Day 1 of West Coast Trip (Part A)
[This entry updated at the San Luis Obispo stop, where 3G service is available on the AT&T network...]
After just a few hours of sleep on Thursday night, the alarm clocks on both my cellular phones rang. It's time to get ready! Having lived in the United States for 12 years, I have experienced the Greyhound, modern airline and the all-Americana road trips. But in all those years, I have never had the experience of taking one of the oldest celebrated forms of transportation that started the Industrial Revolution: the railway. And here I am, in the Lounge car of the Coast Starlight, taking in the scenery of the wild west (or I'd like to think so), and enjoying such natural beauty.
The first piece of marvel we got to see was the Los Angeles Union Station. Although smaller than some of the other Union Stations I've ever visited such as the Kansas City or Chicago, it definitely was different. Instead of tall, arched ceilings with the familiar echoey (yes, I just made that word up) white noise, it is tall and angular made of wooden beams styled after the southwestern mission architecture. After boarding the Coast Starlight #14, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of inner Los Angeles, where beautiful worn houses were adored by neon-colored decorations, presumably left behind by rival gangs of Los Angeles. Ah, nothing beats such inner city gang scenery while enjoying the complimentary Champaign. Of course, I had to ask for the complimentary orange juice to turn it into a mimosa, but it was only fitting because it is still morning...
Otherwise, the scenery definitely picked itself up after we headed out west to Oxnard where we started turning north to go up the coast. For the longest time, we saw miles of beautiful beaches, all untainted by crowds the like of Santa Monica or Valentia beaches. As we choo-choo'ed alongside the Pacific Coast Highway, we saw numerous cliff-ends, fishing piers, and RV campgrounds filled with people who had driven there for the Fourth of July weekend.
But one thing I didn't like was the numerous off shore oil rigs out in the beautiful ocean. There was at least three you can see in the horizon, and they were never ending. For a good hour, you see an oil rig out there. And Dubya wants to allow more OCS in our seas? Hell no!!! Destroying picturesque scenery with such environmentally dangerous machines that will at best alleviate five cents per gallon (in today's demand) but won't be able to start producing any oil for 10 years, I think that is not the way to go.
Given that we had bought first class tickets in the Sleeper car, where our room included convertible beds, a sink and a combination shower/toilet, we had full access to the exclusive Parlour Lounge, where glass windows go from the side up to the ceiling, enabling us to have better view of the west coast along the way. We saw many agricultural fields, such as rice patties, cabbage fields, flower fields (now I know that the flowers I bought every Valentine's Day were probably shipped from California), orange groves, and cattle ranges. This is definitely the part of America that I never got to see, despite knowing they existed.
Then 12:30 arrived, with our lunch reservation at the Dining car. My father and I shared a table with a lovely couple named Ray and Tamara. Given the limited choice of food available to us in the inclusive meal, I had a tough time deciding what to order for Dad. I knew he wouldn't like the Tuna Salad sandwich, and probably the create-your-own burger was not as appetizing for an old-fashioned Chinese with distinctive palate, I thought maybe he would enjoy the traditional turkey and gravy over biscuits. But when it came, it was of the cold variety, not the warm type you and I are accustomed to in those dinky diners or during Thanksgiving dinners when economic times are down. My dad gladly ate my turkey burger instead. I guess when all foods are not appealing, there is at least one that is the least unappealing that will satiate the appetite.
After a good and lengthy chat with our lunch buddies, we decided to go lounge in the Lounge Car. We promptly passed the Tasmania country, where we spotted a coyote out in the fields. If you asked me, it looked like an oversized German Sheppard, or an oversized wolf. But as the conductor has worked this route for years on end, I kind of believed him. We also saw many abandoned oil rigs, like the ones you see in movies set in Texas.
Oh wait... It's almost 15:30, so it's about time for wine tasting. For $5, I get to enjoy the different kinds of wine found along the route from California to the state of Washington. So I better a break here from blogging, and really enjoy the scenery while getting lit. =)
After just a few hours of sleep on Thursday night, the alarm clocks on both my cellular phones rang. It's time to get ready! Having lived in the United States for 12 years, I have experienced the Greyhound, modern airline and the all-Americana road trips. But in all those years, I have never had the experience of taking one of the oldest celebrated forms of transportation that started the Industrial Revolution: the railway. And here I am, in the Lounge car of the Coast Starlight, taking in the scenery of the wild west (or I'd like to think so), and enjoying such natural beauty.
The first piece of marvel we got to see was the Los Angeles Union Station. Although smaller than some of the other Union Stations I've ever visited such as the Kansas City or Chicago, it definitely was different. Instead of tall, arched ceilings with the familiar echoey (yes, I just made that word up) white noise, it is tall and angular made of wooden beams styled after the southwestern mission architecture. After boarding the Coast Starlight #14, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of inner Los Angeles, where beautiful worn houses were adored by neon-colored decorations, presumably left behind by rival gangs of Los Angeles. Ah, nothing beats such inner city gang scenery while enjoying the complimentary Champaign. Of course, I had to ask for the complimentary orange juice to turn it into a mimosa, but it was only fitting because it is still morning...
Otherwise, the scenery definitely picked itself up after we headed out west to Oxnard where we started turning north to go up the coast. For the longest time, we saw miles of beautiful beaches, all untainted by crowds the like of Santa Monica or Valentia beaches. As we choo-choo'ed alongside the Pacific Coast Highway, we saw numerous cliff-ends, fishing piers, and RV campgrounds filled with people who had driven there for the Fourth of July weekend.
But one thing I didn't like was the numerous off shore oil rigs out in the beautiful ocean. There was at least three you can see in the horizon, and they were never ending. For a good hour, you see an oil rig out there. And Dubya wants to allow more OCS in our seas? Hell no!!! Destroying picturesque scenery with such environmentally dangerous machines that will at best alleviate five cents per gallon (in today's demand) but won't be able to start producing any oil for 10 years, I think that is not the way to go.
Given that we had bought first class tickets in the Sleeper car, where our room included convertible beds, a sink and a combination shower/toilet, we had full access to the exclusive Parlour Lounge, where glass windows go from the side up to the ceiling, enabling us to have better view of the west coast along the way. We saw many agricultural fields, such as rice patties, cabbage fields, flower fields (now I know that the flowers I bought every Valentine's Day were probably shipped from California), orange groves, and cattle ranges. This is definitely the part of America that I never got to see, despite knowing they existed.
Then 12:30 arrived, with our lunch reservation at the Dining car. My father and I shared a table with a lovely couple named Ray and Tamara. Given the limited choice of food available to us in the inclusive meal, I had a tough time deciding what to order for Dad. I knew he wouldn't like the Tuna Salad sandwich, and probably the create-your-own burger was not as appetizing for an old-fashioned Chinese with distinctive palate, I thought maybe he would enjoy the traditional turkey and gravy over biscuits. But when it came, it was of the cold variety, not the warm type you and I are accustomed to in those dinky diners or during Thanksgiving dinners when economic times are down. My dad gladly ate my turkey burger instead. I guess when all foods are not appealing, there is at least one that is the least unappealing that will satiate the appetite.
After a good and lengthy chat with our lunch buddies, we decided to go lounge in the Lounge Car. We promptly passed the Tasmania country, where we spotted a coyote out in the fields. If you asked me, it looked like an oversized German Sheppard, or an oversized wolf. But as the conductor has worked this route for years on end, I kind of believed him. We also saw many abandoned oil rigs, like the ones you see in movies set in Texas.
Oh wait... It's almost 15:30, so it's about time for wine tasting. For $5, I get to enjoy the different kinds of wine found along the route from California to the state of Washington. So I better a break here from blogging, and really enjoy the scenery while getting lit. =)
Labels: travel
posted by StHalcyon at
17:27
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