I’m newly retired and ready to exchange the punch clocks of sustenance for the timetables of exploration via the California Zephyr. My spouse will be a first-timer but I just rode #6 to Omaha in May (drove back with cousins). As I live 285 north of Emeryville, CA (its western terminus) and the Z pulls out at 8:25 am, my first hurdle is finding an overnight stay where I can park my sedan for a couple of weeks before returning west. Alternatively, the Amtrak bus leaves Arcata (6 miles from home) daily for the rail station in Martinez, CA. Still, that leaves me hunting for overnight lodging and a ride to catch the Z as it pulls into Martinez at 9:07 am. I know, “This guy’s newly retired and all he can do is complain!” Oh, but just wait ‘til I tell you where I’m hoping to detrain and return to the highways - either Holdgredge or Hastings, Nebraska brings me closest to my Kansas homestead - and they’re both in the wee hours of the morning!
I’m leaving behind a colorful career as aircraft mechanic, trade school administrator, college associate professor, food-plant supervisor, quality-control inspector and golf-course mechanic. I’ve lived in Kansas on a wheat farm (home) and in Salina. Took my first post-college job as Jefferson County Airport (Broomfield) in Colorado and consider the Great Sand Dunes National Park to be my favorite Colorado place. Ojai, California was a dandy place to live - backed up by wilderness but only a short drive from the beaches of Ventura and Santa Barbara beaches. Then life on the banks of the Missouri River (Peru, NE) was interesting for a few years but I exchanged it for a cosmopolitan life - as much as any could be in Iowa - in Ames for graduate school. That set me on a quest for work in a university town with progressive values and ecological awareness. I settled on Arcata, California - home to Cal Poly Humboldt. That was 22 years ago now I wouldn’t leave it but for a couple of weeks at a time. The airlines can get me to San Francisco, Burbank, and Denver, but I’m really ready for the vagabond life of the rails!
I’m leaving behind a colorful career as aircraft mechanic, trade school administrator, college associate professor, food-plant supervisor, quality-control inspector and golf-course mechanic. I’ve lived in Kansas on a wheat farm (home) and in Salina. Took my first post-college job as Jefferson County Airport (Broomfield) in Colorado and consider the Great Sand Dunes National Park to be my favorite Colorado place. Ojai, California was a dandy place to live - backed up by wilderness but only a short drive from the beaches of Ventura and Santa Barbara beaches. Then life on the banks of the Missouri River (Peru, NE) was interesting for a few years but I exchanged it for a cosmopolitan life - as much as any could be in Iowa - in Ames for graduate school. That set me on a quest for work in a university town with progressive values and ecological awareness. I settled on Arcata, California - home to Cal Poly Humboldt. That was 22 years ago now I wouldn’t leave it but for a couple of weeks at a time. The airlines can get me to San Francisco, Burbank, and Denver, but I’m really ready for the vagabond life of the rails!
