Oxnard

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Slasharoo

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Milwaukee
Planning a points run from Santa Barbara to Oxnard. What's the area like around the station? Any good restaurant recommendations near there for lunch?
 
Planning a points run from Santa Barbara to Oxnard. What's the area like around the station? Any good restaurant recommendations near there for lunch?
The Bat Signal is On for Patrick! Calling Whooz! Calling Whooz! Please Respond! Come In! :help: (Why not just ride on into LAX where there are so many more things to do/places to see???? ;) )
 
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Ventura might be better, I was amazed how much of a town was nearby when I made my photo stop there.

Also do you know about the multi-city trick? (You can pull off a free stopover at any Amtrak station if its under 24 hours).

If I lived in SBA and were planning on doing a points run this is what I would do and earn extra points:

Day 1: The the city bus up to Goleta and ride the train back to SBA 100 points

Day 2: Get at least 200 points on a round-trip points run somewhere south, maybe 300 or 400 by making a stopover, continuing on the next train south and/or north, before turning around and returning

Day 3: Why not end the trip with the train up to Goleta and taking the city bus back down. - 100 points

This would all requiring buying just one multi city ticket from Goleta to Oxnard (if that was your final destination) for $36, that seems extremely high to me for such a short distance (actually your spending an $1 each way for the Goleta segments, I just assumed because the stops are so close to each other the price would be the same).

There is the VISTA Coastal Express bus from Ventura to Santa Barbara for only $3 (no AGR points) to make a points run down to Ventura County (making the multi-city trick for extra points) and returning by bus.

You could do similar thinks by taking the bus to and from Carpenteria too if that's better for you. Just make sure you find the conductor on each short trip to get your ticket scanned.

Your bus ride coming back from Goleta would be free to by asking the conductor for a free transit transfer.

$18 each way though for just a points run and 200 points seems rather expensive to me. The Surfliner really isn't cheep.

I should add all of my points runs that haven't been extending trips with extra segments have been on the Keystone Corridor (400 points DOW-EXT-PAO-ARD-PHL for $6.50 I even did once, I had bought a day pass already and rode SEPTA out) or on Springfield Shuttle ($4.50 for 100 points NHV-Wallingford). Living in New York leaves me for few decent points runs without attaching them to regular trips. My main source of extra points (that is normally a free segment or a couple bucks more) is buy adding a NYP-NWK segment to trips up to the New York State or New England for the next day (I always have to find the conductor, there a little surprised and once had to beg to get my ticket scanned) that is basically costing me just PATH fare (less than $2) and an extra hour of time for 100 points.

I also like getting off in Yonkers on my Empire Corridor trips taking the bus down (a quick 20 minutes free transfer to the subway and accepts MetroCard) and returning to Yonkers the next day when I normally have to go downtown anyway. (I live in northern Manhattan). It's a similar extra hour-ish of time the next day and I find that I can get home from Yonkers faster than it takes from NYP.
 
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Though OXN is my base of Amtrak operations because it's full service (VEC is closer, but just an unmanned platform), my experience with the immediate area is virtually nil: get there, get on the train; arrive there, get baggage, go home.

AU member chuljin used to do LAX-OXN points runs, and IIRC during Oxnard layovers went to a nearby premium ice cream shop. There's also a Starbucks close by.

I believe both are in the pedestrian mall that's a short walk up 4th street (where the station/transportation center is) and beyond the main drag of Oxnard Blvd./Hwy 1 - a couple blocks or so.

That's about all I'm able to suggest. Street side of OXN (WhoozPhoto):

OXN+007.jpg
 
This is just about Oxnard, not about the other destinations people have listed, which are also very good ideas.

I have driven to Oxnard for touristing purposes. The area around the depot is fine for walking. It is walking distance to a downtown square with several local museums. Some weekends, they also have festivals there. Foodies are starting to discover the many options for farm-to-table eating in Oxnard. The strawberry festival (May) is further away but they run shuttles from the train depot. Oxnard also has two world-class car museums but not walking distance, Murphy's and Mullin's. Murphy particularly likes Packards, and they also host a model railroad club. Mullin likes beautiful French cars, especially Bugattis, and he has the most beautiful car I have ever seen, 1937 and 1938 Delahaye Type 145 V-12 Coupes.

The Oxnard Visitor Bureau has good info on their website.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. It really will be quite economical since my wife just signed up to AGR so we are looking at the extra bonus points as well as the rail miles and credit card miles. We're taking the CS from Santa Barbara to Portland after a few days relaxing at the SBA beach, I just wanted a few ocean side miles going south as well. It looks like the square in Oxnard will fit the bill. Thanks Alice for the link.
 
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Foodies are starting to discover the many options for farm-to-table eating in Oxnard.
What foaming-at-the-mouth shill sheet did THAT come from!? :D
Oxnard and Good Food in the same Sentence?? :eek: " For The Times they are a-changin'.." How are the Vineyards around there doing?? (doesnt everywhere in Cali have Vineyards :p ???)
 
The weekend of October 11-12-13 is the Seaside Highland Games at the Ventura County Fairgrounds...right across the street from VEC station. Those dates are within the Fall Double Days too.
 
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