# Coast Starlight/California Zephyr



## Longhorn (Aug 17, 2008)

First leg of trip:

My husband and I flew from Austin to LAX on SWA on the evening of 8/13. We took the Flyaway bus from LAX to Union Station. That is a well-run organization. We only had to wait about 15 minutes to catch the bus, though it took awhile to get out of the airport since we were at the first stop and there were several more after ours. Note: you pay for the trip at a kiosk when you get to Union Station and they only take cash, though they can make change.

We decided to pick up our tickets that evening but the machine had no record of our reservation so we went to a window. It turns out, we couldn't do it at the machine because we had an $8 credit voucher from when I changed our reservation from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Building. No problem at the window, though.

We then rolled our two suitcases and four carry-ons the three blocks to the Metro Plaza Hotel, which we thought was a nice, comfortable place to stay (with free wireless internet.) The next morning, we walked a block to Phillipe's French Dip and had pork French dip sandwiches for breakfast and bought two jars of mustard. Then we walked a few block around Chinatown and returned to the hotel to get our bags and walked to Union Station.

We waited almost an hour at the Coast Starlight lounge and enjoyed some coffee and juice. Every staff person we met at Union Station was extremely polite and helpful. We could have ridden the electric cart to the train with the redcap but decided to get some exercise and followed the conductor. We stowed our two big bags downstairs on the luggage rack and climbed the narrow steps up to Room 3 of car 1431. We were located on the east side of the train so we immediately went to the Parlor Car and spent most of the morning there. In fact, we ate lunch in there, too. We both had the chicken cherry walnut salad and thought it was quite tasty. We split a piece of carrot cake -- again, very good.

After an hour or so back in the roomette, we decided to get off the train to stretch our legs in San Luis Obispo. Now, here's a surprise! I'm a moderator on a political board and I had told my fellow moderators that I would be making this trip. One of the mods is from SLO and he sent me a PM telling me to watch for the balloons. I honestly thought he was joking and wasn't thinking about it at all when I saw a guy standing at the side of the track with two purple mylar balloons and a sign with my screen name! We visited for a few minutes before we had to get back on board. I'll never forget how sweet that was!

We returned to the Parlor Car for the wine tasting, which we also enjoyed. We made dinner reservations during the wine-tasting. We were going to buy some wine for dinner (which they will hold and chill) and another bottle to bring to our daughter but by the time we made up our minds, no one was manning the counter.

After another rest in our room, we returned to the dining room for our 7:15 dinner reservations. We were seated with a lovely older couple from San Luis Obispo who were headed to Oregon to visit family. My husband had the flat iron steak and I had the "pasta of the day," which was tortellini. I had the decadent chocolate tort while my husband had the cheesecake tort.

As the day went on, we lost a few minutes here and there until we were about half an hour late getting into Oakland. It took a few minutes for everyone to get on the bus and then the driver went in a different order so we were the next-to-the-last stop at the Ferry Building. A nice lady from Australia also got off there and was staying at the same hotel -- the Club Quarters on Clay near Battery -- so we walked with her since it was after 11 p.m.

The Club Quarters is a nice, modern hotel with free wireless internet. It is just five blocks from The Embarcadero. On our first full day in San Francisco, we walked up The Embarcadero to Pier 39 and had breakfast at the Eagle's Nest, a great restaurant overlooking the Bay where we had eaten on our last trip here seven years ago. We then walked over to Leavenworth and Jefferson to pick up our "hop on, hop off" double-decker bus passes that we had ordered through Expedia. The Golden Gate tour was just about to leave so we got on the bus on the upper level. While the tour was nice, it was also very cold and windy crossing the Golden Gate bridge. They have blankets but I didn't get one until just before our return. When we got back, we got some ice cream and then "hopped on" for the downtown tour and our hotel. Only it turns out, we accidentally got on another Golden Gate tour bus (no one ever checked our passes!) We decided to get off at the Museum of Fine Arts and catch a bus. With no bus route map, we had to walk a few blocks before we found a bus that would take us back to our hotel. The bus driver and passengers were very friendly and directed us to a transfer bus -- after a 30-second wait, we were on a bus that took us back to the hotel.

We rested for a few hours and then walked down to Pier 3 to catch the Hornblower dinner/dance cruise that we had also reserved through Expedia. Because the Golden Gate bridge was socked in with fog, we went under the Bay Bridge all the way up to Oakland and back. The food and service were wonderful and we enjoyed the three-piece jazz/cover band.

Today we went to catch the "hop on, hop off" bus and then realized it wouldn't get to our part of town until well after 10 a.m. So we found another bus that took us to Pier 39 and then we walked back to Leavenworth to rent bikes. On the way, I got a hoodie because I was determined not to freeze biking across the Golden Gate bridge. It's supposed to be an easy 8-mile trip but I couldn't ride up most of the inclines leading to the bridge (I'm just three weeks out from my last chemotherapy treatment and I haven't been exercising since I got my diagnosis on March 2.) But once we got on the bridge, it was a lot of fun and with all that sweat worked up, I didn't need the hoodie. We rode downhill all the way to Sausalito, parked the bikes, and ate a great lunch on the deck of a restaurant right on the Bay with fantastic views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco -- at least, what we could see that wasn't covered with fog. After lunch, we walked around a little and then got our bikes and got in line to take the ferry to the Ferry Building. We rode our bikes on The Embarcadero back to Leavenworth and decided to take the "hop on, hop off" bus back to our hotel. This time, after a half-hour wait, we got on the right bus and got most of the downtown tour.

I was really wishing we had a bathtub and not just a shower in our room because I was definitely feeling the ride. The Club Quarters Hotel has a deal with several restaurants that you can order food for delivery and they just charge it to your room and bring it up to you for a $2.50 charge, so we stayed in and ordered Chinese food.

My conclusions:

The Coast Starlight lived up to its reputation in both service and beautiful scenery. The day flew by -- we could hardly believe we spent ten hours on the train!

The "hop on, hop off" bus wasn't worth it. If I had it to do over, I'd buy a Muni pass and a good map and take the buses wherever we wanted to go.

The Hornblower dinner/dance cruise was very special and enjoyable.

The bike trip across the Golden Gate Bridge was worth all the grunting and aches and pains. We rented our bikes from Bike and Roll. The ferry back to the Ferry Building (there's also one that goes to Fisherman's Wharf) was also a well-run entity.

The Club Quarters Hotel is a convenient, comfortable, and economical place to stay.

The next leg begins tomorrow morning with our trip to Denver on the California Zephyr!


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## hello (Aug 17, 2008)

I really enjoyed your trip report -- thank you!


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## had8ley (Aug 17, 2008)

Nice, easy going report~ THANK YOU for posting it


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## p&sr (Aug 18, 2008)

What a wonderful trip! Thank you for sharing.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2008)

Yes, thank you for an interesting and detail filled trip - like where you rented the bikes and ate and your evaluation of the jump on, jump off pass, which hotel you stayed at - details like that help the rest of us make decisions when we visit the same city. So glad you had a good experience on Amtrak. Last month I took Amtrak Vancouver, BC to Seattle return, and service was superb - reads like you had the same great service. I'll look forward to reading about your CZ trip to Denver.


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## WhoozOn1st (Aug 21, 2008)

What a fine report. And yes, a MUNI pass and map is the most efficient way to get around San Francisco. Passes are good for everything (F Line streetcars, MUNI Metro light rail, buses, trolley buses, cable cars) except BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit, which is a transbay heavy rail system).

MUNI

Best of good fortune with your diagnosis, Longhorn, and thanks for the report.


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## Longhorn (Aug 27, 2008)

I'm sorry I'm so long in continuing but the fall semester started this week so I had a lot to do to get ready for my classes.

On Sunday, August 17, we walked the few blocks from the Club Quarters Hotel to the Ferry Building. When we got there, a man who was waiting for the bus to Oakland said that the Emeryville bus had already come even though it wasn't expected for at least 45 minutes. My husband went inside the station and asked and was told it was coming at 7:55 a.m., just as expected. After awhile, a bus came but the driver said he was going to Oakland and our bus should be coming soon. While he was loading luggage, he must have received an update because he then announced that there had been a problem with the other bus and he was taking us to Emeryville. We loaded up and he took us straight there with no other stops in San Francisco. I never found out for sure what happened.

We didn't have to wait long in Emeryville before we were allowed to board. We stayed in our roomette until we met our attendant, CJ, who told us they were serving an abbreviated breakfast, so we headed to the dining car. I had the French toast and my husband had scrambled eggs. They were not serving omelets. After breakfast, we spent a little time in the lounge car but I didn't find it nearly as comfortable as the CS parlor car. We headed back to our roomette until lunch. Later, an announcement was made asking people to rotate their use of the lounge car so that others could use it (in other words, don't hog!)

At lunch, we met a couple of people who had a very difficult night. They met in San Luis Obispo while waiting for the bus from Santa Barbara, which was very late. The driver apparently was new and immediately announced how tired she was. They said she got lost in five of six cities during the trip and was often driving one-handed while consulting a map with a flashlight in her mouth. She was also seen nearly going to sleep. The passengers were so upset that there was a bit of a shouting match. The people we talked to said they finally insisted that she let them off the bus in Emeryville where they walked the rest of the way to the station. The bus went on to Oakland first and then to Emeryville, though it did get to the station about ten minute before departure. We wondered if this had anything to do with the change in our bus assignment.

After lunch and into the evening, we began our ascent into the Sierra Nevadas. My husband noticed we were going very slow and after awhile, we came to a stop. It seems that one of the engines was overheating and had to cool off. This slow trip followed by stops continued all the way to Reno, where we picked up a freight train engine. We were now five hours behind schedule. My husband and I spent the evening playing Gin Rummy. When we returned from dinner, our beds were made. We finished our game and went to bed. I asked for two more pillows but CJ said he could only bring me one. I've never seen such thin pillows and mattresses! My husband slept in the upper berth and I below. Neither of us slept very well due to noise (squeaky noises in the room) and comfort issues. At one point, the train stopped again for more than an hour. We found out later that we stopped in Elko, Nevada, because of the faulty engine.

We were awakened in the morning by CJ having a loud conversation with another passenger (not angry -- just loud.) He then put on some music. I realized that sleeping in was not an option. We got dressed and had breakfast. Because we were so far behind, we were still a few hours outside of Salt Lake City. We got to see the salt flats and the beautiful scenery from Utah into Colorado. This was a long day of watching scenery, reading books, and eating meals. It turned dark after we left Glenwood Springs. Before we got to Granby, the train stopped again. This time, there were boulders on the tracks but the conductor announced that he and three other men pushed them off.

CJ didn't make up our beds and we were not supposed to get into Denver until at least 2 a.m. My husband and I read for awhile but got very sleepy so we put the beds down ourselves at around 11:30 p.m. and took a nap. I could tell when we went through the Moffit Tunnel because of the noise and smell of exhaust. I was on the upper berth this time so I don't know what could be seen out the window as we descended into Denver. The conductor had announced earlier that when we got to Denver, we would have to drop the private car at the end of the train so that we could pick up another sleeper, then pick up the private car and swap out the freight train engine for an Amtrak engine. We had to wait for some of this maneuvering before we could detrain. I honestly don't know if someone would have come to get us when we got into Denver so I only dozed and kept watching the time. I suspect the stopping and reversing and starting up again at the Denver stationed would have awakened us. I think it was around 2:30 before we got off. Our daughter picked us up and we got to her apartment in Englewood around 3 a.m.

After sleeping in a bit the next morning, the three of us went to Toast for a great breakfast, then to the restaurant where she works. When her boyfriend got out of classes at Arapaho Community College, we packed up and took off for Estes Park, where we found a nice cabin across from the river to spend the night. The guys cooked us dinner and breakfast the next morning. We then went horseback riding at the Sombrero Stables just a couple of miles from Estes Park. We've all been riding before but nothing like this! When the horses weren't ascended the narrow, rocky trail, they were descending the narrow, rocky trails! However, the views were beautiful. We returned to the stables just as a thunderstorm started rolling in.

After the ride, we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, stopping to get out now and then. We got a great look at a male elk. We were going to go to the baths at Hot Sulfur Springs but were afraid we didn't have enough time so we drove on to Winter Park and ate at Deno's Mountain Bistro, a favorite place to eat. The French dip and shrimp po-boys are fantastic! We drove across Berthoud Pass and got to Morrison a little early so stopped for a drink. We then went on to Red Rocks Amphitheater to see Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. Fortunately, they had free shuttles to take us up the mountain since we were all still sore from horseback riding. The show was fantastic and I got some pics of GK as he talked to fans near the stage after the show.

The next morning, our daughter took us to DIA for our trip back to Austin on SWA. It seemed like a longer vacation than just eight days because it had so many segments to it. It took me a couple of nights not to feel the train as I slept. 

My conclusions:

We never had a bad meal on the train, including the flatiron steak, turkey medallions and mashed potatoes, talapia, turkey burger, hamburger, and omelets. They were out of wine by the glass for our first dinner so I got the half bottle and stashed the rest of it in the ice chest that CJ kept across from the coffee/juice station in our sleeper car. It was nicely chilled for the second night.

We enjoyed everyone we met at each meal, with the exception of one guy and he wasn't that bad -- just loud and monopolizing. We both feel that two long days on the train was enough and we're not eager to get on another train soon, though I'm sure we will someday. We were disappointed that we missed the scenery from Glenwood Springs to Denver but we covered much of the same territory and more by car during our visit so it turned out okay.

As uncomfortable as we were sleeping in the roomette, the folks we talked to who slept in coach one night and a roomette the next said that the roomette was still better. If we did it again, it might be worth it to bring a small inflatable mattress and our own pillows! I also wish I had turned on our white noise machine which we did have with us. And that duct tape might have come in handy after all to help with the squeaks.

CJ made two interesting announcements -- scoldings, actually. One was to ask parents to control their children and not allow them to run up and down the halls. We don't know where that came from because we didn't witness that behavior. The other was to remind people to clean up after themselves in the showers. We were happy to hear that he was staying on top of things.

Overall, it was a fantastic vacation made even better by all that I learned from this board. Thanks, everyone!


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## Railroad Bill (Aug 28, 2008)

Thanks for an interesting trip report. We have traveled on the CZ a couple of times in the last year and it, too, was full of variety both good and bad. It does take a while to get used to the roomette beds but after a while one can get a decent rest if the noise is low.

Although you missed the scenery in the Rockies, you did get to see parts of Utah that most trips sleep through (trying to find a silver lining here  ).

Hope you will consider another Amtrak trip in the future as everyone is different--which makes the trip so exciting-IMHO. Working to make a good experience from the somewhat crazy events on the train is a challenge, but an interesting one. 

Railroad Bill


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## Longhorn (Sep 1, 2008)

Railroad Bill said:


> Thanks for an interesting trip report. We have traveled on the CZ a couple of times in the last year and it, too, was full of variety both good and bad. It does take a while to get used to the roomette beds but after a while one can get a decent rest if the noise is low. Although you missed the scenery in the Rockies, you did get to see parts of Utah that most trips sleep through (trying to find a silver lining here  ).
> 
> Hope you will consider another Amtrak trip in the future as everyone is different--which makes the trip so exciting-IMHO. Working to make a good experience from the somewhat crazy events on the train is a challenge, but an interesting one.
> 
> Railroad Bill


Thanks, Bill. I think we'll do it again if an opportunity comes up. We were very well prepared, thanks to this board, and we'll be even better prepared the next time.


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## the_traveler (Sep 1, 2008)

Great report! And *WHEN*  you go again, consider taking the CZ west from Denver. Although you say you saw this, the train travels through a long portion where there are no roads at all!  And that is considered one of the most scenic portions in the country!


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## RailFanLNK (Sep 1, 2008)

Did you have earplugs or Tylenol PM? I "don't leave home without them"!  I have ridden in coach, roomettes, bedroom and family room. A roomette beats a coach seat hands down!!! But the other rooms have more room. Hope you ride again and thanks for the report!


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## Longhorn (Sep 8, 2008)

the_traveler said:


> Great report! And *WHEN*  you go again, consider taking the CZ west from Denver. Although you say you saw this, the train travels through a long portion where there are no roads at all!  And that is considered one of the most scenic portions in the country!


That sounds like a great idea! I'd love to return to San Francisco! Thanks!


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## Longhorn (Sep 8, 2008)

RailFanLNK said:


> Did you have earplugs or Tylenol PM? I "don't leave home without them"!  I have ridden in coach, roomettes, bedroom and family room. A roomette beats a coach seat hands down!!! But the other rooms have more room. Hope you ride again and thanks for the report!


Live and learn! I thought we were okay with the noise machine but I was too sleepy to get up and turn it on! I noticed that it seem less noisy when I was on the top bunk. Anyway, I did sleep and it was only one night. Next time, I bring an air mattress and pillow!  Thanks!


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