Trip Report: March 14 - 25, 2002
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
CULTURAL TOUR OF THE PACIFIC COAST
VANCOUVER TO SEATTLE BY AMTRAK THRUWAY BUS, AND THE COAST STARLIGHT TO SACRAMENTO
Day 8 March 21, 2002
There is only one way to make a same-day connection from Vancouver BC to Seattle to board Coast Starlight #11's morning departure, and that is by road. Amtrak contracts with Trailways for a motor coach leaving Vancouver's Pacific Central Station at 5:45 AM. With the alarm set for 4:30 AM and our clothes and a quick breakfast laid out, we awake before dawn to consume an apple, power bars, and a quick cup of tea. Soon the bellman knocks at the door, and says, "Here is your newspaper, Mr. Blishak" before he takes our luggage downstairs and puts us into a taxi. This is true CP class (even though it's called the Fairmont Waterfront now).
If you wonder why we ride trains so much, there are several reasons. Two of them are: Ted hates airlines (and that was even before they cut travel agent's commissions to zero, which they did last week!) and I am terrified of busy highways. So this morning's bus ride is an endurance contest and I attempt to read rather than looking at the traffic. It snowed again last night, leaving a powdery dusting on the trees and sidewalks, but the roads are merely wet.
"You should have seen this highway yesterday," says our driver. "Ice all over, and vehicles sliding off the road and into each other. Look at that crumpled truck!"
And sure enough, a huge 18-wheeler is lying upside down in the center strip, a victim of yesterday's hazards. I try harder to concentrate on my book as our driver follows the car ahead of us much more closely than I wish he would. But, I reason, this is a seasoned professional driver in his late 50s, and he did get through yesterday unscathed, so why worry? We stop at the Ramada Plaza Hotel near the Vancouver Airport and the Aston Hotel in White Rock and are soon at the international border. Here, we take all our luggage and possessions off the bus, go through US Customs, show our passports, and present a form. Then we put everything back onto the bus and away we go, after a delay of only 20 minutes or so.
There are only seven passengers on this big bus. All but one of us are going to the Amtrak station; one woman says she is going to the airport. The bus driver says she'll have to taxi there as there's no airport shuttle from the Amtrak station, and it will cost about $25.00. I manage to keep my mouth shut, but, always the travel agent, I am tempted to give her a gratuitous
TRAVEL TIP: Another bus company, QuikShuttle, has frequent service from both downtown Vancouver and Vancouver Airport to SeaTac Airport. However, one must contact them directly as they don't have a ticketing agreement with Amtrak.
As we de-bus at the Seattle Amtrak Station, a redcap appears at the curb, and we give him the task of putting our luggage into Car 1132, Bedroom C and just then, the Coast Starlight whistles in. As we board, our car attendant, Lindsay, greets us with a smile and says, "Come on, folks, look alive we're going to have a good time!" Doing our best to comply, even though our 4:30 awakening is beginning to tell on us, we walk up and down the chilly platform to get some circulation going before repairing to the Pacific Parlour Car for fresh pastries, granola, juice, tea, and fresh fruit. When we board the Coast Starlight, there is always a feeling of having been welcomed home!
TRAVEL TIP: We frequently check our business phone for messages as we travel, and have been receiving many from Amtrak regarding our passengers. The news has been, "Amtrak no longer offers checked baggage at Tucson -- or Lamy -- or Glacier Park --- or even Klamath Falls." However, we checked bags in and out of Klamath Falls. So be prepared to handle your own bags on and off the car you're riding in, but also be aware that some of these warnings are premature. Ask when you get to the station if you can indeed check your luggage.
By the way, we urged our readers earlier to help save Amtrak by asking your state governor as well as both your senators to support Senator Hollings' bill. However, we gave you an incorrect name. It is called the National Defense Interstate Rail Act, and would give Amtrak $4.6 billion annually to develop passenger rail service. Please tell them to turn thumbs down on Senator McCain's bill to privatize and restructure Amtrak, a sure recipe for its early demise. You can find out how to reach your senators and governor by calling your local library. This will just take a few minutes, and will give you a chance to make your voice heard.
We pull out of Seattle slowly, and soon see gigantic Mt Rainier to the east with its head in the clouds. By the time we reach our first stop at Tacoma, we're already a half hour late. The tracks seem even rougher than they did last week; walking back from the Parlour Car we lurch and both hit the bulkhead.
Day 8, Part 2. Thursday, March 21, 2002
We pull out of Seattle slowly, and soon see gigantic Mt Rainier to the southeast, with its head in the clouds. By the time we reach our first stop at Tacoma, we're already a half hour behind schedule. The tracks seem even rougher than they did last week; walking back from the Parlour Car we lurch and both hit the bulkhead. We have a long walk to our room, the train is so booked up and we booked so late that the only Deluxe Room is in the 1132 car, the Washington.
TRAVEL TIP: The higher the sleeping car number, the longer the walk to the amenities. We always try to book our clients in the 1130 and the 1430 cars, southbound and northbound respectively, as this is the sleeper next to the Pacific Parlour Car and dining car. The next sleepers end in 31, then 32. When on the Coast Starlight, try for the lower car numbers.
There no longer are newspapers delivered to your room on the Coast Starlight, and on this particular train, there are not even any newspapers in the Parlour Car. I pick up an Automobile magazine, February 2002. Our car attendant, Lindsey, loans me her USA Today that she picked up at the Ramada Inn. Amtrak just saved $5.00 today on this one train alone by not putting 10 newspapers onboard.
TRAVEL TIP: If you want to catch up on the news while riding, pick up a paper or a recent magazine from home, hotel, or newsstand before boarding. This is another result of George Warrington's cost savings plan. But there is good news, too. A new arrangement with Barnes and Noble means that there are some new books in the Pacific Parlour Car. While you probably cannot complete an entire book on a relatively short train ride, you can at least start a book to see if you'd like to buy it or check it out of your library later.
We answer the first call to lunch at 11:45 am. The menu is the same blue on white version that we experienced on the northbound trip last Thursday, with the same entrées, rather than the different menus for northbound and southbound we had enjoyed in past years. I normally like to have a salad for lunch, but I will not touch the chef's salad from this menu again. I order the pasta, which is ok. The soup and dessert courses are excellent.
After getting up at 4:30 AM this morning, we enjoy taking turns napping on the sofa in Bedroom C, and appreciate the extra pillow that Lindsey brings us without being asked. Before we know it, it is time for a walk on the chilly platform in Portland, and then the wine-tasting in the Parlour Car. We learn that the custom of serving wines from a variety of vintners was discontinued on March 1, and now we enjoy the three house brands with the Starlight label which come from Central California's Castorlo Vineyards.
TRAVEL TIP: One of our table mates at lunch complained that on his northbound trip, he arrived in Seattle two and a half hours late. We told him that was a good day. We've said this before, but don't make appointments at your destination, or plan to make a connection from the Coast Starlight to another train on the same day. If you're not in a hurry, you'll find that the later you are, the longer you get to relax aboard this delightful train.
ANOTHER TRAVEL TIP: Take at least two credit cards along when you travel. Credit card companies have recently started withholding approval after a large purchase has been charged. They'll often want to verify that your card hasn't been stolen. We observed the results of this at one of our hotels when a family with three youngsters was checking in. When the clerk tried to get an approval on the card, she got a message to call the bank. The bank put her on hold while the line was held up, and finally when they answered, she said, "The bank wants to talk to you", and handed the phone over the counter to the father. Delays and the humiliation in front of his family might have been avoided if he had simply been able to whip out another credit card when the first approval didn't go through.
The air is clear under overcast skies and we see snow-covered Mt Jefferson to the east as we pass fruit trees in bloom, and green pastures where sheep are grazing with their tiny new lambs.
Normally just south of Portland, at about 3pm, we would have passed our northbound counterpart, train #14. Today, just after 5 PM, as we make our own tardy way towards Eugene, we go into a siding for #14, which was due to arrive in Kelso/Longview Washington about now. It is running four hours behind the printed schedule. We leave Eugene at 6:05pm, over one hour behind.
We have dinner reservations at 7pm and find the same blue on white menu. A salad with vinaigrette dressing and fresh dinner rolls are served before our orders are taken, but there is no longer a choice of dressing. Sylvia orders the prime rib and asks for an end cut, but she is informed that the Coast Starlight is now serving pre-prepared meals, so such choices no longer exist. She says her beef is excellent, and so is the rice pilaf. I order the red snapper, which turns out to be a fried fillet. It is OK. It reminds me of the fish sandwiches that we used to get at Stubby's Tavern in Ambridge while watching "Victory at Sea" and "Crusade in Europe". (For those of you who weren't around in the late 1940s, before everyone owned a TV set, those were early TV documentaries about World War II.) I have another Caramel Turtle Ice Cream Cake for dessert. The dessert is one item that has not been downgraded.
We are expected in Klamath Falls about one hour behind schedule. We have a small suitcase full of fresh clothing in our pickup truck in the station parking lot. This is for use for our weekend in San Francisco. We have checked our big bag to Klamath Falls, with our laundry. We shall be traveling lighter for the rest of our journey.
We received a telephone message from Amtrak, after we left on our trip on March 14, that baggage service would no longer be available in Klamath Falls after March 1. The Klamath Falls Amtrak station, fortunately, did not get the same message, so we were able to check our bag with no problem.
After departing Klamath Falls at 10:45pm, still an hour behind, we have Lindsey make up our bed, and we retire. Our first stop is Dorris, California, twenty miles south, where we are put into a siding for a northbound freight.
TED'S VIEWPOINT OF THE COAST STARLIGHT : I'm trying to keep a stiff upper lip and enjoy our trip on Amtrak's Premier Train but it is discouraging to watch the downgrading that has occurred as a result of Warrington's "cost cutting". Did he actually believe that cutting service and amenities would save money? We will have to see if passengers will continue to spend the same money for less service. By the way, for those readers who may not know, George Warrington resigned his position as president of Amtrak after making these service cuts, so he will not have to live with the results. He is going back to work for New Jersey Transit, an opportunity he could not turn down.
SYLVIA'S VIEWPOINT: I expected to see more evidence of cost-cutting than is actually in evidence, as we've been told about laid-off station agents and discontinuance of checked baggage. We have observed neither of the above on this trip. I also expected to see bad morale among Amtrak employees. Instead, our waiter on #11 was singing and joking at every meal, and our sleeping car attendant always full of bubbling good spirits.
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