The Coast Starlight

So far, I’m very happy with my decision to patronize Amtrak. The Coast Starlight arrived pretty much on time, and I was greeted by my sleeping car attendant, Ron, with a cheery ‘You must be Simon’, as he slung my bags aboard, and showed me to my Bedroom (I booked a Roomette, but got upgraded to a Bedroom, when I collected my ticket).

I was booked for a 12:30 lunch, so just had time to get settled before being called to the diner. Community seating is the order of the day, so I enjoyed pizza and beer in the company of Laura, and her daughter Eva, who were en route from San Diego to San Jose. Eva was a precocious little piece of about 6 or 7, who insisted I must be Harry Potter. Amazing what glasses & a funny accent will do. Laura was originally from Connecticut, and assured me I would love New England, and that I’m going at the best time of year. Cool!

The afternoon was spent cruising up the central California coast, including passing right through Vandenberg Air Force Base. I caught a few glimpses of the Satellite and ICBM launch facilities, as well as the back-up runway for Space Shuttle landings.

An old Spanish Mission on the central coast

The coastal scenery was spectacular. The first section was almost wall to wall Winnebagos. It looks like people just park up and camp literally on the edge of the highway. Messy Bessie the Troublesome Toyota (my RV back in Riverhead) would have felt right at home.

As we got further north, signs of life diminished somewhat, and the air cleared. By dinnertime we had reached Point Concepcion, where the coastline turns more northerly. The Union Pacific Railroad, whose rails we were traversing heads inland at this point, going up a wide valley full of ‘erb and asparagus farms and interspersed with oil derricks. Next stop was San Luis Obispo, further up the valley. I got the lowdown on the area from my dinner companions, one of whom was a very opinionated lady of indeterminate years. I now know a lot more about illegal immigrants, agriculture, Cuba, and the abysmal state of education in Louisiana than I ever thought possible.

The view from the horseshoe curves, just north of San Luis Obispo

As dusk fell, we closed with the coast again near Monterey, and I enjoyed watching the sun go down in the company of a very nice couple who had come to America a decade ago from Hyderabad via London.

I tried for an early night, but my body clock was still all screwed up, and it must have been close to 3:00 am before I got to sleep properly. Still, I did get to see the lights of what must have been the San Francisco Bay area as we went past.