Amtrak Trip 6: Arriving Portland

Throughout the whole day, Oregon was gloomy. Still, the view was absolutely gorgeous.

I see Portland!!

31 hours of what seems like a short train ride later, we arrived at Portland Union Station.

Portland's Union Station reminds me of the one in LA.

Rice family came to pick me up.

Amtrak Trip 5: In Oregon

I slept OK throughout the night. Sure, it wasn’t that comfortable, but definitely better than sleeping on a plane. I wish the seat cushion was a little softer. My butt hurt more than anything.

This neck pillow I borrowed from Karena was the best thing ever. And cute.

As I woke up, we were already in Oregon. And it was raining.

Too bad it was raining, because the trees after trees in Oregon were calming and beautiful.

The whole scenery was very Twilight-ish.

And the rain became snow in the middle of the morning.

Since the view didn’t change for a long time, I watched a movie on my laptop at the with a cup of coffee. Very relaxing.

Around 9:45 we got to Chemult, OR. And we got stuck. Apparently, a freight train on the same track ahead of us had some mechanical problems and we had to wait for them to fix it.

I moved to the observation deck and started organizing the pictures and wrote blogs.

An older gentleman in front of me keeps picking his teeth with his fingers after eating crackers and hummus. Classy… 

An hour later, we finally hit the road. We’ll see how it’ll affect the final arrival to Portland.

Amtrak Trip 4: Dinner time

There are several options for dining on the train. You can bring your own food, or eat at a dining car or snack bar. There is also a “Parlor Lounge” which is for sleeper passengers only. So many other privileges for sleeper passengers. They get to make reservations at a dining car first. They are offered a complimentary wine and cheese tasting in the afternoon. All meals at the dining car/Parlor lounge are included with their fare. But, no privileges come free. My coach seat from LA to Portland was $170 and sleeper room is +$420 on top of that. Yeah.

Anyways, I digress.

A conductor walks around taking reservations for lunch and dinner at a dining car. My reservation was at 5:45.

And if your party is less than 3 people, you are seated with strangers to facilitate socializing.

I was seated with a couple from SF and an older lady also from SF.

The food was better than I expected. Definitely better than the airplane food.

This is where magic happens. I only see microwaves, but ANYWAYS.

I had a red wine and lamb shack and it came out to $25. Not too bad.

After dinner, I made friends at the observation deck. We kept drinking and talking almost until midnight. Fun times.

Amtrak Trip 3: Central CA

Around 4:00, we got to the San Luis Obispo station. The conductor of the train announces if the stop is worth getting out to stretch or smoke. So I got out.

At a small station like this, people check in their luggage at the platform. (I checked mine at a ticket counter in Union Station. Just like you would at an airport.)

I went back and forth between my seat and observation deck. I spent most of my day reading and looking out the window.

The sunset at a little North of Paso Robles. The pictures don’t do justice.

It was so red and majestic.  



Amtrack Trip 2: Southern CA

A couple hours later, we hit Oxnard and Santa Barbara area.

Coast Starlight is known to be the most scenic train ride in the country. And I have to agree.

I’ve driven this coast line numerous times, but it gets me every time. It’s just so gorgeous.

There were many people actually IN the ocean. Surfing, swimming and such.  It’s end of December!!

Gotta love the 75-degree weather in Southern California.

I fully enjoyed the ocean view for a while, and I decided to explore the train.

This is another great thing about the train. You can walk around all you want.

After going through 3 more coach cars, I ended up at an observation deck.

This is where people hang out. They play card games, eat snacks, drinks, knit, play video games on laptops, or just gaze out the window. Unless you’re traveling in a large group, you are bound to make small talks when you sit next to someone.

There is a snack bar downstairs of the observation deck. They sell snacks including sandwiches/burgers (which look like a notch above the vending machine food) and alcohol!

You can bring your own alcohol if you are in a sleeper car, but coach passengers can’t do that. Boo. It was past noon, so I bought a beer. Yes I did. It’s cocktail time somewhere in the world…
Oh the  $6 of luxury.

 

Amtrak Trip 1: Leaving LA

Finally, it's my train trip day!!  I started at Union Station in downtown LA.

I love Union Station. Such an old yet pretty building.

This station got some upgrade recently, too. Like…

There is Famima! I got a rice ball there and it was actually decent.

This is my train. Coast Starlight Train #14. The first class passengers (who have sleeper rooms) are on board in the front, and coach passengers like me are on the back.

Coach seats are not bad at all. It’s  about the same size as the business class on a plane.

Very roomy.  I can even stretch my legs all the way!!

I sat with this lady, Sandy from Portland who was visiting a friend in San Diego.

Luckily, she was pretty darn cool. Thank goodness.

We left LA on time at 10:20. Bye, LA!