# Trip Ideas for Northern California



## p&sr (Apr 29, 2008)

When my wife heard all the details of my rail adventures, she decided we should go travelling together, but starting with less stressful trips than my 19-day marathon... and hopefully avoiding tight connections, running for trains at the last second, and things like that.

Here's a nice little one-day trip we took last Spring.

We drove to our home station of Martinez and caught the first eastbound San Joaquin train, riding along the south shore of Suisun Bay and the south edge of the California Delta, through Stockton (passing the historic Santa Fe Depot there) to Modesto. Breakfast on board.

There we got off and awaited the next northbound train, heading for Sacramento. This took us back through Stockton again, this time passing the historic Southern Pacific Depot there (now serving the ACE Train). Lunch on board.

At Sacramento, we bought an all-day pass for the light-rail, and rode from the Amtrak Station to the end of the line at Folsom (following the route of California's very first railroad, which ran from Sacramento to Folsom in 1856), then back into town, transferring to the other line, heading south to the end of the line, then north to the other end at I-80/Watts Station. This last section parallels the UP line about halfway to Roseville. Then back through downtown again, and transferring back to the Amtrak Station.

From there we took a nice walk, past the RailRoad Museum and through Old Town, across the Sacramento River Drawbridge (with good views of the classic State Capitol Building), and back, finding food and refreshment along the way.

That afternoon, we caught the Capital Corridor train back to Martinez, by way of Davis, across the great marshlands at Cordelia (just beyond Suisun/Fairfield Station), and finally crossing the Carquinez Straits on the immense RailRoad drawbridge there.

This was the "Delta Triangle Trip"... three runs on Amtrak, completely encircling the California Delta.


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