Day -1
5/15/2023
Northern California to Los Angeles, California
Click here for location (Go Live: 5/16/2023)
I love me a good train! Amanda and I awoke north of Sacramento to the rocking of the rails, just as we had fallen asleep. I took a look outside and quickly noted the change in scenery, a drastic transformation from the high mountains of the cascades into the rich and fertile fields of the Central Valley.
We righted ourselves and replaced the mattress on the top bunk before brushing our teeth and heading two cars down to the dining car. We were seated on the right side of the train just as it came to a stop in Sacramento's historic train station. Amanda ordered the classic Amtrak French toast and I followed suit, adding an order of coffee. We chatted for a while about the trail and about how beautiful the valley was. Eventually the French toast arrived and we dug in, smiling at the fresh strawberries strewn over the top. As the food arrived the train pushed off heading south towards Oakland and the Bay Area.
After lunch we continued on down the train to the observation car where we found two open seats and sat to enjoy the views. Out to the east we could just see the mountains rising from the floor of the valley but not enough detail to tell their condition. We watched in silence for a while as the coastal range drew near. After a while we decided to give up our seats for several of the others we had seen wandering down the aisle way looking for a place to sit and headed back to our own room.
In our room we read for the rest of the morning. Amanda had purchased the “Wheel of Time'' series, all 13 books, for our shared library and I was catching up to her with every passing hour. The station moved past in a blur as we transitioned through Martinez and Emeryville before the conductor called out Oakland. From Oakland, the train turned into a smaller but even more stunning set of valleys headed towards San Jose. After San Jose, we began to transition into the northern Salinas Valley which will always hold a special place in my heart.
Salinas is, and will always be, my first home town. When my family moved out of California in 2002 we actually took the Coast Starlight north to Corvallis from the Salinas Amtrak station to do some reconnaissance before ultimately moving up. So it was with a certain amount of gravity that I looked out the window at the neat rows of lettuce and strawberries passing by in a blur remembering the very early years of my life traveling between Salinas and the Monterey bay aquarium. In fact, the entire PCT is extra special for me as I grew up in various parts of each state that the trail passes through and it represents a chance to connect the many backpacking trips I had taken through the years in one grand stretch. As we left San Jose, Amanda and I made our way back to the dining car for lunch.
We were seated at a window looking out the west side of the train. Amanda ordered a good looking alternative meat burger and i was inspired by the table next to us to try the goat cheese salad. The light played off the hills making Steinbeck country pop all around us with beautiful greens and yellows. We ate as the train passed through the patchwork quilt of fields around Gilroy and finished lunch about 10 minutes before the stop for Salinas.The conductor came on and indicated that the Salinas stop would be an extended one and Amanda suggested that we step off.
We thanked the waiter and slipped back to our room putting our things away as we did and then headed down to the exit as the train began to slow. In Salinas, we stepped off the train and meanderd along the platform, not wanting to wander too far. The stop was short, despite the “extension” and i had time to peer off at the top of the old Steinbeck museum I had spent so much time in as a kid. Eventually the train whistle blew signaling that we should get back on the train. Begrudgingly i stepped back up and on. The doors closed behind me and the train was in motion again.
From Salinas the train continued on south. Amanda and I spent most of our time in the car enjoying the sights outside and the “Wheel of Time” series. That evening we enjoyed another delicious dinner and talked with two guys from Berkeley while the train passed along some of the most beautiful coast line we had seen so far. Eventually, the waiters interrupted our dinner and kindly kicked us out of the diner car. We hadn’t noticed that it had cleared from everyone but us. The last hour we spent reading before the train finally reached it’s destination, Los Angeles Union Station.
We disembarked from the train and made our way to the Uber pick-up point, bleary-eyed from the long ride. The Uber was waiting for us and sped us to the hotel in downtown LA where we bought a few yogurts for the next morning and some Gatorades. Feeling full and excited we both took one last chance to wash our hair before gettting into bed and calling an amazing close to our journey south. Now all that was left was to walk back!
