Trains, buses and trains
A rediscovery... going someplace without using my car. Living in So Cal one gets very used to going places with a car, as if that were the only means of transportation available to us. But! I have discovered the joy of going a considerable distance by trains and other modes of transportation. It's not that I've never used trains before to get from point A to point B... it's just I don't usually prefer them. Alas, now that time is no longer a primary thought when it comes to going places, I have the leisure to explore other avenues.
When I lived in Boston in my youth and early 20's, I used the train often to go to New York. It was cheap; it didn't take all that long and it usually was fun especially when there were several friends as traveling companions. Also when I worked as a tour escort for a travel agency, I would take groups of people from Boston to New York for "theatre tours." We would take the train out of South Station and wind up four hours later at Penn Station is New York. Then there was the time when I visited my younger brother in Pennsylvania. I took the train from Dover, Delaware (which was closer to his home than Philly) to visit my older brother in Boston. As I recall I had to change trains somewhere, possibly New York, but memory fails me on that one. And of course there were the times when the kids were young and we would take the train from Santa Ana to San Diego. It was always fun to travel to San Diego by train cause the kids got a kick out of being able to move around on the trip and loved watching the ocean as we zipped by right next to the surf. Then there was a disscovery that I could take a train to visit my niece and her family in Woodland Hills. Chatsworth station on the Metroline is about 15 minutes from her home. A much nicer trip than the 405 and 101 especially in heavy traffic. Now that I stop to think of it, I don't recall there ever being a time I've driven up there when there wasn't heavy traffic.
Now I find trains and bus the easiest way to get to Fresno / Coarsegold when I go to visit my friend Judi. I simply pick up my daughter at her office and she drives me to the train station in Irvine. She gets to use my car, a newer one than hers, for the time I'm gone and easily picks me up after work the day I return. I get on the Surfliner for the one hour trip to Union Station. Then I shlep my luggage out to the bus which takes approximately two hours to get us to Bakersfield. Then back on the train to Fresno where it is convenient (as least she tells me its so) for Judi to pick me up.
The convenience of the train / bus / train trip is many-fold. First and foremost it saves me wear and tear on my car as well as wear and tear on my body. Then of course there's the cost: cheaper than gas and I get to see all the sights and don't have to worry about the nutty drivers around me. It is far more relaxing to sit, read, snooze, listen to my iPod or just look out the window and muse. The timing for the whole trip is about an hour more by train. For the convenience the train gives, it's well worth the extra time.
It also offers me a vicarious look into other people's back yards. I've often wondered: were the train tracks there first or were the house there first. Would someone willingly buy a home backing up to the train tracks? I certainly wouldn't but then it may be the only option for others. I don't think I would enjoy the constant sounds and vibration of trains whizzing by at various hours of the day and night.
On my last trip to Fresno I picked up an Amtrak vacation brochure that listed all the trips. Oh boy, was my mouth ever watering. I would dearly love to take the Denver to Chicago trip especially sometime around the end of fall just before big snows of winter. Then there's the coastal trip from Southern California to maybe Seattle where I have friends. Or how about the autumn foliage trip along the New England states for breath-taking beauty. I would love to take a trip where I had a bedroom set-up. I can just imagine being lulled to sleep by the motion of the train.
So tomorrow I get back on the Surfliner in Irvine for my next trip to Fresno / Coarsgold. Judi will pick me up and we'll decide if we want to go anywhere for the next couple of days or if we'll just hit Yosemite and do some hiking and then the Awanhee for our refreshments.... mmmmm I can taste the Chip Shot already.
When I lived in Boston in my youth and early 20's, I used the train often to go to New York. It was cheap; it didn't take all that long and it usually was fun especially when there were several friends as traveling companions. Also when I worked as a tour escort for a travel agency, I would take groups of people from Boston to New York for "theatre tours." We would take the train out of South Station and wind up four hours later at Penn Station is New York. Then there was the time when I visited my younger brother in Pennsylvania. I took the train from Dover, Delaware (which was closer to his home than Philly) to visit my older brother in Boston. As I recall I had to change trains somewhere, possibly New York, but memory fails me on that one. And of course there were the times when the kids were young and we would take the train from Santa Ana to San Diego. It was always fun to travel to San Diego by train cause the kids got a kick out of being able to move around on the trip and loved watching the ocean as we zipped by right next to the surf. Then there was a disscovery that I could take a train to visit my niece and her family in Woodland Hills. Chatsworth station on the Metroline is about 15 minutes from her home. A much nicer trip than the 405 and 101 especially in heavy traffic. Now that I stop to think of it, I don't recall there ever being a time I've driven up there when there wasn't heavy traffic.
Now I find trains and bus the easiest way to get to Fresno / Coarsegold when I go to visit my friend Judi. I simply pick up my daughter at her office and she drives me to the train station in Irvine. She gets to use my car, a newer one than hers, for the time I'm gone and easily picks me up after work the day I return. I get on the Surfliner for the one hour trip to Union Station. Then I shlep my luggage out to the bus which takes approximately two hours to get us to Bakersfield. Then back on the train to Fresno where it is convenient (as least she tells me its so) for Judi to pick me up.
The convenience of the train / bus / train trip is many-fold. First and foremost it saves me wear and tear on my car as well as wear and tear on my body. Then of course there's the cost: cheaper than gas and I get to see all the sights and don't have to worry about the nutty drivers around me. It is far more relaxing to sit, read, snooze, listen to my iPod or just look out the window and muse. The timing for the whole trip is about an hour more by train. For the convenience the train gives, it's well worth the extra time.
It also offers me a vicarious look into other people's back yards. I've often wondered: were the train tracks there first or were the house there first. Would someone willingly buy a home backing up to the train tracks? I certainly wouldn't but then it may be the only option for others. I don't think I would enjoy the constant sounds and vibration of trains whizzing by at various hours of the day and night.
On my last trip to Fresno I picked up an Amtrak vacation brochure that listed all the trips. Oh boy, was my mouth ever watering. I would dearly love to take the Denver to Chicago trip especially sometime around the end of fall just before big snows of winter. Then there's the coastal trip from Southern California to maybe Seattle where I have friends. Or how about the autumn foliage trip along the New England states for breath-taking beauty. I would love to take a trip where I had a bedroom set-up. I can just imagine being lulled to sleep by the motion of the train.
So tomorrow I get back on the Surfliner in Irvine for my next trip to Fresno / Coarsgold. Judi will pick me up and we'll decide if we want to go anywhere for the next couple of days or if we'll just hit Yosemite and do some hiking and then the Awanhee for our refreshments.... mmmmm I can taste the Chip Shot already.
What fun! You just reminded me of a train trip Betty and I took to Las Vegas many years ago . . . a perfect subject for a blog entry. See you tomorrow--at the train station!
ReplyDeletemaybe you could take the train to the Grand Canyon and then take a mule. now *that's* an interesting mode of transportation! come to think of it, didn't you already take the train there?
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