Our daughter and I first rode down the west coast from Vancouver BC for spring break in 2013 or 14. We had a wonderful time, stopping in Portland for a night and then continuing on the Coast Starlight to LA. We had no problems in LA getting around on public transit, mostly buses (you called a number and a real person advised you which stop to go to, which bus to catch, and where to transfer to get to our destination) and otherwise walking around. Did a hike up to the Hollywood sign, checked out Santa Monica, shopped at Costco (we don't have booze in many of our Costcos) and outlet stores. My second trip was the same route, last October and November, solo with my folding bike. I am a 74 old retiree, male in good but not top shape, and am committed to trains and boats to get places. Prefer not to drive or fly, trying to walk and cycle as much as possible. Last year I stopped in Seattle for a night, and got on the Coast Starlight and stopped for a day in Dunsmuir (foot of Mount Shasta). The train passes through at 12:45AMish so the hotel I had booked kindly gave me the code so I could stay in the lobby until they opened up in the morning! That's service! Dunsmuir is a great little town with a railway culture and great trout fishing pools in the Sacramento River flowing through town. In town there is still the remains of the Eddy Match factory, for those old-timers that remember scratching wooden matches on the side of the box to get a fire lit. Carried on the next night and stopped in Chico for a day. The train stops at 4:12AMish so it was a bit tricker to get to the hotel in the dark with a bike but in the morning I saw lots of quiet streets to get around on near the station. Chico is a nice little college town. It is the sister city to Paradise, who you may remember was destroyed in a wildfire several years ago. From Chico I re-boarded the train and met friends who were already in San Luis Obispo. After some group time there I carried on up and down the coast on the Pacific Surfliner, to Solana Beach and then on to a bit of Route 66 (Victorville), Tehachapi and back to Santa Barbara. I went by Amtrak bus from Victorville to Tehachapi and from Tehachapi to Santa Barbara. I guess sometimes the train does run from Tehachapi to Bakersfield (mostly freight trains now) according to the museum director at the train museum in Tehachapi. I stayed in Santa Barbara for a few days enjoying the beaches and the town before heading back to Canada.
Looking forward now to crossing the US on Amtrak (the long way) on our way to spring training (baseball) in Florida next February/March. My wife and I are looking at taking our bicycles and again heading down the west coast to Santa Barbara, then over to El Paso via Los Angeles. Question: what is the difference between the Texas Eagle (422) and the Sunset Limited (2) from LA to El Paso? Is there a somewhat efficient way of getting from New Orleans to Savannah without going to Chicago or Washington DC? Thanks!
Looking forward now to crossing the US on Amtrak (the long way) on our way to spring training (baseball) in Florida next February/March. My wife and I are looking at taking our bicycles and again heading down the west coast to Santa Barbara, then over to El Paso via Los Angeles. Question: what is the difference between the Texas Eagle (422) and the Sunset Limited (2) from LA to El Paso? Is there a somewhat efficient way of getting from New Orleans to Savannah without going to Chicago or Washington DC? Thanks!
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