Day 2: May 1, 2004, Amtrak's Coast Starlight #11
In spite of good intentions to look out the window at the lofty, snow-covered Mt Shasta in the moonlight, we were unconscious until the conductor made a station announcement about our on time 6am arrival at Sacramento.
"Is it time to get up?" Ted wondered sleepily. Unconscious again, the next announcement we heard was Martinez.
Out the window was California with distinctive palm and eucalyptus trees, smoggy sunshine, crowded freeways, and, just like on every trip through this part of the world, another new subdivision. This one featured "statement homes" and see-through plastic fences. "Keeps the noise down, but lets residents see the trains," Ted observed.
By the time #11 reached Emeryville ahead of schedule, dining car waitress Wilma had taken our breakfast order and, within a few minutes, placed the food on the table.
Train-clogged California! A Capitol train was on the opposite track with our train blocking it to boarding day-trippers. "Passengers boarding the train to Sacramento may pass through the Coast Starlight coach cars to reach your train," was a new and interesting announcement.
Later, at the busy San Jose station, the conductor announced that "this train is headed for Los Angeles," to make sure we had no CalTrain commuters on board by mistake.
TRAVEL TIP. Overheard in the dining car by a tour leader to his group: "When you're traveling first class, the meals work this way -- order anything on the menu. Except for alcoholic beverages, it's included in the price of your ticket. But the tip is not included, so take note of the price on the menu and leave a 15% gratuity; it's expected."
Continuing south to Elkhorn Slough, passengers are excited to see harbor seals and egrets out the window. Fields of artichokes, and further along in the Salinas Valley, acres of strawberries and other crops are being harvested by the old-fashioned method of "stoop labor".
Back in the dining car for lunch as we roll along past Camp Roberts and Mission San Miguel, Sylvia, a native of Central California, remarks that this part of the state looks undeveloped and just like it did 50 years ago. Seated with us are Evelyn, a member of the tour group from Spokane who are catching Holland America's Ryndam for a short cruise from San Diego to Vancouver, and Danny. Danny, who is young enough to show his ID when ordering a beer, has tattooed arms and an alarmingly devilish beard, but proves to be a polite and perfectly-grammered conversationalist. He holds everyone's interest by his enthusiastic story about his relatives in San Felipe, Baja California, who own a large farm. He and each of his siblings will inherit a large tract, which they may use as they wish, and he visits frequently to brush up on farming techniques.
Wild orange monkeyflowers are in bloom as the train passes the ever-more-developed Paso Robles area, and soon the train begins to climb over the Cuesta Grade. Sylvia calls ahead to San Luis Obispo to Merlyn, a friend she's known since she was four years old. "Do you want to come down to the station to say hello? We're passing through on our way to LA."
He and his wife, Eileene, meet us on the station platform and we catch up for 15 minutes while a crew change takes place.
UP's Coast Line (San Francisco, or in Amtrak's case, San Jose to Los Angeles) is devoid of other trains today, with the exception of two freight diesels and the northbound Coast Starlight. Yet Ted notices some workman repairing the tracks, a sign that the under-utilized scenic route may have a future.
At dinner, we conclude that our food is relatively tasteless. But we enjoy the view of the surf and scenic Santa Barbara. Our table companions, fellow Oregonians, are bird-watchers who also enjoy sleuthing the history of century-old equipment manufacturing companies that have "disappeared"; been sold, merged, etc. They have ridden trains in India and Australia and we find them so interesting that we are the last diners in the car and eventually are asked to leave so the staff can clean up it turns out that we are running ahead of schedule.
Number 11 arrives a half-hour early at the magnificent Union Station. A redcap and his cart have us and our nine pieces of luggage deposited at the front entrance in no time.
We phone the Omni Hotel L.A. to request their Lincoln Town Car pickup. This complimentary service alone is enough to recommend the luxury hotel. Ted has pre-registered as a frequent guest, so we quickly pick up keys at the front desk with no delays for imprints, questions, or endorsements.
Setting up our portable office, we learn that the hotel charges a dollar for local calls and for toll free calls. However, they do offer a service at no charge which we have not experienced before, Wi-Fi. Lacking a Wi-Fi plug-in card on my laptop is no problem, the front desk sends up a Wi-Fi external adapter which plugs into my Eathernet port and receives power from my USB port. After this simple plug-in installation, we are on High Speed Wireless Internet. The charge for this adapter is just $9.95 per day. Just thinking about all that Internet information buzzing throughout the hotel on radio waves makes my head spin.
Another, more traditional, perk for frequent guests is complimentary coffee in insulated carafes delivered to one's room in the morning along with the morning LA Times.
Tomorrow, we board the "Vision of the Seas."
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