Day 8: Coast Starlight, Part 2 




Having a great time aboard the Coast Starlight. I upgraded yesterday morning to a "roomette" (#11, lower level), which is a small sleeping compartment for two (small) people. It is a completely different experience than coach, and well worth the extra money for a long trip. We have a dedicated attendant (Robin) for the entire sleeper car, who turned down the chairs you see above into a bed for me while I had dinner. Think camping trailer with a hostess and you get the idea. There are three sleeping cars, each named after a state; mine is Oklahoma. Proof that you can never escape home, no matter how far you travel.



I attended a California wine tasting yesterday afternoon in the Pacific Parlour Car -- a vintage 50s club car exclusive to this route. The oceanside views between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo (above) were phenomenal; I wish my real digital camera hadn't run out of juice before then. Thankfully, Stephen is bringing my charger with him to Portland. Currently, we're five hours behind schedule somewhere near the California/Oregon border (apparently there's one less pedestrian in California, but more on that later). We just passed a Union Pacific freight train that lit up the pre-dawn sky and revealed that it's raining. The terrain is as flat as Kansas right now.



Hours later, we haven't run into a station with Wi-Fi, so I have more to type. I'm sitting in the Parlour Car with my new friend Stephanie from LA. Our crew just "died" (FRA regulations limit them to 12 hours of work) so we're stopped and waiting for a new crew before crossing the Oregon border. Thankfully, the scenery is beautiful as we climb into the Cascades. Stephanie sent me the above picture via Bluetooth. 

Posted: Wed - April 11, 2007 at 08:18 AM          

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