have managed a short trip on ACE by, instead of boarding the CS at OKJ as described below, taking BART from Lake Merritt to Fremont, and ACE from Fremont to SJC, boarding the CS there, but I don't think I've missed much, as it uses just yet more Bombardier trainsets, and I've already ridden a couple times in an ACE car leased by Metrolink.
This post is part 4 of 4, one for each day, which I have posted over the past few days (as it turns out, the report about each day was posted exactly four days later). Pictures taken this day can be found here.
After the 3.5 hour powernap I mentioned before, I woke at 4:30, showered, dressed, packed my pajamas, and quietly went outside to take a MUNI trolleybus to the SF Ferry Terminal. My ferry wasn't due to leave for another half hour, so I got a coffee and enjoyed the fresh morning bay air.
When I saw what I supposed to be my ferry approaching, I went and stood on the ramp (?) to the pier, just outside the gates. Even that was an experience, with it bouncing and rocking with the waves. It pulled in about 6:25, discharged quite a few passengers, then I boarded with only 2-3 other people. After a short trip, including under the Bay Bridge, of which I took yet more pictures, we arrived at Oakland about 6:55, a full 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It was over 1.5 hours until Amtrak 11 arrived at OKJ, so I very casually sauntered the 7-9 blocks between, arriving at OKJ at around 7:30.
I rather like this 'new' OKJ...very modern, etc. I thought I remembered reading about some 'old' OKJ slightly further north, so I was very mildly disappointed to see that while it ran down the street towards this new one, it's already private RoW once it reaches the platforms. I looked around a bit, then settled into a seat to pore over the timetables, &c., I'd collected. Soon the nice Station Host, whose name I unfortunately did not record, came over and asked what train I would be taking; when I said 11, she told me the optimum place (B&C) to stand as the train approached.
Around 8:35, Amtrak 11, the Coast Starlight, came up Embarcadero. At least, I thought it was Coast Starlight. Turns out it was some other long-distance train with coincidentally the same schedule as the Coast Starlight, but with a different consist and services than advertised for the Coast Starlight. Fortunately, they honored my Coast Starlight tickets, and I boarded:
Amtrak 11, OKJ to LAX
Consist
??? P42 *I didn't go and look
??? P42 *I didn't go and look
????? Baggage *I didn't go and look
????? 'Unknown' Superline Transition running as 1132 *I didn't go and look
32081 'Illinois' Superliner II Sleeper running as 1131
*32075 'Connecticut' running as 1130 *Roomette 3, then Roomette 4 (see below)
33042 'PPC Impostor' Superliner II Lounge
38044 Superliner II Diner
????? Superliner Lounge *I didn't go and look
????? Superliner Coach *I didn't go and look
????? Superliner Coach *I didn't go and look
????? Superliner Coach *I didn't go and look
OK, yes, my disappointment about the loungestituted (which portmanteau I hereby release into the public domain, jackal
) PPC, here expresses itself as sarcasm about 'not really 11' and 'PPC Impostor'. That being out of the way:
I was met at the door of Connecticut by my car attendant, Louie M, who invited me to go on up to #3, and he'd be up shortly. I settled in, and soon the occupants of #4 arrived, an older couple, temporarily accompanied by their daughter who began to make the loudest fuss about 'this is not what I paid for' (it sounded as if she [at least thought she] had booked a Bedroom). Soon we were off, and Louie came up and introduced himself, gave a brief intro of the roomette's features, pointed out the coffee down the hall, asked if I wanted champagne or Martinelli's (I chose the latter), and invited me to go have breakfast while I had the chance. I asked him if there was really not a 'real' PPC on this train (thinking perhaps I'd just overlooked it), and he said 'Yeah, but it's better than nothing, right?' Almost.
So I called and left a voicemail for jackal about the loungestitution, as well as a text message, then off to the diner, followed closely by the older couple mentioned above, and we wound up seated together. They live in the East Bay, and this trip was a 40th-anniversary gift from their daughter. My waitress throughout the trip (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) was Myra, who was new, but according to the Dining Manager (LSA?) and my own observations, was already doing quite well. I had the southwest omelette with hash browns and biscuit, and coffee. The omelette, biscuit, and coffee were quite good; the hash browns had the 'plasticky' quality of premade hash browns that had sat a while. Myra's only (and very very minor) mistake of the whole trip was here at breakfast: I didn't know I could also get sausage or bacon (because she didn't remind me), so I separately ordered sausage, which was ordinary but tasty sausage links.
After breakfast, I went back to my room for a bit; on the way I noticed an interesting sign. Printed on letter-size paper were the words 'What are the smoking breaks?'. To the bottom of this, they'd stapled a CS timetable, on which they'd drawn asterisks next to such breaks. Below this was the funny part: taped to the bottom of the timetable was a bit of notepaper, on which they'd written 'These are the smoking and fLesh air breaks.' Flesh air? Sounds like a tacit encouragement for people to join the 'quarter-mile long club' It seemed that my new anniversary friends' daughter's complaints had worked, because soon Louie came to help them move their things to their upgraded Bedroom.
Not long after, we arrived at SJC, where I helped myself to a flesh air break, and later, as we were leaving, one of the crew said 'Conductor, passenger on the platform. ... Conductor, passenger on the platform. ... CONDUCTOR BILL, we have a passenger on the platform!' and we stopped again, apparently to let someone board, then off again. Because of my flesh air break, I missed the Dining Manager's lunch reservation sleeper pass, so I went to the diner and signed up for 12:30. I then went to hang out in the 'PPC'. Because at this point the CS is not yet that close to the coast, the scenery was not as compelling, but I still enjoyed 'lounging'. Striking me perhaps funnier than it should have was that, sitting a few seats away from me was a ginormous Samoan guy with his giant bare feet on that shelf thing below the window. After lounging a bit more, I went back to my room to fire up my laptop and EVDO card and (what else?) browse AU. I had just sat down when Louie invited me to move across to the now-vacant #4, so that I'd have the coast-side view, and I did so. Almost before my dust settled in #3, I heard Louie ask the party in #2 to move to #3. Turned out to have been the Samoan guy. This move was to make room on the coast side for the anniversary couple, who had unfortunately been downgraded back to roomette. It's interesting that the net result was that the parties in #2, #3, and #4 all moved one room clockwise (as seen from above).
Shortly after this, the 'PPC' attendant came around selling tickets for the afternoon wine tasting. I got one for myself, and, because of both my excitement of coincidentally meeting a fellow AmtrakUnlimiter and FlyerTalker, and that I thought they'd probably have run out by the time he boarded in PRB, one for jackal. Because I'd been telling jackal again and again that I would be in #3, and I knew he didn't know what I looked like, I quickly sent him a text message with my updated room. There was a brief UP delay just north of Salinas, and then we soon stopped there, where I took a flesh air break and a couple pictures of that quaint station. Back to my room for a bit, then back to the 'PPC' where I watched yet more scenery (and experienced yet another UP delay around 12:25) before the 12:30 lunch was called. Across from me was a rather small and old white guy, pinned to the wall by 'Samoan guy'. At first I thought they were unrelated and randomly seated together in the usual way, but the way the latter later patronized and coddled the former suggested they were actually a couple or maybe nurse/patient. Seated next to me was a guy who I discovered, after chatting only a few minutes, was remarkably well-traveled and well-informed about rail travel, and also disappointed about the loungestitution. He asked if I had ever heard of TrainWeb, and as it turns out, it was no less than Richard Elgenson of TrainWeb fame. Turns out he'd also been the victim of an earlier loungestitution on May 9 (in Amtrak's defense, before the May 19 soft-launch date). For lunch, I had the burger, which I found disappointingly dry, and the usual uninspiring chips. I told Richard about my better experience with a burger and real fries a few days before on the CC. He gave hints that he corresponds with Amtrak customer service quite frequently, and suggested that I do the same, and 'that (the dry burger) is the kind of thing you mention'. Now it was time for dessert. The choices on offer were (IIRC) ice cream, raspberry cheesecake, apple something-or-other, and cherry chocolate torte. Richard asked what was in the cherry chocolate torte, and Myra answered 'Um, cherry, chocolate, and I guess torte.' which I thought was rather cute and funny. I got that, as did Richard, and I have to say that it was the best thing I've eaten ever on a train, and among the best desserts I've ever eaten, if not entirely healthy.
I went back to my room to wait for jackal, who was to board at PRB, and shortly after we left there, he came along and introduced himself. It was not immediately obvious to him that he was welcome to come in and sit, which was my fault because my crap was spread all throughout the room, so I extended that invitation, but he first wanted to try to get lunch, so he was off to the diner, but soon came back thwarted, so he sat down and we chatted a while. Presently Richard came along and I introduced them, then the three of us were off to the 'PPC', where Richard showed us some pictures of his most recent trip to Seattle (including a rare opportunity to ride on 10001 'Beech Grove') as well as other trips. The breadth of his experience impressed and inspired me...whenever I mentioned some trip I'd taken, he had too. He also clued us in to the fact that if we wanted to ride in an unusual, non-public part of a train, it was often enough just to ask nicely. I shall have to try this sometime. Also during this part of the trip, I took a few pictures of the scenery outside, specifically the Cuesta Grade, and the Stenner Creek Trestle. When I later showed this latter picture to jackal and Richard, Richard mentioned how well it turned out, which meant a lot coming from someone who knows way more than me about trains and probably has a much better camera (mine is a simple consumer-level digital). Soon we reached San Luis Obispo, where I took yet another flesh air break, took a picture of that station (which I'd never visited, despite its being on my [now slightly less-]beloved Surfliner's route), and came back up in time for the 'PPC' attendant to call for the wine tasting.
The three of us shared a table with a guy who meekly smiled at me and said 'hi' as I sat down, but was otherwise, as jackal described, deafeningly silent during the tasting. Soon after we sat, a conflict almost brewed between the 'PPC' attendant and Richard, who'd plugged his laptop into the outlet at the top of the stairs, which she needed for her music. Jackal hurried back to his room to get his power strip, and everyone was happy. We each got a plate with two cubes each of a blue cheese, two white cheeses whose difference was not apparent to me, and a medium cheddar, as well as a pile of packages of Carr's Table Water Crackers of Amtrak cheese-and-cracker-plate fame. I usually avoid ripened or soft cheeses (being more of a fan of hard cheeses like parmesan, as well as very sharp cheddars), but I actually enjoyed even the blue cheese. As I'm even less of an oenophile than jackal, I defer to his well-written report for a more detailed description of the four wines on offer this day. I like or dislike wines just because I do, not because I detect a hint or bouquet of this-or-that, but here is a brief summary of my opinions on them:
The music at times was a bit loud. One of the pieces played was Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, better known as the theme song for United Airlines. We were tickled by this in a way that only people who prefer trains to planes could. During another particularly loud and irritating piece, the music suddenly stopped. We at first thought the attendant had turned it off (the tasting by now being over), but it turned out that someone had accidentally but thoughtfully kicked the plug out of the outlet. The attendant took this as her cue to put the music away anyways, and we went back, for a short time, to looking at more of Richard's pictures, before jackal's group was called for dinner. Soon after, so was Richard's, then mine.
I again sat with 'anniversary couple', and we had a yet longer and more detailed conversation than before. He was in the navy for many years, and they met in San Diego while he was stationed there. He mentioned that when he first joined, it was by train that he got from where he was to where he needed to go, but his age and his description of the room he was in (it sounded like a Pullman Roomette) meant that he wasn't in a dedicated troop car, and he wasn't 'The Kid in Upper 4' He also mentioned riding trains in Japan while stationed there, and that the American trains of the time were far superior. How times have changed. Because I'd heard good things about it, I ordered the flat-iron steak, medium rare; the lady ordered a 'hamburger, no onion', and I admit to forgetting what the gentleman ordered. When our meals arrived, the lady's plate contained, besides the usual chips and packets of mustard and mayo, a hamburger patty, lettuce, tomato, and onions. She asked Myra 'um...can I have a bun?' It turns out that the kitchen had misread 'no onions' as 'no bun', an error which Myra quickly and apologetically corrected. My steak looked at first like it was overdone, but when I cut into it, it bled, just like I like. The contrast between inside and outside suggested it was cooked briefly and strongly, which makes sense given the timeframes they have to work with. I don't remember precisely what the vegetable was, but it was good, with an interesting contrast in color between the more- and less-recently-thawed green beans I'd just finished my steak as we approached SBA, so I hurried through my potato (also good), and asked them to order a torte for me, while I went for another flesh air break. When I returned, the torte was waiting for me, and I enjoyed it as before. I pointed the giant tree out to them, and after we left SBA, the Channel Islands on the other side. They said how pretty this area was, so I mentioned to them how I'd been to SBA twice on the Surfliners and that if they were going to be in LA for any length of time, that Santa Barbara was a very doable day trip (one I've done twice). I also mentioned how I was one of those rare (for the west coast, anyways) people who actually manages to commute on Amtrak (in my case, 785 each weekday home from LAX to GDL).
I went back to the 'PPC', and since jackal and Richard had gone back to their rooms for a bit, I went and got my laptop to entertain myself and also start loading the 400+ pictures I took into it, with a view towards showing them later. A nice British couple saw my laptop and asked 'Does it have internet? Would you mind helping us check in for our flight?' (from LAX to LHR the next morning), which I was happy to do. One thing that surprised me (and will surprise FTers, though I suppose not AUers) was that while the flight was not nearly full, and there were plenty of middle/aisle opportunities, they wanted the middle/window that BA had randomly assigned them. Soon jackal (with his laptop) and Richard came back, and jackal showed us some of his own pictures of the Alaska Railroad (for which he once worked). I must ride this someday. Two things that impressed me were the unparalleled shininess of the outside of the cars, and one car that, like Superliners, AmCals, Surfliners, and some of ARR's roster, is bilevel, but instead of dividing the whole car horizontally into two levels, this one car has a 2nd-level (indoor) balcony along one side, and the other side an 'atrium' of sorts with a 2-story-high ceiling. I showed them a few of the pictures I'd taken, not nearly as impressive as theirs. They also graciously humored my by answering my silly questions about the various things that go on behind the scenes on railroads. Soon jackal went to his room to pack up, while we waited just north of SIM for Metrolink 119 to clear the station, then came back to the PPC to bid us farewell and detrained there.
As the party was breaking up, Richard and I went back to our rooms. On my seat, I found the Martinelli's I'd asked for earlier in the day, in fact two bottles. I thanked Louie and said 'I'd forgotten all about that!' to which he said 'I hadn't! ' We wound up arriving at VNC some 10 minutes late, and after a quick stop there, were off again. Out my window, I saw a CostCo, and ran next door to point out GDL (where I commute from every day) to the anniversary couple, but was confused when nothing looked familiar. Turns out there's another CostCo in Burbank near where the Metrolink Antelope Valley and Ventura County lines diverge, and that was what I saw. A few minutes later, I saw the 'right' CostCo, and then pointed out GDL to them.
We arrived about 15-20 minutes early at LAX, where I bid farewell to Richard, Anniversary Couple (again wishing them a very happy anniversary), and Flying British Couple, before detraining, getting my checked luggage, and going to wait in the loading area in front of the station, where Mr. chuljin picked me up around 9:10, thus ending the fourth and final day of this trip.
In summary, I enjoyed this trip immensely. As of now, this is my favorite vacation ever, perhaps tied with my second visit to Thailand (I had to leave the US to take my first long-distance train! ). I accomplished everything I set out to, with the single disappointment of the loungestitution; I enjoyed every interaction I had with an Amtrak employee, with the possible exception of the station agent at SFC; I felt treated at every turn like I was Amtrak's only customer. This is a trip I will very likely repeat, though with variations like going 'clockwise' to the Bay Area and back, and doing different things while there, like getting off a train every once in a while.
I hope you've all enjoyed this series of reports; thank you for reading.
Chris
From May 24 to May 27, I took an Amtrak trip from LA to the Bay Area and back, with a goal of exploring every one of the rail systems found there. I managed all except ACE, which wasn't operating any day I was there. In retrospect, I could have managed a short trip on ACE by, instead of boarding the CS at OKJ as described below, taking BART from Lake Merritt to Fremont, and ACE from Fremont to SJC, boarding the CS there, but I don't think I've missed much, as it uses just yet more Bombardier trainsets, and I've already ridden a couple times in an ACE car leased by Metrolink.
This post is part 4 of 4, one for each day, which I have posted over the past few days (as it turns out, the report about each day was posted exactly four days later). Pictures taken this day can be found here.
- May 24: AmBus to Bakersfield, thence San Joaquins to Martinez; Capitol Corridor to Sacramento; CSRM and its Excursion Train; SACRT Light Rail; Capitol Corridor back to East Bay; BART to SF (pics)
- May 25: Exploring MUNI and BART, including South Beach, Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Ocean Beach, Balboa Park, SFO, and Obligatory Token Cable Car Rides (pics)
- May 26: BART to East Bay, Capitol Corridor to San Jose; Exploring VTALR including Paseo de S.A., Japantown, etc.; Google and Apple; Caltrain to SF (pics)
- May 27: Alamada/Oakland Ferry to Oakland; Coast Starlight to LA (pics)
After the 3.5 hour powernap I mentioned before, I woke at 4:30, showered, dressed, packed my pajamas, and quietly went outside to take a MUNI trolleybus to the SF Ferry Terminal. My ferry wasn't due to leave for another half hour, so I got a coffee and enjoyed the fresh morning bay air.
When I saw what I supposed to be my ferry approaching, I went and stood on the ramp (?) to the pier, just outside the gates. Even that was an experience, with it bouncing and rocking with the waves. It pulled in about 6:25, discharged quite a few passengers, then I boarded with only 2-3 other people. After a short trip, including under the Bay Bridge, of which I took yet more pictures, we arrived at Oakland about 6:55, a full 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It was over 1.5 hours until Amtrak 11 arrived at OKJ, so I very casually sauntered the 7-9 blocks between, arriving at OKJ at around 7:30.
I rather like this 'new' OKJ...very modern, etc. I thought I remembered reading about some 'old' OKJ slightly further north, so I was very mildly disappointed to see that while it ran down the street towards this new one, it's already private RoW once it reaches the platforms. I looked around a bit, then settled into a seat to pore over the timetables, &c., I'd collected. Soon the nice Station Host, whose name I unfortunately did not record, came over and asked what train I would be taking; when I said 11, she told me the optimum place (B&C) to stand as the train approached.
Around 8:35, Amtrak 11, the Coast Starlight, came up Embarcadero. At least, I thought it was Coast Starlight. Turns out it was some other long-distance train with coincidentally the same schedule as the Coast Starlight, but with a different consist and services than advertised for the Coast Starlight. Fortunately, they honored my Coast Starlight tickets, and I boarded:
Amtrak 11, OKJ to LAX
Consist
??? P42 *I didn't go and look
??? P42 *I didn't go and look
????? Baggage *I didn't go and look
????? 'Unknown' Superline Transition running as 1132 *I didn't go and look
32081 'Illinois' Superliner II Sleeper running as 1131
*32075 'Connecticut' running as 1130 *Roomette 3, then Roomette 4 (see below)
33042 'PPC Impostor' Superliner II Lounge
38044 Superliner II Diner
????? Superliner Lounge *I didn't go and look
????? Superliner Coach *I didn't go and look
????? Superliner Coach *I didn't go and look
????? Superliner Coach *I didn't go and look
OK, yes, my disappointment about the loungestituted (which portmanteau I hereby release into the public domain, jackal
) PPC, here expresses itself as sarcasm about 'not really 11' and 'PPC Impostor'. That being out of the way:I was met at the door of Connecticut by my car attendant, Louie M, who invited me to go on up to #3, and he'd be up shortly. I settled in, and soon the occupants of #4 arrived, an older couple, temporarily accompanied by their daughter who began to make the loudest fuss about 'this is not what I paid for' (it sounded as if she [at least thought she] had booked a Bedroom). Soon we were off, and Louie came up and introduced himself, gave a brief intro of the roomette's features, pointed out the coffee down the hall, asked if I wanted champagne or Martinelli's (I chose the latter), and invited me to go have breakfast while I had the chance. I asked him if there was really not a 'real' PPC on this train (thinking perhaps I'd just overlooked it), and he said 'Yeah, but it's better than nothing, right?' Almost.
So I called and left a voicemail for jackal about the loungestitution, as well as a text message, then off to the diner, followed closely by the older couple mentioned above, and we wound up seated together. They live in the East Bay, and this trip was a 40th-anniversary gift from their daughter. My waitress throughout the trip (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) was Myra, who was new, but according to the Dining Manager (LSA?) and my own observations, was already doing quite well. I had the southwest omelette with hash browns and biscuit, and coffee. The omelette, biscuit, and coffee were quite good; the hash browns had the 'plasticky' quality of premade hash browns that had sat a while. Myra's only (and very very minor) mistake of the whole trip was here at breakfast: I didn't know I could also get sausage or bacon (because she didn't remind me), so I separately ordered sausage, which was ordinary but tasty sausage links.
After breakfast, I went back to my room for a bit; on the way I noticed an interesting sign. Printed on letter-size paper were the words 'What are the smoking breaks?'. To the bottom of this, they'd stapled a CS timetable, on which they'd drawn asterisks next to such breaks. Below this was the funny part: taped to the bottom of the timetable was a bit of notepaper, on which they'd written 'These are the smoking and fLesh air breaks.' Flesh air? Sounds like a tacit encouragement for people to join the 'quarter-mile long club'
It seemed that my new anniversary friends' daughter's complaints had worked, because soon Louie came to help them move their things to their upgraded Bedroom.Not long after, we arrived at SJC, where I helped myself to a flesh air break, and later, as we were leaving, one of the crew said 'Conductor, passenger on the platform. ... Conductor, passenger on the platform. ... CONDUCTOR BILL, we have a passenger on the platform!' and we stopped again, apparently to let someone board, then off again. Because of my flesh air break, I missed the Dining Manager's lunch reservation sleeper pass, so I went to the diner and signed up for 12:30. I then went to hang out in the 'PPC'. Because at this point the CS is not yet that close to the coast, the scenery was not as compelling, but I still enjoyed 'lounging'. Striking me perhaps funnier than it should have was that, sitting a few seats away from me was a ginormous Samoan guy with his giant bare feet on that shelf thing below the window. After lounging a bit more, I went back to my room to fire up my laptop and EVDO card and (what else?) browse AU. I had just sat down when Louie invited me to move across to the now-vacant #4, so that I'd have the coast-side view, and I did so. Almost before my dust settled in #3, I heard Louie ask the party in #2 to move to #3. Turned out to have been the Samoan guy.
This move was to make room on the coast side for the anniversary couple, who had unfortunately been downgraded back to roomette. It's interesting that the net result was that the parties in #2, #3, and #4 all moved one room clockwise (as seen from above). Shortly after this, the 'PPC' attendant came around selling tickets for the afternoon wine tasting. I got one for myself, and, because of both my excitement of coincidentally meeting a fellow AmtrakUnlimiter and FlyerTalker, and that I thought they'd probably have run out by the time he boarded in PRB, one for jackal. Because I'd been telling jackal again and again that I would be in #3, and I knew he didn't know what I looked like, I quickly sent him a text message with my updated room. There was a brief UP delay just north of Salinas, and then we soon stopped there, where I took a flesh air break and a couple pictures of that quaint station. Back to my room for a bit, then back to the 'PPC' where I watched yet more scenery (and experienced yet another UP delay around 12:25) before the 12:30 lunch was called. Across from me was a rather small and old white guy, pinned to the wall by 'Samoan guy'. At first I thought they were unrelated and randomly seated together in the usual way, but the way the latter later patronized and coddled the former suggested they were actually a couple or maybe nurse/patient. Seated next to me was a guy who I discovered, after chatting only a few minutes, was remarkably well-traveled and well-informed about rail travel, and also disappointed about the loungestitution. He asked if I had ever heard of TrainWeb, and as it turns out, it was no less than Richard Elgenson of TrainWeb fame. Turns out he'd also been the victim of an earlier loungestitution on May 9 (in Amtrak's defense, before the May 19 soft-launch date). For lunch, I had the burger, which I found disappointingly dry, and the usual uninspiring chips. I told Richard about my better experience with a burger and real fries a few days before on the CC. He gave hints that he corresponds with Amtrak customer service quite frequently, and suggested that I do the same, and 'that (the dry burger) is the kind of thing you mention'. Now it was time for dessert. The choices on offer were (IIRC) ice cream, raspberry cheesecake, apple something-or-other, and cherry chocolate torte. Richard asked what was in the cherry chocolate torte, and Myra answered 'Um, cherry, chocolate, and I guess torte.' which I thought was rather cute and funny. I got that, as did Richard, and I have to say that it was the best thing I've eaten ever on a train, and among the best desserts I've ever eaten, if not entirely healthy.
I went back to my room to wait for jackal, who was to board at PRB, and shortly after we left there, he came along and introduced himself. It was not immediately obvious to him that he was welcome to come in and sit, which was my fault because my crap was spread all throughout the room, so I extended that invitation, but he first wanted to try to get lunch, so he was off to the diner, but soon came back thwarted, so he sat down and we chatted a while. Presently Richard came along and I introduced them, then the three of us were off to the 'PPC', where Richard showed us some pictures of his most recent trip to Seattle (including a rare opportunity to ride on 10001 'Beech Grove') as well as other trips. The breadth of his experience impressed and inspired me...whenever I mentioned some trip I'd taken, he had too. He also clued us in to the fact that if we wanted to ride in an unusual, non-public part of a train, it was often enough just to ask nicely. I shall have to try this sometime. Also during this part of the trip, I took a few pictures of the scenery outside, specifically the Cuesta Grade, and the Stenner Creek Trestle. When I later showed this latter picture to jackal and Richard, Richard mentioned how well it turned out, which meant a lot coming from someone who knows way more than me about trains and probably has a much better camera (mine is a simple consumer-level digital). Soon we reached San Luis Obispo, where I took yet another flesh air break, took a picture of that station (which I'd never visited, despite its being on my [now slightly less-]beloved Surfliner's route), and came back up in time for the 'PPC' attendant to call for the wine tasting.
The three of us shared a table with a guy who meekly smiled at me and said 'hi' as I sat down, but was otherwise, as jackal described, deafeningly silent during the tasting. Soon after we sat, a conflict almost brewed between the 'PPC' attendant and Richard, who'd plugged his laptop into the outlet at the top of the stairs, which she needed for her music. Jackal hurried back to his room to get his power strip, and everyone was happy. We each got a plate with two cubes each of a blue cheese, two white cheeses whose difference was not apparent to me, and a medium cheddar, as well as a pile of packages of Carr's Table Water Crackers of Amtrak cheese-and-cracker-plate fame. I usually avoid ripened or soft cheeses (being more of a fan of hard cheeses like parmesan, as well as very sharp cheddars), but I actually enjoyed even the blue cheese. As I'm even less of an oenophile than jackal, I defer to his well-written report for a more detailed description of the four wines on offer this day. I like or dislike wines just because I do, not because I detect a hint or bouquet of this-or-that, but here is a brief summary of my opinions on them:
- Taz Pinot Gris 2007 (the printed list said 2006): an ordinary but enjoyable white.
- Estancia Pinot Noir 2006: A very enjoyable red with a lot of complexity, my second favorite of the four.
- Greg Norman Petit Sirah 2005: I found this red to be insipid and lacking in taste. Perhaps a bit harsh, but I did not enjoy this one.
- Jekel Riesling 2006: Since I am a fan of sweet wines in general, and (ever since trying Renski Rizling back in my Sloveniaphile college days) Rieslings in particular, I enjoyed this one immensely, my favorite of the four.
The music at times was a bit loud. One of the pieces played was Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, better known as the theme song for United Airlines. We were tickled by this in a way that only people who prefer trains to planes could. During another particularly loud and irritating piece, the music suddenly stopped. We at first thought the attendant had turned it off (the tasting by now being over), but it turned out that someone had accidentally but thoughtfully kicked the plug out of the outlet.
The attendant took this as her cue to put the music away anyways, and we went back, for a short time, to looking at more of Richard's pictures, before jackal's group was called for dinner. Soon after, so was Richard's, then mine.I again sat with 'anniversary couple', and we had a yet longer and more detailed conversation than before. He was in the navy for many years, and they met in San Diego while he was stationed there. He mentioned that when he first joined, it was by train that he got from where he was to where he needed to go, but his age and his description of the room he was in (it sounded like a Pullman Roomette) meant that he wasn't in a dedicated troop car, and he wasn't 'The Kid in Upper 4'
He also mentioned riding trains in Japan while stationed there, and that the American trains of the time were far superior. How times have changed. Because I'd heard good things about it, I ordered the flat-iron steak, medium rare; the lady ordered a 'hamburger, no onion', and I admit to forgetting what the gentleman ordered. When our meals arrived, the lady's plate contained, besides the usual chips and packets of mustard and mayo, a hamburger patty, lettuce, tomato, and onions. She asked Myra 'um...can I have a bun?' It turns out that the kitchen had misread 'no onions' as 'no bun', an error which Myra quickly and apologetically corrected. My steak looked at first like it was overdone, but when I cut into it, it bled, just like I like. The contrast between inside and outside suggested it was cooked briefly and strongly, which makes sense given the timeframes they have to work with. I don't remember precisely what the vegetable was, but it was good, with an interesting contrast in color between the more- and less-recently-thawed green beans I'd just finished my steak as we approached SBA, so I hurried through my potato (also good), and asked them to order a torte for me, while I went for another flesh air break. When I returned, the torte was waiting for me, and I enjoyed it as before. I pointed the giant tree out to them, and after we left SBA, the Channel Islands on the other side. They said how pretty this area was, so I mentioned to them how I'd been to SBA twice on the Surfliners and that if they were going to be in LA for any length of time, that Santa Barbara was a very doable day trip (one I've done twice). I also mentioned how I was one of those rare (for the west coast, anyways) people who actually manages to commute on Amtrak (in my case, 785 each weekday home from LAX to GDL).I went back to the 'PPC', and since jackal and Richard had gone back to their rooms for a bit, I went and got my laptop to entertain myself and also start loading the 400+ pictures I took into it, with a view towards showing them later. A nice British couple saw my laptop and asked 'Does it have internet? Would you mind helping us check in for our flight?' (from LAX to LHR the next morning), which I was happy to do. One thing that surprised me (and will surprise FTers, though I suppose not AUers) was that while the flight was not nearly full, and there were plenty of middle/aisle opportunities, they wanted the middle/window that BA had randomly assigned them. Soon jackal (with his laptop) and Richard came back, and jackal showed us some of his own pictures of the Alaska Railroad (for which he once worked). I must ride this someday. Two things that impressed me were the unparalleled shininess of the outside of the cars, and one car that, like Superliners, AmCals, Surfliners, and some of ARR's roster, is bilevel, but instead of dividing the whole car horizontally into two levels, this one car has a 2nd-level (indoor) balcony along one side, and the other side an 'atrium' of sorts with a 2-story-high ceiling. I showed them a few of the pictures I'd taken, not nearly as impressive as theirs. They also graciously humored my by answering my silly questions about the various things that go on behind the scenes on railroads. Soon jackal went to his room to pack up, while we waited just north of SIM for Metrolink 119 to clear the station, then came back to the PPC to bid us farewell and detrained there.
As the party was breaking up, Richard and I went back to our rooms. On my seat, I found the Martinelli's I'd asked for earlier in the day, in fact two bottles. I thanked Louie and said 'I'd forgotten all about that!' to which he said 'I hadn't!
' We wound up arriving at VNC some 10 minutes late, and after a quick stop there, were off again. Out my window, I saw a CostCo, and ran next door to point out GDL (where I commute from every day) to the anniversary couple, but was confused when nothing looked familiar. Turns out there's another CostCo in Burbank near where the Metrolink Antelope Valley and Ventura County lines diverge, and that was what I saw. A few minutes later, I saw the 'right' CostCo, and then pointed out GDL to them.We arrived about 15-20 minutes early at LAX, where I bid farewell to Richard, Anniversary Couple (again wishing them a very happy anniversary), and Flying British Couple, before detraining, getting my checked luggage, and going to wait in the loading area in front of the station, where Mr. chuljin picked me up around 9:10, thus ending the fourth and final day of this trip.
In summary, I enjoyed this trip immensely. As of now, this is my favorite vacation ever, perhaps tied with my second visit to Thailand (I had to leave the US to take my first long-distance train!
). I accomplished everything I set out to, with the single disappointment of the loungestitution; I enjoyed every interaction I had with an Amtrak employee, with the possible exception of the station agent at SFC; I felt treated at every turn like I was Amtrak's only customer. This is a trip I will very likely repeat, though with variations like going 'clockwise' to the Bay Area and back, and doing different things while there, like getting off a train every once in a while. I hope you've all enjoyed this series of reports; thank you for reading.
Chris
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