For several weeks now, I’ve been ruminating, researching and tentatively planning various possible scenarios for what Becky and I could potentially do with the upcoming 4th of July weekend. As soon as I learned that I have four days off from work — from Saturday the 1st through Tuesday the 4th — I felt that I definitely wanted to make the most of the opportunity to travel somewhere and do something fun, hopefully with Becky and perhaps other family and/or friends. A trip to Connecticut and New Hampshire was considered, as was a trip to Buffalo, a trip to Las Vegas (flying out mother-to-be Shannon as a pre-baby treat) and even a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. Ultimately, however, plans for Vegas fell through because of Shannon’s work schedule, going back East was deemed impractical in terms of time and money, and the Montana thing was revealed as totally absurd. So, last night, we finally decided on a far more sensible plan…
We’re flying to L.A. on Friday night, hanging out with Adrienne, then taking an Amtrak train up the coast to Seattle, touring the Space Needle and visiting David, and finally catching a very early-morning flight back to Phoenix so I can return to work bright and early.
As I said, very sensible. :)
The Coast Starlight, reputedly the most scenic of Amtrak’s routes.
Okay, okay, so it sounds a little hectic and crazy. “Fill the unforgiving minute,” as my dad always says (quoting Kipling). But that shouldn’t surprise regular readers, who are well aware of my penchant for random, whirlwind trips. I’m all about travel for travel’s sake, or more precisely, for the sake of “making a memory.” And I’m even more enthusiastic when the itinerary involves crossing an item off my “life’s to-do list,” or in this case, three items: riding the Coast Starlight (especially important since it could be shut down at any time), visiting the Hollywood Bowl (where we’ll be catching fireworks on Saturday), and going up the Space Needle.
Besides, believe it or not, the trip isn’t going to cost that much. Despite the multiple stages, long distances and last-minute bookings, the total cost is significantly less than what a Buffalo or New England trip would have set us back. And to me, it’s totally worth it. As objectively inconvenient as long-distance Amtrak trains are, I love them. Ever since riding the Sunset Limited to New Orleans in 2002, I’ve wanted to take the Coast Starlight from L.A. to Seattle, and now I finally get my chance. Plus, we get visits with Adrienne and David as part of the package deal! Two great friends, two fantastic cities, three states, three life’s to-do list items, 1,389 miles on the tracks and 1,476 miles in the air, all in one holiday weekend? Not bad!
And the best part is, as all this plural pronoun usage implies, Becky has agreed to come along, bless her heart. She’s not usually quite as enthusiastic about this sort of thing as I am, but I guess she’s in an adventurous mood these days. Perhaps it’s that we both feel the oppressive onset of approaching adult responsibilities — bar exams, billable hours, and God willing, babies* — and thus we want to make the most of our youth while we still can! I know I definitely feel that way, and I fully intend to squeeze every possible ounce of memorable fun out of my 3L year… especially if I get a job offer at the end of this summer, knock on wood. :) So this, and the Atlanta thing, probably aren’t the last “random trips” you’ll be hearing about between now and next August. But they’re a good start!
*Don’t worry, padres, there isn’t any big news that we’re keeping from you. We’re talking about purely hypothetical future babies. :)
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Categories: West Coast Trip 2006
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June 25th, 2006 at 6:53:53 pm
What day does the train stop in Sacramento? Let Bea and I know.
Looking at the map, it doesn’t look like the trip will be all that scenic once you leave the California coast sometime after Oakland (oooh, Oaktown, how pretty! :-P). You’ll see some beauty as you near the Oregon border, but coming from Connecticut, I imagine the seeing the color green won’t be all that special to you. The Olympia-Tacoma-Seattle stretch might be nice, but quite honestly, I’d prefer to do that trek by ferry.
Really though, how much time off the train do you actually get so you can stop and enjoy the scenery?
Also, pay attention once you get west of Santa Barbara. You won’t get to see a launch at Vandenberg, but quite possibly they might have a rocket on one of the pads.
June 25th, 2006 at 6:55:51 pm
Since I am a veteran Amtrak rider (and fan), I’m going to offer a few tips for your ride:
If you have regular seats:
Ask if you can upgrade to a sleeper after you get on the train. Sleepers cost a ton of money in advance, but if they’re open on the train, they’ll give them to you for an extreme discount (I once got one for $50), and they include all meals in the dining car. Definitely worth it.
Take a blanket and a pillow. It gets quite chilly on the train at night.
I know it seems very romantic to snuggle up and sleep together in the chairs, but it’s very uncomfortable (or at least was for me and my boyfriend), and it’s better off just having two seats for each of you if the train is empty enough.
If you don’t feel like spending a lot of money, pack food to take on the train. Breakfast is usually the best deal of the diner meals, and the $3.50 pizza from the lounge car is pretty tasty and filling for the price.
If you have a sleeper car:
I know it seems very romantic to snuggle up and sleep together in the beds, but if you have the cheapest sleeper that has two seats facing each other which turn into a bed and another bed that folds down from the wall, it’s better to sleep apart. Someone might get hurt otherwise (Trust me).
Enjoy the free meals!
In either case:
Get out and socialize with other people on the train, be it in the Lounge Car or at the same table in the Dining Car. I have met some of the most interesting and nice people on the train.
If you don’t want to use the yucky on-train bathrooms, grab a train schedule and see where the train stops for longer periods of time. Then you can wait and “go” on real toilets.
As you’ve ridden Amtrak before, I’m sure some of this is redundant, but I LOVE Amtrak, and enjoy using my powers for good. I think it’s a shame it might get shut down, because a ton of people in rural America who can’t afford (or get to) airplanes use it all the time. Enjoy your trip!
June 25th, 2006 at 6:59:53 pm
By the way….
Although it may be impractical to go to Glacier National Park now, I HIGHLY recommend it someday. It’s the most beautiful place on earth I’ve ever seen, and Going to the Sun Road is incredible (google it, and you’ll see what I mean).
Ok, done now. :)
June 25th, 2006 at 7:00:00 pm
Looks like you arrive in Sacto at midnight. Well, how long is the stop there?
I think you’re missing the best part of the trip, which IMO would be San Diego to Los Angeles. Much more, uh, scenery on the beaches down there than up north. ;-)
June 25th, 2006 at 7:06:53 pm
That will be fun BUT….
PRAY the train runs on time ( THEY NEVER DO) so you might miss your flight home.
Amtrack runs very very late sometimes 20 or more hours.
Ir is fun though I took Amtrack From Oakland to NYC when I was 18 it was an ADVENTURE to say the least!
June 25th, 2006 at 7:11:49 pm
Kristin, thanks for the advice! Unfortunately, I’m guessing that this train is going to be fairly full, given that the ones leaving the previous two days both sold out. We will definitely ask about a sleeper, though. You never know!
Andrew, the stop in Sacramento is scheduled for 11:59 PM, but Amtrak trains are always late. Looking at the last five trains (see here), their actual arrival times were 1:13 AM, 12:38 AM, 12:23 AM, 12:30 AM and 1:45 AM. From the schedule, it appears to be a fairly quick stop (unlike, say, the 25-minute stop in Portland, Oregon). But if you and Bea feel inspired to come venture out and say hi, we’d love to see you, even if it is for just 5 minutes or whatever. I’m certainly not pushing it, however. :) Vikki and Teresa did that one time, when I was travelling from New York to South Bend via Amtrak, and memorably stopped in Buffalo during the 10th inning of the Red Sox-Yankees Game 7, so V and Tree got to see me at my utmost nail-biting, Grady Little-cursing suspense-addled best. Aaron Boone’s home run occurred a couple of minutes after the train left the station. :|
As for the scenery, I would agree that from the route map, it doesn’t look like it’d be that scenic once it gets north of the Bay Area… but from what I’ve read online, apparently it actually is quite scenic throughout. Lots of mountain views and such, I guess. Either way, I won’t know for myself until I’ve done it! And it isn’t so much a matter of getting off the train to see the scenery — there’s a sightseeing car with huge windows, and most of the scenery occurs while on board the train. At least, that was my experience on the Sunset Limited. Train stations can sometimes be kinda cool-looking, but usually they aren’t all that “scenic,” and there isn’t generally time to walk far from the station itself. (I believe there was a 45-minute stop in San Antonio, so I got to walk a few blocks into the city, but even then I didn’t see too much.)
June 25th, 2006 at 7:14:26 pm
Toni, I know all about Amtrak’s chronic lateness; my train to New Orleans was 13 hours late (and I loved every extra minute!). Anyway, don’t worry, our train would have to be almost 36 hours late in order for us to miss our flight. That would be pretty extreme, even for Amtrak (knock on wood). I checked the actual arrival times of the last five trains, and the arrival time at Seattle (scheduled for 8:30 PM) was between midnight and 5:00 AM. So that’s what I’m planning on. We have a motel booked for that night, and the next night, with a full day in Seattle in between. It isn’t until Thursday that we leave for Phoenix in the early morning hours. (I’m taking one of my two allotted days off, and making a five-day weekend of it.)
June 25th, 2006 at 7:20:13 pm
P.S. One of the reasons my train to New Orleans was so late, was that we hit an abandoned truck on the rails near the Salton Sea! It took nearly 4 hours to clean up the mess from that. Then we had a medical emergency of some sort in the middle of Texas. And of course we had the typical Amtrak delays. It all added up to passengers who were supposed to catch the Crescent in New Orleans missing it by one hour, even though they were scheduled to have a 12-hour layover! Luckily, I had been planning to spend a day in New Orleans (just as I’m planning to spend a day in Seattle this time), so it wasn’t a problem for me. And I got to spend more time with my newfound friends on the train. As Kristin says, there are lots of interesting and fun people on Amtrak trains. (Generally “interesting” in a good way, as opposed to the less savory “interesting” people you’ll tend to find on Greyhound buses…)
June 25th, 2006 at 7:26:02 pm
P.P.S., to Andrew: here’s a travelogue that says the stop in Sacramento lasted 24 minutes. I dunno. If you really want to know, perhaps I can call Amtrak and ask how long it usually lasts.
June 25th, 2006 at 7:42:34 pm
Sounds great. Really. Enjoy.
Of course you know, yerra Nut. :) But you’re Proud of that & we Love you for it, as obviously does your very patient & understanding & accomodating Wife (hi Becky :), together with whom you have already Made so many Memories and will make so many more. :}
Speaking of which, what’s with this “padres” footnotary business? Speak English dammit, this here’s Amurr’ca and that ain’t no Hypothetical, which come to think of it sounds suspiciously Greek ta Mee. :> waw haw haw…
June 25th, 2006 at 9:43:31 pm
Hmm. I doubt the 12 minute stop in San Jose is worth me getting to the station to say hello, given that I can expect to see you at some point in the coming academic year, but I’ll let you know. ;)
June 26th, 2006 at 8:51:27 am
I’ve only traveled on AmTrak once in my life, and I’d generally rate the experience as, well, ok.
I took the City of New Orleans from Newbern, Tennessee to Chicago to meet some friends of mine for a weekend at Wrigley.
That was during the time when I was a local radio sports personality, and as the station I worked for was the broadcast outlet for the Cubs minor league team in my town, I managed to score some uber-sweet media credentials.
The train ride to Chicago itself kinda sucked, as I was in the regular old cabin with the masses. It was an overnighter trip, and there wasn’t anyone interested in be social. So, I tried to sleep in the uncomfortable seats as best I could til the sun came up somewhere over rural Illinois.
No real stops of note on the trip, unfortunately.
On the way back, I did upgrade to a sleeper cabin of my own for a hundred or so extra, as I recall, and slept the whole way back, after dinner in the dining car. The meal was ok, about like any garden variety casual dining joint.
I simply don’t know that the cost and time involved with our trains justifies the expense of it. If the trains were faster and more moderately priced, it might be more palatable to the general population.
I do enjoy trains generally, and I hope your trip is good. Traveling with someone would probably make it better.
June 26th, 2006 at 9:32:24 am
The train I ride, the Empire Builder (goes from Chicago to Seattle/Portland), is usually fairly on time. The worst lateness I experienced was last fall break, when we hit a 100 pound boulder someone had intentionally placed on the tracks in Wisconsin and ended up sitting with no power, no food, no bathrooms, and little water for 8 hours while they tried to fix the train. Amtrak ended up ordering Domino’s from a nearby town and fed the whole train. We ended up being 13 hours late, but I really bonded with my fellow passengers. :)
I know this doesn’t apply to everyone or to every part of the nation, but the Empire Builder at least is very moderately priced for the region of the country it goes through. For me (and many others), flying in and out of Montana/North Dakota usually costs at least $500 round trip, and my parents would have to drive at least 5 hours to pick me up. With the train, I pay anywhere from $120-$200 round trip, with my parents driving an hour to pick me up. I realize that this is an extreme circumstance, but there are a lot of other people, especially in my part of the country, for whom the train is actually the most cost effective choice.
June 26th, 2006 at 10:11:38 am
LOL… that experience with the 100-pound boulder does sound rather memorable! It’s kinda similar to what happened to my Sunset Limited train, which hit an abandoned truck that one must presume was also left there intentionally. We were only stalled for four hours, and we had food and water (I don’t remember whether or not we had power), so it wasn’t as bad, but it too was a bonding experience. I remember saying at the time (this was about eight months after 9/11) that the truck was left on the tracks “not by terrorists, but my ‘inconvenience-ists.’” Sounds like the inconvenience-ists got you, too!
June 26th, 2006 at 10:32:12 am
Amtrak is horrible. I would not recommend this mode of transportation to anyone, especially not someone who is trying to make any sort of complicated connections. Our train leaving Oakland CA was 9 1/2 hours late. The Amtrak staff was beyond rude to us - I have never experienced such really awful behavior as a customer in my life. I would suggest that you rethink the train thing - it’s simply not worth it. We were travelling on the Eagle Starlite from Ft. Worth to Oakland, and it was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. Run as fast as you can away from Amtrak. You would be better off, and get there quicker, via Amish horse and buggy. :-)
June 26th, 2006 at 11:55:50 am
Well, everyone’s experience is different, I guess. I’ve had nothing but delightful experiences with Amtrak staff — certainly no rudeness or bad service. That goes for my trips on the Sunset Limited (L.A.-New Orleans), the Crescent (New Orleans-D.C.), the Lake Shore Limited (NYC-South Bend once, and NYC-Buffalo numerous times) and various Northeast corridor trains. As for the trains being late, as I’ve already indicated, I’m aware of that, but on this trip I’m not terribly concerned about efficiency. As long as the train isn’t more than 12 hours late, I’ll be happy.
June 26th, 2006 at 12:48:56 pm
I’m still getting used to how comparatively often Amtrak passengers travel by bus - using their Amtrak tickets …
From the LA area north, it may be because of track blockage due to landslides …
From Charlottesville to Washington, DC, it seems to be frequently because the Amtrak train is SO late that Amtrak puts passengers onto the bus … hoping, I suspect, that the Amtrak passengers don’t realise how much *more* they paid for their tickets from Charlottesville to Washington, DC, than did the bus passengers …