Long trip, a few questions

[Dan O]

Hello,
I obtained a train ticket from LA to New York City via Emeryville. I will be taking the Superliner 785 from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and then transferring to a bus to take me to Emeryville. I didn't want to spend a night in a motel (hence not going on Coastal Starlight) and wasn't crazy about being at LA Union Station at 1 AM to take the bus to Bakersfield to link up with a train.
I will be in Emeryville for about 3 hours. Is the station comfortable? I will be in a roomette from EME to NYP and back to LAX. The California Zephyr doesn't board until 9:10 AM. Would they serve breakfast that late or should I find a place to eat near the station?
There's a 6+ hour layover in Chicago, if the Zephyr is on time, so was planning on eating some good pizza at Giordanos. I will be traveling with my daughter on the 6 and 48 so should be able to find something to do with her.
All the tickets were bought using AGR points. I also bought a round trip ticket from NYP to WAS and back the same day while in NYC. If the weather is bad and I decide not to go, would that affect the long distance tickets at all? Would I need to cancel and if I did so, could I reschedule that ticket somehow? I don't live on the E coast so not likely I'd be able to use it anytime soon although I have a daughter who travels to DC occasionally. Would it likely just be a loss of some points if I don't make that trip?
I will be returning on the Lake Shore Limited and Southwest Chief. If the LSL is on time I should be able to grab more pizza in Chicago.
Would it be okay to leave my bags at the lounge in Chicago on my way through there both times since I will be a sleeper room passenger?
Many thanks.

 

[zephyr17]

First meal eastbound on 6 out of EMY will be lunch. Breakfast is not served. Note the train originates at EMY.

Emeryville station is fine. It is about as comfortable as your average airport gate waiting area. There is not a whole lot in it, IIRC.

As long as the NYP-WAS-NYP trip is a separate reservation, it will not affect your larger trip. On most tickets, you can change them to an entirely different itinerary and not lose anything. You are not limited to the original itinerary if you decide you are not going to do it. Under current policy, you should not lose anything by doing so. You can reschedule it to an LAX-SAN-LAX if you want to as long as you do it before departure. It would be best to call AGR to do it, though. Rescheduling on the website does not always apply the current flexibility in the change options. If you get your points refunded instead of a changed itinerary, you will take a penalty hit.

There is a luggage storage room at Chicago's Metropolitan Lounge. It is not secure, like the old lounge was, but I've never had a problem with it. I last used it on November 13th. The Chicago Metropolitan Lounge also has some nice, private shower facilities. If you plan on showering on the return 49/3 trip, you might want to use that instead of the Viewliner's shower.

Personally, I would have gladly taken a motel room over an overnight bus ride up US 101 from Santa Barbara. I certainly would not want to start a major rail journey with a sleepless night on a bus. But you obviously knew the options and chose it. Hope it works all right for you.

 

[GAT]

If you want breakfast in EMY before boarding for CHI, there is a hotel across the tracks (a major chain but I can't remember which) that will most certainly have a restaurant or at least a cafe. Vending machine snacks only in the EMY station.

 

[BCL]

If you want breakfast in EMY before boarding for CHI, there is a hotel across the tracks (a major chain but I can't remember which) that will most certainly have a restaurant or at least a cafe. Vending machine snacks only in the EMY station.

There's a Hyatt House. As far as I know, they have a free breakfast for hotel guests, but I'm not sure if they have it for walk-in customers. There's actually quite a bit around there within walking distance now. The Public Market is now back when it was in decline earlier.

https://publicmarketemeryville.com/
Strike that, they don't open until 10 AM. I remember years ago what it was like when I was a college student and later when I worked in Emeryville. That place could get packed, and there were a few places that could do breakfast. I would have recommended walking to EmeryBay Cafe, but that closed a few years ago.

Other than that, it's a pretty short walk to Powell Street Plaza, which has Black Bear Diner and a Burger King. I've gone to the latter after getting back from that bus ride. Also a Trader Joe's if one needs to pick up something. I think Denny's is walkable from the station.

https://locations.dennys.com/CA/EMERYVILLE/249520https://www.bk.com/store-locator/store/restaurant_3250https://blackbeardiner.com/location/emeryville/

 

[BCL]

Hello,
I obtained a train ticket from LA to New York City via Emeryville. I will be taking the Superliner 785 from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and then transferring to a bus to take me to Emeryville. I didn't want to spend a night in a motel (hence not going on Coastal Starlight) and wasn't crazy about being at LA Union Station at 1 AM to take the bus to Bakersfield to link up with a train.
I will be in Emeryville for about 3 hours. Is the station comfortable? I will be in a roomette from EME to NYP and back to LAX. The California Zephyr doesn't board until 9:10 AM. Would they serve breakfast that late or should I find a place to eat near the station?
There's a 6+ hour layover in Chicago, if the Zephyr is on time, so was planning on eating some good pizza at Giordanos. I will be traveling with my daughter on the 6 and 48 so should be able to find something to do with her.
All the tickets were bought using AGR points. I also bought a round trip ticket from NYP to WAS and back the same day while in NYC. If the weather is bad and I decide not to go, would that affect the long distance tickets at all? Would I need to cancel and if I did so, could I reschedule that ticket somehow? I don't live on the E coast so not likely I'd be able to use it anytime soon although I have a daughter who travels to DC occasionally. Would it likely just be a loss of some points if I don't make that trip?
I will be returning on the Lake Shore Limited and Southwest Chief. If the LSL is on time I should be able to grab more pizza in Chicago.
Would it be okay to leave my bags at the lounge in Chicago on my way through there both times since I will be a sleeper room passenger?
Many thanks.

I've taken the 4785 bus from Santa Barbara to Emeryville four times since July. Once was actually just a round trip from Emeryville to Santa Barbara and back, but the rest were connecting with the Surfliner. And you can probably take an earlier Surfliner unless it's a reserved train (business class or around certain holidays). Last time I took an earlier Surfliner an spent a day in Santa Barbara with friends. The bus isn't bad but there are a lot of stops and the driver will wake up everyone (who are usually trying to sleep) to avoid someone missing a stop. I'm not sure what's interesting along the route other than Solvang. That place just sticks out like a sore thumb.

Emeryville isn't a big station but it's warm. The bathrooms have a code. You'll find plenty of stuff within reasonable walking distance. I mentioned Burger King, Black Bear Diner, and Denny's. There might be other places within walking distance without going over the tracks (there's that pedestrian bridge).

Ruby's Cafe is close enough to walk. They're only open M-F though.

https://www.rubyscafeemeryville.com

Maybe Cafe Buenos Aires, but only M-F since they open at 9 AM on weekends.

https://www.theba.cafe/#QRKVOr

 

[Dan O]

First meal eastbound on 6 out of EMY will be lunch. Breakfast is not served. Note the train originates at EMY.

Emeryville station is fine. It is about as comfortable as your average airport gate waiting area. There is not a whole lot in it, IIRC.

As long as the NYP-WAS-NYP trip is a separate reservation, it will not affect your larger trip. On most tickets, you can change them to an entirely different itinerary and not lose anything. You are not limited to the original itinerary if you decide you are not going to do it. Under current policy, you should not lose anything by doing so. You can reschedule it to an LAX-SAN-LAX if you want to as long as you do it before departure. It would be best to call AGR to do it, though. Rescheduling on the website does not always apply the current flexibility in the change options. If you get your points refunded instead of a changed itinerary, you will take a penalty hit.

There is a luggage storage room at Chicago's Metropolitan Lounge. It is not secure, like the old lounge was, but I've never had a problem with it. I last used it on November 13th. The Chicago Metropolitan Lounge also has some nice, private shower facilities. If you plan on showering on the return 49/3 trip, you might want to use that instead of the Viewliner's shower.

Personally, I would have gladly taken a motel room over an overnight bus ride up US 101 from Santa Barbara. I certainly would not want to start a major rail journey with a sleepless night on a bus. But you obviously knew the options and chose it. Hope it works all right for you.

Thanks for the information. I didn't know they had showers in the Chicago lounge.
Thank you for the information about the ticket NYP-WAS-NYP as well.
Thanks to the others that chimed in with information.

 

[Rambling Robert]

There are two showers for males and two for females (I asssume). They give you a key and towel at the desk and you lock yourself in. The showers are very nice with a EURO-feel and installed a few years ago. Teak benches. I think the built-in shampoo and body wash containers were removed due to covid. It was clean.

 

[Willbridge]

One tip for sleeping on the bus. If it has seat belts, use them. I've discovered that I will sleep better that way, possibly because it eliminates muscles subconsciously tightening up on curves or if an adjacent passenger slips into your space.

And afterward, contact your legislators about the value of restoring overnight train service between L.A. and the Bay Area.