Last time I had the pleasure of visiting Oakland Station, the friendly folks down at Oakland PD were "escorting" someone out of the station. OPD gave him the full treatment, guy didn't even have to use his feet! ^_^
Last time I rode in a roomette the AC was broken (at least in our room). Drifted to sleep with just the sheet as the room was sweltering. I found leaving the door open slightly was a good source of airflow, if you can put up with the noise outside.
Sleeper car accommodations are automatically assigned a room number when booking online. Booking with an agent (phone or station) will let you pick and choose what room number you are in.
Coach seating is assigned upon boarding the train, by the Coach attendant.
Between Seattle and Olympia the train heades through Kent Valley Industry, before heading along the sound and under the Narrows. Extremely beautiful in my opinion. The scenery can get a bit dull after Olympia headed south, until Kelso/Longview. From there until Portland, the train follows the...
As I head northbound on the Coast Starlight, my Coach, 31018 is equipped with a Amtrak Connect Wifi connection. While it can be connected to, no internet connection is present. Is this a new program rolling out, or have I just been out of the loop?