This weekend, I'm back at it with another Amtrak trip - the first one involving an overnight stay since I moved out to San Diego. The occasion for this week's trip is the Lions-49ers Sunday Night game at Candlestick Park. As such, I'm taking Amtrak to San Francisco - though instead of the Coast Starlight I opted for the train-bus combination via Bakersfield. Had a hard time deciding what route to take, but in the end timing (the Starlight would require me to take the 6am Surfliner, as opposed to the later options via Bakersfield) and AGR point cost (6,000 vs 11,000 round trip for the Starlight - didn't want to pay cash since I had just paid for my SWC roomette for New Years in cash) won over more train time/coastal views. There's always another time for the Starlight - and this way I get to experience the San Joaquin (a new train for me) as well as a medium-length trip on an Amtrak California bus.
It was a little hard getting AGR to book it this way, though - for some strang reason, if you want to go SAN-any SF bus stop, it prefers to give you Surfliner SAN-SBA and a 7 hr bus SBA-SF! Granted, that's less connections (and only 1500 AGR points each way), but it's 8hrs on a bus, compared to under 3 hrs via BFD. However, they do offer all the BFD connections when booking SAN-EMY or LAX-SF, so in the end they just did it as two awards (including the SJ and Surfliner would be two special routes regardless).
With that said, on to the journey!
SAN to LAX
To get to the downtown San Diego station, I simply walked there from where I live. Pretty nice, easy, and fast - it takes me about 10min tops, and I don't have to worry about traffic or when my bus/cab is going to arrive. When I got there, a big line had already congregated for #769 - the train that I ultimately selected to begin my journey (I had originally booked an earlier bus-train-bus combo, but decided I'd rather leave later on Saturday morning). Found my way to the one Superliner in the consist, and got a seat on the side away from the station (where the ocean views would be). As we began the journey, I recognized some areas between SAN and SOL - notably up by UCSD/UTC. Amazing how living here makes you experience the train differently! Also, it was somewhat interested to see the rocky/hilly terrain around Sorrento Valley.
(As a side note, it really seems like Amtrak should add a station between Old Town and Solana Beach - would be nice for the UCSD/UTC/Sorrento Valley/La Jolla area... Maybe even just make a few stops/day at Sorrento Valley COASTER station)
Slightly after passing through the Sorrento Valley COASTER station, the ocean became visible out my window. This is the highlight of the Surfliner, though I think the combination of that and the bilevel equipment/interesting terrain make it a clear candidate for best non-LD train. Quite a few people boarded at SOL (I can't get over that station code), and at OSD - the latter at which Amtrak announced on the PA that they do not accept single-ride Metrolink tickets during boarding (I'm sensing that people boarding with Metrolink tickets is a problem...) At that station, someone boarded the Superliner and wondered if it was business class - I told them it was coach, albeit an LD coach used due to shortage of regular Surfliners. Between OSD and San Clemente Pier we had to stop to let a Metrolink train pass us - and from there it was a long stretch of beaches and great ocean views until about Laguna Niguel when the train tracks veer away from the coast. Figure I'll miss these great views on the SJ - though I definitely think a Starlight trip or Surfliner all the way to SLO will happen in the near future. Currently stopping at San Juan Capistrano - about the halfway point to LA. Figure I'll check back in in a few hours - looking forward to seeing what the Amtrak California bus experience is like...
It was a little hard getting AGR to book it this way, though - for some strang reason, if you want to go SAN-any SF bus stop, it prefers to give you Surfliner SAN-SBA and a 7 hr bus SBA-SF! Granted, that's less connections (and only 1500 AGR points each way), but it's 8hrs on a bus, compared to under 3 hrs via BFD. However, they do offer all the BFD connections when booking SAN-EMY or LAX-SF, so in the end they just did it as two awards (including the SJ and Surfliner would be two special routes regardless).
With that said, on to the journey!
SAN to LAX
To get to the downtown San Diego station, I simply walked there from where I live. Pretty nice, easy, and fast - it takes me about 10min tops, and I don't have to worry about traffic or when my bus/cab is going to arrive. When I got there, a big line had already congregated for #769 - the train that I ultimately selected to begin my journey (I had originally booked an earlier bus-train-bus combo, but decided I'd rather leave later on Saturday morning). Found my way to the one Superliner in the consist, and got a seat on the side away from the station (where the ocean views would be). As we began the journey, I recognized some areas between SAN and SOL - notably up by UCSD/UTC. Amazing how living here makes you experience the train differently! Also, it was somewhat interested to see the rocky/hilly terrain around Sorrento Valley.
(As a side note, it really seems like Amtrak should add a station between Old Town and Solana Beach - would be nice for the UCSD/UTC/Sorrento Valley/La Jolla area... Maybe even just make a few stops/day at Sorrento Valley COASTER station)
Slightly after passing through the Sorrento Valley COASTER station, the ocean became visible out my window. This is the highlight of the Surfliner, though I think the combination of that and the bilevel equipment/interesting terrain make it a clear candidate for best non-LD train. Quite a few people boarded at SOL (I can't get over that station code), and at OSD - the latter at which Amtrak announced on the PA that they do not accept single-ride Metrolink tickets during boarding (I'm sensing that people boarding with Metrolink tickets is a problem...) At that station, someone boarded the Superliner and wondered if it was business class - I told them it was coach, albeit an LD coach used due to shortage of regular Surfliners. Between OSD and San Clemente Pier we had to stop to let a Metrolink train pass us - and from there it was a long stretch of beaches and great ocean views until about Laguna Niguel when the train tracks veer away from the coast. Figure I'll miss these great views on the SJ - though I definitely think a Starlight trip or Surfliner all the way to SLO will happen in the near future. Currently stopping at San Juan Capistrano - about the halfway point to LA. Figure I'll check back in in a few hours - looking forward to seeing what the Amtrak California bus experience is like...