Let The Whistle Blow ~ Ride Up the California Coast
“Trains are wonderful - To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers, in fact to see life” - Agatha Christie
Amtrak Coast Starlight Express runs along the Pacific Ocean “speeding” people from Los Angeles to Seattle.
I have fond memories of many train journeys during my growing years in India. The busy bustling stations with their cacophony of noise, sleeping on the upper berth to the rocking of the train and exotic foods that were brought to our window by vendors as they convinced us to buy them before the train sped out of the station.
After moving to the US, our journeys were confined mostly to air or car travel and trains just fell to the wayside. Expanding my horizons in this post pandemic period I decided to move up my pace from baby steps to venturing on a train trip.
I chose the Coast Starline Express which connects Los Angeles to Seattle. I picked a five hour trip from Van Nuys California to San Luis Obispo on the central coast of California, as a way of getting my feet wet. In the interest of social distancing and comfort I elected to upgrade for $20 each way to business class.
As the train pulled out of Van Nuys station I found a window seat and sat glued to my seat watching the hustle bustle of the city as it started to fade into small towns, lush farms, houses, parks, craggy mountains, beautiful waves and unspoiled beaches.
I’m hooked, I’d like to do it again and perhaps venture on a longer trip and try a sleeper and relive my childhood with meals in the dining car and sleeping on a rocking berth.
Fair warning! I had intended this post to be of my entire weekend but in the end it’s all about the glimpses of life outside the windows of the train as it speeds along the pacific coast.
Imagine seeing the restaurant in Santa Barbara where I had lunch with my friends last time I visited, the beautiful house on the beach in Oxnard where I had walked with my friend way back in October, wonderful memories to relive even as new ones are being formed.
Amtrak Coast Starline Express taking on and letting off passengers at the station. The train is very long complete with baggage cars, dining cars, sleeper cars and a lounge car with the large windows, “all the better to see through”.
Of course the business class coach was not where it was expected to be and I was at the wrong end of the station. Van Nuys is also not a very long stop just enough to let on and drop off passengers. So I had to hustle and rush all the way to the other end of the train.
As I finally boarded and made my way upstairs all the seats on the critical left side of the coach that would face the coast were taken. Fortunately there were a set of 4 crew seats at the back reserved for crew rest periods that the conductor let me sit in so I could enjoy the ocean as it flowed along with us.
The Drive Up Movie Theater waiting for movie goers
Garbage Trucks! My grandson is obsessed with them so have record the waste management site near Simi Valley to share with him.
Sea of Orchards reminding me of how fertile California is
No rest for farmworkers despite the fact that this is the Saturday of a holiday weekend.
Finally the vista opens up to what people call the most scenic of Amtrak journeys. Hmm! Are these children all alone on the beach? I can barely ponder this question as the children are left behind.
The White Cliffs Of Dover England? No White Cliffs along the Pacific Ocean in California
Was it an earthquake which caused these giant fissures? My overactive imagination is pondering, making up stories and scenarios. No the red is not left over from a grisly murder, it’s the reflection from my nails in the train window that transferred onto this picture.
A sea of yellow flowers waving in the wind? Reminds me of driving country roads in the Punjab, India.
The Pacific Coast has so many moods and facets. The best part you get to enjoy it all from the safe confines of the train window without bringing any sand home with you.
Our conductor was extremely enthusiastic about the beautiful views and told us that dolphins and other ocean creatures could be seen swimming. I certainly did not catch any glimpses of mammal life but we did see the boats cruising along right by the shore.
No this is not an painting, just a point, aim and shoot out the train window. Miles of California coastline is kept in a pristine condition thanks to the Vandenberg Space force base.
Life Along the Shore. Imagine living this close to the ocean. I’m guessing a lot of these are Air B&Bs or little bed and breakfasts.
People out in their campers enjoying the holiday weekend.
People look up, wave and wonder where the train is coming from and where it’s going to. I saw a mother riding a bicycle waiting patiently at a railway crossing, an old couple walking along the tracks waving at us. Such interesting glimpses of life outside the window.
So true “The train is a small world moving through a larger world” - Elisha Cooper. Hasta la Vista! for now. There are more train journeys in my future so stay tuned.