The trip map is pretty impressive... it was a LONG ways!
Loading Gar with stuff... the little guy was pretty happy
-- luckily, he likes to go for rides.
Seattle was its usual self... and that's one of the
reasons I like this area so much!
They were pretty organized at the train station...
they've been doing it a while, so I guess they have it down
pretty good.
Heading out to the Coast Starlight, the name Amtrak gives
the route.
Our "roomette" was pretty nice! We weren't about to
get lost in it or anything, but we had enough room to spread
out, and enjoy the trip. The little guy latched on to
one of the oranges they gave us as we were leaving the
station... he played with that thing pretty much the whole
trip.
An interesting view of the Tacoma dome...
... and another interesting view of the Tacoma Narrows
Bridges...
The Dining car was quite nice, I thought.
It was eating with the view... and the view was pretty
nice!
The food was MUCH better than I'd expected! I
thought it was going to be something like airline food used
to be, but I was pleasantly surprised. The meals were
included with our room, but they didn't seem to be too
outrageous, anyway.
Heading into Portland, another interesting view of the
bridges there.
Portland's station was my favorite along the way, I
think.
It certainly seemed to be the busiest of the stops...
It just had the "look" of what I'd expected.
Heading over the steel bridge. The car deck is
above the train deck. Built just after the turn of the
century, this bridge has seen a log of use over the years!
I think its interesting that its a draw bridge. Its
famous for getting stuck "up" from time to time.
We passed by a lot of history...
They didn't have a parlor car, but we did get to enjoy
the observation car... a very nice place to go and 'spread
out'.
The little guy had a great time watching the outside pass
by. I wonder if he thought WE were stationary, and the
ground was moving... =]
when he wasn't watching, he played with some of the toys
we brought. We'd bring out a new one every so often,
to keep him interested.
This park was pretty odd. we couldn't decide if it
was that way on purpose, or if the taggers had overrun it.
The sign on the fence says "Private Property No
Trespassing"...
Salmon, cheese Lasagna, and a peanut butter - caramel
tort. Nice!
As the sun was setting on the first day, we ran through
some smoke -- this was the closest we got to seeing any of
the fires that have been in the news.
The next morning, the little guy was in good spirits!
The scenery changed from the green we're used to, and
everything was a dull brown color.
We passed by some pretty large farms!
We also followed the shoreline for a while... very nice
views!
For part of it, the road followed 101
Oil derricks doing their part to help ease our dependence
on foreign oil...
As we pulled into the station at LA, it was evening.
The steward for our car made the little guy a bird... I
thought it was pretty nice of him!
The station at LA was a bit more impressive than
Seattle's, that's for sure!
We grabbed a cab, and headed to our hotel.
At the hotel, the little guy was free to run around, and
it wasn't long before he found his friend in the mirror...
=]
In all, it was a nice trip, I thought. It was
reasonably comfortable, and we were able to get some rest
during the trip. It was a LONG time to spend
travelling, though.
We were
heading to LA to go to a wedding for one of the Shadow
Lady's Cousin's. We decided on a train because we
didn't want to be the target of the stares to the parents of
the infamous little kid who's sick of sitting, and wants to
play. You don't have to stay in your seat on a
train...
