greatcats
Engineer
I posted about three weeks ago about having cancelled the first part of our trip to Hawaii, because the Southwest Chief broke down in Colorado. My friend and I flew the next day Flagstaff-Phoenix-Los Angeles, which was fine. After two nights in LA, we then flew to Hawaii and spent a total of 15 days, all in B&B's/vacation rentals, 5 days each on the Big Island, 5 on Maui, 5 on Kauai. A mini AU Gathering took place one evening at Casanova, an Italian restaurant in the small Maui town of Makawao, which included me and my friend, two gents who many of you know by the names of CHamilton and Anderson, and another friend. We all arrived via rental cars, as there are no trains to be had. Other than a rather stupid speeding ticket I acquired on Kauai, which has just had a letter mailed before agreeing to pay the fine, Hawaii was indeed wonderful. My friend and I returned last week on United Airlines to San Francisco. United has had poor publicity the past several years, but on this trip and another to the East Coast in early November, I only have good things to say about them. Also, on five occasions the services of Uber were used, in Flagstaff, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. I know that Uber has some controversial issues, but the service has been excellent. The rates vary by demand, but in Los Angeles we were taken for a fare of slightly over $8 from downtown to a LAX Airport hotel. Good tips were in order.
We did make use of Amtrak on the return, which went pretty well. We mainly came to San Francisco to hear a concert by the American Bach Soloists of Handel's " Messiah. " I thought that I have heard that work and sung it too many times, but this performance was authentic, the way the composer intended, and was truly splendid, set in the Gothic splendor of Grace Cathedral on California Street. The next day I set out on my own while my friend went on an outing to Berkeely with another friend. I set off on the Amtrak Bus from the Temporary Transbay Terminal for Martinez. I tried to use the Amtrak App, but it said two of my credit cards were invalid, so I went to the ticket window. The man said there have been many problems with the App. The bus took me over to Emeryville and then a 35-40 minute trip to Martinez, which was uneventful. I then chose two walk the two miles down Alhambra Avenue to the John Muir Home National Historic Site, which I recommend. I had met one of the rangers in November at the National Association for Interpretation Convention in Virginia Beach, Nate, and he gave me a personal tour. I returned by boarding a local bus, which took me to the Walnut Creek BART station, but due to traffic it took much longer than usual. The ride back on BART and the Civic Center was rapid and direct. On Friday morning we took the MUNI subway down to Embarcadero and to the Hyatt Hotel, a stop for the Thruway bus. A gentleman enroute to Lake Tahoe on the train chatted with us, a stooped over, but very alert man of 96, a retired landscape architect! A bus pulled up and the young lady driver said that due to delays on the Bay Bridge, the buses were all rearranged and that she would take us to the Transbay Terminal, via Pier 39. I did not get her name, but she was a sweetheart! Another bus then took us to Oakland for the Coast Starlight. I have been in this station before, an impressive modern building, but it only has some vending machines. Advice: If you are hungry while waiting in Oakland go to the cafe, Zia-Zia"s, I believe it is called, directly across the street to the east of the waiting room. It is a Chinese operation, and they were friendly and served up two ham and egg sandwiches. The train arrived nearly on time and we boarded one of the three coaches. Other than the rest rooms need some better paint jobs, everything was fine in the car, and the coach attendant, Karen, was very pleasant. We did have lunch in the dining car, our only dining car meal of this trip. This writer has already given opinions on the present level of food service, summed up in one word: BLAH. However, we both had the Angus burgers, which were fairly good, and the server, Jose, was very efficient and courteous. This was one of the fixed up diners and it looked fairly nice, without the dirty carpet on the ceiling. ( Bring back the flowers. ) The train was early into San Luis Obispo, but shortly after departure we stopped south of the station to wait for the late northbound train, and sat there for about 45 minutes. It seemed UP was having signal trouble. There were other delays further south and the arrival in Santa Barbara was about 90 minutes late. I read the train arrived LAX at 10:08 and that the Sunset was held for connecting passengers, two of whom we had had lunch with, an older couple from Sacramento.
We stayed two nights at the Chesire Cat B&B, a very fine place, full of cat decor, but to my dismay, no live creatures in the house. If you would like an excellent dinner in Santa Barbara at a not too exorbitant price, go to Opal on State Street. On Sunday afternoon after church at Trinity, we made our way to Santa Barbara Station, where a large crowd of about 150 waited for the Surfline. The Business Class car was looked after by Kirk, a fine gentleman. This trip was uneventful and arrived on time into Los Angeles. Now the gripe: Coach check in and seat assignments are now handled at the ticket office. A long line of baggage laden travelers stretched across the concourse. One clerk handling this mundane task; I stood in line for over 30 minutes, a big waste of layover time. The young lady behind the window was nice enough, but why another clerk or two could not have been assigned to this is beyond me. Mentioning this to an Amtrak employee out on the floor, she agreed that such an idea would make entirely too much sense! So, off to the coaches we went and wrestled our bags onto the train and took our seats, bringing sandwiches and sushi from the convenience store in the station. I did not feel like paying big bucks for a mediocre dinner in the diner and we'd had an adequate lunch in Santa Barbara. I believe this train had three sleepers up front, plus the dorm car, behind a new baggage car. Four coaches were on the rear, as the passenger load was heavy. ( Remember, nobody rides long distance trains!) The car was comfortable enough, but as is usually the case, sleep quality was poor. Two of the crew exhibited a not so hot attitude, but in the spirit of the season in this case, I will not mention names or file complaints. The snack bar guy ordered only five customers in line within the service area and others to stand outside the door. He said the door might slide and cause injury. I appreciate the safety concern, but he was rather abrupt about it. The next morning, approaching Flagstaff, several of us had retrieved our baggage and lashed pieces together and placed them in the door away from Flagstaff platform. The attendant came down and said he had to get to the door - he meant the panel that evidently controls lights. He then proceeded to toss our bags around the vestibule I held my tongue and cancelled any thought of a tip I might have given. When the train stopped he did not come back down the stairs but approached from the platform and had us open the door from the inside. I handed him the yellow step stool - gosh, he could have said thank you. Bye! Other than that, the ride was OK and we arrived less than 30 minutes late.
So, folks, I am happy to be home in Flagstaff with my two kitties and it is snowing this morning. No more major trips for the next few months. Merry Christmas.
We did make use of Amtrak on the return, which went pretty well. We mainly came to San Francisco to hear a concert by the American Bach Soloists of Handel's " Messiah. " I thought that I have heard that work and sung it too many times, but this performance was authentic, the way the composer intended, and was truly splendid, set in the Gothic splendor of Grace Cathedral on California Street. The next day I set out on my own while my friend went on an outing to Berkeely with another friend. I set off on the Amtrak Bus from the Temporary Transbay Terminal for Martinez. I tried to use the Amtrak App, but it said two of my credit cards were invalid, so I went to the ticket window. The man said there have been many problems with the App. The bus took me over to Emeryville and then a 35-40 minute trip to Martinez, which was uneventful. I then chose two walk the two miles down Alhambra Avenue to the John Muir Home National Historic Site, which I recommend. I had met one of the rangers in November at the National Association for Interpretation Convention in Virginia Beach, Nate, and he gave me a personal tour. I returned by boarding a local bus, which took me to the Walnut Creek BART station, but due to traffic it took much longer than usual. The ride back on BART and the Civic Center was rapid and direct. On Friday morning we took the MUNI subway down to Embarcadero and to the Hyatt Hotel, a stop for the Thruway bus. A gentleman enroute to Lake Tahoe on the train chatted with us, a stooped over, but very alert man of 96, a retired landscape architect! A bus pulled up and the young lady driver said that due to delays on the Bay Bridge, the buses were all rearranged and that she would take us to the Transbay Terminal, via Pier 39. I did not get her name, but she was a sweetheart! Another bus then took us to Oakland for the Coast Starlight. I have been in this station before, an impressive modern building, but it only has some vending machines. Advice: If you are hungry while waiting in Oakland go to the cafe, Zia-Zia"s, I believe it is called, directly across the street to the east of the waiting room. It is a Chinese operation, and they were friendly and served up two ham and egg sandwiches. The train arrived nearly on time and we boarded one of the three coaches. Other than the rest rooms need some better paint jobs, everything was fine in the car, and the coach attendant, Karen, was very pleasant. We did have lunch in the dining car, our only dining car meal of this trip. This writer has already given opinions on the present level of food service, summed up in one word: BLAH. However, we both had the Angus burgers, which were fairly good, and the server, Jose, was very efficient and courteous. This was one of the fixed up diners and it looked fairly nice, without the dirty carpet on the ceiling. ( Bring back the flowers. ) The train was early into San Luis Obispo, but shortly after departure we stopped south of the station to wait for the late northbound train, and sat there for about 45 minutes. It seemed UP was having signal trouble. There were other delays further south and the arrival in Santa Barbara was about 90 minutes late. I read the train arrived LAX at 10:08 and that the Sunset was held for connecting passengers, two of whom we had had lunch with, an older couple from Sacramento.
We stayed two nights at the Chesire Cat B&B, a very fine place, full of cat decor, but to my dismay, no live creatures in the house. If you would like an excellent dinner in Santa Barbara at a not too exorbitant price, go to Opal on State Street. On Sunday afternoon after church at Trinity, we made our way to Santa Barbara Station, where a large crowd of about 150 waited for the Surfline. The Business Class car was looked after by Kirk, a fine gentleman. This trip was uneventful and arrived on time into Los Angeles. Now the gripe: Coach check in and seat assignments are now handled at the ticket office. A long line of baggage laden travelers stretched across the concourse. One clerk handling this mundane task; I stood in line for over 30 minutes, a big waste of layover time. The young lady behind the window was nice enough, but why another clerk or two could not have been assigned to this is beyond me. Mentioning this to an Amtrak employee out on the floor, she agreed that such an idea would make entirely too much sense! So, off to the coaches we went and wrestled our bags onto the train and took our seats, bringing sandwiches and sushi from the convenience store in the station. I did not feel like paying big bucks for a mediocre dinner in the diner and we'd had an adequate lunch in Santa Barbara. I believe this train had three sleepers up front, plus the dorm car, behind a new baggage car. Four coaches were on the rear, as the passenger load was heavy. ( Remember, nobody rides long distance trains!) The car was comfortable enough, but as is usually the case, sleep quality was poor. Two of the crew exhibited a not so hot attitude, but in the spirit of the season in this case, I will not mention names or file complaints. The snack bar guy ordered only five customers in line within the service area and others to stand outside the door. He said the door might slide and cause injury. I appreciate the safety concern, but he was rather abrupt about it. The next morning, approaching Flagstaff, several of us had retrieved our baggage and lashed pieces together and placed them in the door away from Flagstaff platform. The attendant came down and said he had to get to the door - he meant the panel that evidently controls lights. He then proceeded to toss our bags around the vestibule I held my tongue and cancelled any thought of a tip I might have given. When the train stopped he did not come back down the stairs but approached from the platform and had us open the door from the inside. I handed him the yellow step stool - gosh, he could have said thank you. Bye! Other than that, the ride was OK and we arrived less than 30 minutes late.
So, folks, I am happy to be home in Flagstaff with my two kitties and it is snowing this morning. No more major trips for the next few months. Merry Christmas.
