# Pilgrimage II, 9/12-9/14/08



## chuljin (Sep 17, 2008)

So I decided to give myself the birthday present of an abbreviated repeat of the Pilgrimage, this time staying closer to SF proper, and getting more BART in, and finishing my 'collection' of MUNI LR routes.

Pictures from this trip are here.

I guess you _might_ say that the trip began with my morning commute. I would have been allowed to leave my car parked at GDL for the whole 2.5 days I was gone, according to the signs there, but wasn't sure about that from a safety perspective, so in the event, Mr. chuljin dropped me off (it's only 2 miles from home), and I took my usual (for this week, anyways...to make 'room' for this trip, I worked 9/9/9/9/4 instead of 8/8/8/8/8) Metrolink 104 and Red Line in, and worked half a day.

I left work at 12:30, and took the Red Line back to Union Station.

I went out to the bus 'platforms'; the driver of the only AmCal bus there was inside in his seat. I didn't board or anything, just stood at the door and asked 'Is this 5817?' He said 'Wait outside, I'll be there in a minute!' then came down and said 'Put your bag over there! And to answer your question, yes.', took my ticket and, noticing I was carrying a laptop, said 'I don't have any outlets, you'll need to use your battery.' which was nice of him to say, but I wasn't even going to open the bag. I boarded:

*Amtrak 5817, LAX to BFD, 9/12*

_Consist_

_An Amtrak California bus in proper Amtrak California livery_

Meh, it was a bus trip. The GPS on my phone never got a fix this _whole_ trip, but Google Maps Mobile's handy guess-where-you-are-from-the-cell-tower location feature helped me keep an approximate tab on our progress. We arrived at BFD 10 minutes early. I did almost nothing here except have a soda, as this was my fourth time here, and I already had pictures of the station, and nighttime and daytime pictures of the Hogan Globe. I soon boarded:

*Amtrak 717, BFD to RIC, 9/12*

_Consist_

_2014 F59PHI_

_8027 'Smith River' California Coach __**Seat 3, behind the glass*_

_8018 'Trinity River' California Coach_

_8802 'Sacramento Valley' California Cafe_

_6965 'Point St George' Surfliner Coach/Cab/Baggage (California)_

I quickly went to look for my (by now) usual seat behind the glass, this time after a hike to the other end of the train. Soon it was time for lunch. I'd been looking for an opportunity to try one of the SJ tray meals, and this was it. I originally was going to try the ravioli, but as the cafe computer was mistaken about stock levels and the attendant couldn't find one, I had the pot roast instead. This was pot roast in gravy, carrots, mashed potatoes, a green salad with Newman's Own creamy italian, and a rosemary (soft) breadstick. The carrots were a little underdone (hot but still nearly raw, but I can console myself with the fact that none of the nutrients were cooked away), but it was otherwise excellent. One gets _a lot_ of surprisingly tender beef. Then back to my seat to browse the web, etc. Verizon EVDO seems spotty in the Central Valley: it took several attempts to connect each time, and dropped frequently. The conductor who announced stops was quite funny, really talking up each town we passed through, being sure to include two or three adjectives that alliterated the town's name ('the majestic, magnificent metropolis of Merced, gateway to Yosemite!' etc.) and also, on longer dwells, every funny euphemism for nicotine cravings. During a particularly dull stretch of the Central Valley (is there any other kind), I browsed the mobile version of AU on my phone. I saw one topic entitled 'Metrolink Wreck', and naturally thought it was more discussion of the recent handing down of a sentence in the 2005 one, but my heart sank when I learned otherwise.  That (the Ventura line) is _my_ line (though I don't go that far or that early in the afternoon).  There were to be a couple more unwelcome subtle reminders of this during my trip.

Later, I got thirsty, and went to the cafe to get a soda. A line of 10 or more people was maintained, unabated, during almost the whole trip, and this was no exception. I thought as long as I was there, I might just as well 'stock up', and got three sodas, my always-famous cheese and crackers, and my newly-famous hummus kit. I took all this back to my seat, and had one of the sodas and the hummus kit straight away, saving the other sodas and the cheese and crackers for later. Very little out of the ordinary happened on this trip; I spent the rest of it alternately watching the scenery go by, and browsing the web, including looking for updates on Metrolink. (As an aside, I think Denise Tyrrell got the bum's rush, and that is my opinion alone. I defend anyone's right to agree or not.) One last interesting thing on this trip: there was a guy showing off his tattoos, which were railroad tracks stretching (but not covering) the whole of his body, including a diamond interchange (I think that's what it's called...where trains going either direction on either of two parallel tracks can either go straight or switch to the other) on his back. Now _that's_ a railfan. We arrived at RIC right on schedule at 9:27. While I got fresh air and waited to board BART, I saw what I guess was Train 14 _TEAR_ through the station, a treat as I've never watched an LD train pass a station it doesn't serve (for which I have no excuse, as I could easily see 11 pass GDL).

*While there, Friday 9/12*

I was to stay at the Quality Suites Millbrae, chosen purposely and specifically as it is 2 blocks from 'the largest intermodal terminal in the United States west of the Mississippi in terms of station facilities and acreage', and because it gets me AGR points including triple play points. On the way there, though, I would stop at SFO and its Continental President's Club, one of the few that are landside, to play with my AGRS+ card. So off on BART Orange, then Yellow at MacArthur (yes, I know these are not the official names, but I'm used to LA and Chicago). I got there at about 11pm, checked in (the same wizened sweet front counter lady as before, who said 'why do they make these numbers so small?'...indeed, itty black numbers on a dark grey background are probably not the best choice) and went around and in, and it was dead (I was the only guest during my whole time there), for 2 reasons: close to closing, and the last few flights of the day were to/from IAH and thus cancelled because of Ike. I got a gin and tonic, and sat to watch the news. The bartender soon chatted me up. I enjoyed, as always, the wide-eyed surprise, when I told her that I'd come to the area and the airport on trains. She was a nice Asian lady whose accent I could not quite place (I'm usually good at such things), but when she found out I am from LA, she mentioned how she likes to visit LA because 'the Thai food is better there'. I asked her, in Thai, if she was Thai, and she was. We chatted for quite a long time, mostly in Thai. She excitedly ran to the front desk twice, once to tell them I spoke Thai, once to tell them I came by rail. (Background: Mr. chuljin is Thai, so I've had a 12-year immersion course.  ) Just as I left the lounge, the battery on my cell phone died, but I didn't worry, because I already knew how to get to Millbrae Station (BART Yellow), and the hotel was close to it. So I got to Millbrae, and that's when the wheels fell off. All I could remember is 'close', but not which direction or the exact distance, details only in my dead phone. I couldn't even remember the name, thinking it was 'Comfort Suites' (mixing up my Choice brands), so even the gas station across from the station could not help me. As a result, it took me half an hour to find the hotel, 2 blocks north of the station, because I walked as far as 6 blocks in every other direction.

*While there, Saturday 9/13*

I'd planned to take advantage of one of the advertised amenities of the hotel, a 'cooked-to-order full breakfast', then take Caltrain into the city proper, but I overslept (because I'd set the alarm clock for 7_PM_), and so simply showered, dressed, and headed over to the station. While I was waiting, I heard a train approach from the north, and thought it was some passenger train (which would have been way early), but it turns out it was a loco pulling three flatcar-looking cars in what I found out later that night is called a 'work train'; I got a couple pics. (aside: something I've never understood...what are these for anyways? I've seen, for another example, a few flatcars in Metrolink's yards north of downtown. Do commuter railroads also have the odd goods movement?) While planning this trip, I'd been a little conflicted about where in SF to get off Caltrain. During Pilgrimage I, I'd taken N, J and F to their respective ends, and had plans on this trip to go to the end of L and back, and the whole length of K and M's different routes between Balboa Park and West Portal, and together with these, I'd have been on every revenue inch of MUNI if I add to these the whole length of the T from Sunnydale/Bayshore. But I'd heard that the direct route between it and Caltrain Bayshore was impassable at worst, and fairly scary at best, so originally was going to go all the way to 4th/King, thence N or KT to Powell. In the event, I decided to take a chance, and got off at Bayshore. The route was the former (impassable), so I walked north on Tunnel, and west on Blanken. As I approached Bayshore and the Arleta station, a southbound train was briefly dwelling there, so I picked up the pace, following it south to Sunnydale, where I thought it would lay over a while while I caught up and boarded it. However, it turned back well before I got there. So I had checked NextMuni to see how much time I had, then had 'breakfast' of a donut and coffee across the street from the station, _then_ boarded one. Thence off to Powell, where I enjoyed where I enjoyed the general area (I've discovered that Powell, Church/Duboce, Balboa Park, and Millbrae are my favorite places in SF) and got my MUNI Passport.

Thence on the next KT to Balboa Park, my first trip through the Twin Peaks Tunnel, which I thought was quite cool, being the longest arrow-straight tunnel I've been through (IIRC), as well as differing in design from every other subway tunnel I've been in, thence M to SFSU, where I had coffee at SFSU Station Cafe and took a couple token pictures. Thence M to Stonestown (admittedly, it would be a short walk, but then I would have missed this segment of trackage.) At Stonestown I had lunch, and bought three books from the Arcadia Press 'Images of Rail' series: Railways of San Francisco, Key System, and Market Street Railway. Thence continuing on M to West Portal, which station I quite like, thence L to the end (and with that, I'd been over the whole of MUNI rail), where I took a token picture of the Zoo sign, and a few of _this_ area of Ocean Beach (I'd taken several at the end of the N on the last trip). Here I also saw a couple guys building a skate park. Thence L to Church, where I went up and walked to Church/Duboce, where I took a few pictures of the Mint, which I'd somehow missed during a long time there the last time, and also some streetcar restoration work going on in Duboce Yard. While here, I got my first reminder of the Metrolink incident: Amtrak called to tell me that train 785, which I was going to be on later that day, had been cancelled. I wondered why they thought I was going to be on it, then remembered that 9/13 was one of the arbitrary dates I chose when buying my last thick stack of unreserved tickets for my daily commute. I explained that to her, and thanked her for the call, and she very nicely said 'Thank you for your courtesy.' I was then originally going to take J out to Balboa Park, but instead decided to take J in to the southwesternmost shared BART/MUNI station in the Subway, and so got off at Van Ness, went up to the mezzanine, and only then remembered that the first shared station is actually Civic Center, so I got whatever arbitrary MUNI there, and _then_ BART to Balboa Park, where I took many many pictures of the various big and little yards there. Heeding the ominous No Trespassing sign at the entrance to the smallest yard on the southeast corner of San Jose and Geneva, where they mostly keep the F cars, I stood outside the fence, taking various pictures, when a MUNI employee actually encouraged me to go inside the yard, saying 'just don't climb all over stuff'. Still, I thought better of it, and the closest I got was standing briefly in the middle of the single track just outside the entrance.

I was then going to take BART to Colma because within sight of it (at least from the air) there is a huge yard. However, I'd noticed in passing through the night before that there's precious little actually visible from the platforms, so I just took BART to Embarcadero, and hung out in/around the Ferry Building for a while. In front (street side) there was some kind of fair going on, including many people dancing salsa, etc. I finally got in touch with an old friend I'd planned to have dinner with that night (aside: a penpal of sorts, we've been corresponding for over a decade, but never met. Like me, he is a linguist, but unlike me [an enthusiastic, slightly-better-than-average amateur], he's a professional, complete with [almost...he's working on his thesis] a Berkeley PhD.) I took MUNI back to Powell, where I explored the Westfield California Centre (which is cool in having an entrance in the station mezzanine). I wanted a picture of the Twin Peaks Tunnel, and had noticed in passing through twice that the outbound platform of the Forest Hill station, so I went there, took a picture of the tunnel (after 6 failures of the night mode), then up to the surface for a couple pictures of the station (and also because that's the only way from one platform to the other), then back to Powell. At last I found out where dinner was to be, and got on the next outbound MUNI, intending to go to Castro. Suddenly we came out at Church/Duboce and I realized I'd forgotten that not just any old train would have done, and I'd gotten on the J. So I walked to the Church subway station and off to Castro. I called my friend, who said 'I'm still looking for parking...wait for us in front of the Beagle store.' So I looked and looked, and called back; it turns out he said 'Diesel' (that area is noisy and I have a mild hearing impairment). Some minutes later, still looking for parking, he told me to go wait at the house of other friends that would be joining us, who live in the area. Sometime later, I at last met my oldest friend for the first time (ironic, isn't it?  ), then we all went to Frisee for dinner. Their filet is excellent, as well as the appetizer called 'tartare' (not steak tartare...think ground sushi with guacamole, corn, and potato chips). I quite recommend it, though admittedly the surrounding neighborhood is not to everyone's taste.  Among the other people dining with us was a (ethnically) Japanese guy born in the Philippines and raised in Sweden (yeah, it took me a while to unpuzzle it too), and, interestingly considering the focus of my trip, a guy who had done 'some other job' for a while until a few years ago he achieved a dream of working with trains, as a BART driver (he's now a 'BART driver supervisor' of some kind). Knowing that I was from LA, we naturally talked about the Metrolink incident a little bit. We all then went for drinks, thence to a club. I'm not actually much of a clubber, but I rather enjoyed it. Clubs here are not for the claustrophobic.  I'd stayed out well past the last BART, so my friend nicely dropped me at the hotel (fortunately, he lives in San Bruno, so it was only slightly out of his own way home). This was about 2:30-3am, and I'd decided to wake at 7, so power-nap time. 

*While there, Sunday 9/14*

I set the alarm clock right this time, up at 7, and did manage breakfast at the hotel this time. I was originally going to take BART Yellow all the way out to Pittsburg and back, but it's not far from the SJ route I'd take later in the day, and I'd also have less reason to make Pilgrimage III, so instead I went to Powell again for another little while. I went into the Visitor's Center at Hallidie Square, which was both overwhelming in the amount of information available and underwhelming in the interest any of it had for me (for example, little or nothing on transit). Thence to Berkeley (via 12th), where I toured the town a little and had lunch at Tomatina, near the West Gate of the University. I quite recommend the ravioli. As I ate lunch, Amtrak called again; I new why so didn't answer. I then took BART Orange to Richmond, where I waited a few minutes, during which time, I noticed the EPIS announcing that this-and-that Thruway service (connecting to Surfliners at LAX, so not sure it was announced so far north) were 'cancelled due to service interruptions'.  My train arrived precisely on time, and I boarded:

*Amtrak 716, RIC to FNO, 9/14*

_Consist_

_6962 'Point Bonita' Surfliner Coach/Cab/Baggage (California)_

_8811 'Antelope Valley' California Cafe_

_6461 'Pebble Beach' Surfliner Coach (California)_

_34943 (was 34043) 'Oak Grove' Superliner I Coach California Rebuild __**Seat 77*_

_2001 F59PHI_

A routine SJ trip, during which the usual cheese and crackers, hummus kit, and several Diet Pepsis.  The slightly grumpy cafe attendant got on the PA several times to remind people not to bring luggage into the cafe. For the first time, I rode in one of the wrecked-and-rebuilt 'California' Superliners. My seatmate from SKN to MCD fell into a deep sleep and I actually had to wake him when we got to MCD. at MCD I went outside for a few minutes; when I came back, I had a new seatmate, who surprised me by saying 'hey, I saw you on Friday...you kept going back and forth to the cafe!' Turns out she had also been on 717. She mentioned how old the car we were in seemed compared to the other CA cars she was used to, so I told her about their provenance, which imbued her with a lot of confidence.  We arrived at FNO just a couple minutes behind schedule.

*Fresno II*

Fresno was no more interesting this time than last, but for the company: I met a friend at the station, and we went for dinner to Bentley's market, which has a variety of salads, deli, and whatnot. I recommend it, though if you arrive by train, find a friend to drive you there (it's about 10 miles from downtown), as I calculated a taxi would be some $25 each way.  Back in downtown, I went to Fulton Mall for a bit, catching the tail end of some kind of festival. Then back to the station, where, 11 minutes late, I boarded:

*Amtrak 704, FNO to BFD, 9/14*

_Consist_

_8301 'Mount Whitney' California Cab __**Seat 79, behind the glass*_

_8809 'Santa Maria Valley' California Cafe_

_8206 'Humboldt Bay' California Coach/Baggage_

_34953 (was 34053) 'Pacific Grove' Superliner I Coach California Rebuild_

_2051 __*or*__ 2052 (I didn't catch the number, but there are only two of this class) P32-8_

Yes, yes, yet more cheese and crackers, hummus kit, and Diet Pepsi.  Shortly after leaving FNO, we started going really slowly. Soon both (or two of the?) conductors came quickly but not panickily to the cab, talked to the engineer a little, then started staring out the front window. Soon one of them announced 'we're having signal problems, so this is the speed that will allow us to look for obstructions on the tracks.' After Friday, be my guest...anything, everything, in the interest of safety. I wasn't really worried about the effect it was having on our OTP, but I could have done without the ripe agricultural fragrance of the Central Valley our slow speed was allowing in! 

We ultimately arrived at BFD 29 minutes late. One would think the Thruway driver would be anxious to get underway, but he was nowhere to be found. About ten minutes later, he showed up, rather grumpy, and we all started to board. He separated my ticket, then dropped the stub on the ground, not helping me pick it up, apologizing, or giving any other indication that it was an accident. It is apparently my fault he is a bus driver. I boarded:

*Amtrak 5804, BFD to GDL, 9/14(-15)*

_Consist_

_An Amtrak California bus in proper Amtrak California livery_

Routine as usual. For the first time, I actually dozed off on this route. Despite our late departure from BFD, we made up time and arrived at GDL on time at 12:35am.

At GDL, I was suddenly in sad awe of the first tangible reminder of the Metrolink tragedy: many many flowers around the 'main' (near the Metrolink TVMs) entrance to the platforms.

Mr. chuljin picked me up, thus ending Pilgrimage II.

So there it is. I got in more BART than before, got a much better look at Millbrae station, and completed my 'collection' of MUNI trackage. Next time I shall probably have to try to get in all of BART. Because I've now gone twice on weekends, I missed ACE yet again, so I guess I'll eventually have to fix that.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the report as much as I (mostly) enjoyed the experiences described.


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## the_traveler (Sep 17, 2008)

Great report!



chuljin said:


> While I got fresh air and waited to board BART, I saw what I guess was Train 14 _TEAR_ through the station, a treat as I've never watched an LD train pass a station it doesn't serve (for which I have no excuse, as I could easily see 11 pass GDL).


If you want to see a train *TEAR* through a station, come to KIN! AE doesn't stop at KIN, and many times passes through the station "slow" at 110-130 MPH!  (One of the few 150 MPH stretches is 1 mile or less beyond the station!)


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## Ispolkom (Sep 24, 2008)

Your trip brings back found memories of living in the area, though when I was there in the late 80s BART didn't reach SFO.

How did you get to the Continental President's Club without a ticket? Is it before you go through security?


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## chuljin (Sep 24, 2008)

Ispolkom said:


> Your trip brings back found memories of living in the area, though when I was there in the late 80s BART didn't reach SFO.
> How did you get to the Continental President's Club without a ticket? Is it before you go through security?


_*nod*_:



chuljin said:


> ...one of the few that are landside...


the President's Club at SFO is just next to the CO ticket counters, outside security ('landside'), and, aside from being one of the three (???...I _think_, based on the descriptions, that the one at LGA and the one [of many] at Terminal B at IAH are also landside), is one of only a very few lounges of _any_ airline anywhere in the world (IIRC).


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## caravanman (Sep 28, 2008)

Wow, what a great report..

I always like to read about rail stuff in reports, but the way you weave in the rest of the wider details about your trip makes it into a very readable "mini adventure" !

Have you visited Thailand? I enjoyed a great train ride from Hat Yai down to Singapore many years ago.. happy days..

Ed B)


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## chuljin (Oct 1, 2008)

caravanman said:


> Wow, what a great report..I always like to read about rail stuff in reports, but the way you weave in the rest of the wider details about your trip makes it into a very readable "mini adventure" !


Thank you! I usually try to weave non-rail stuff into both the reports and the experiences themselves. (But I will sometimes ride the train just to ride the train!  )



caravanman said:


> Have you visited Thailand? I enjoyed a great train ride from Hat Yai down to Singapore many tears ago.. happy days..
> Ed B)


I have...thrice.  Even the most recent was 6 years ago, so I doubt I could write an enjoyable and coherent trip report about any of them. In summary, though, and speaking specifically of trains, on the second trip we rode 2nd-class sleeper (similar to a Pullman 'section') from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, then a week later 1st-class (similar to Superliner roomette, plus washbasin but not toilet) from Hat Yai to Bangkok.

I was going to make a fourth trip as early as January 2009, but the current political situation there (not esepcially dangerous for tourists, but uncomfortable for the average Thai) has made me more or less decide to postpone. When I do eventually go, there will be a side trip whereby I fly to SIN, 2 nights, overnight train to KUL, one night, train to Penang/Butterworth, then fly or train (depending on the specific situation in Southern Thailand at that time) to BKK.


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## caravanman (Oct 1, 2008)

It certainly pays to be aware of local conditions when traveling. I had a great trip by rail in Burma, from Rangoon to Mandalay, many years ago.. sadly not a trip I would be able to do today.

Ed B)


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