As all great things have to come to an end, at some point,
so does this journey. I woke up in Sacramento this morning, California’s capital.
Well I had woken up many times during the night as I didn’t get the best sleep
on the aisle seat. However, somehow I had managed to fall asleep again. I still
could remember some of the station stops the train did during the night like in
Klamath Falls, OR, Dunsmuir, CA, Redding, CA and Chico, CA. It felt good to be
back in California, it was almost like coming back home. Also the train had
made up the delay during the night and was almost on schedule again. Soon after
I had gotten up I went to the launch car in order to get some breakfast. After
Sacramento the train did stops in Davis, CA and Martinez, CA before reaching
Emeryville, CA. Soon before Emeryville a beautiful view opened up towards San
Francisco and I could see the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco. At
8.20 am we reached Emeryville where my journey had begun exactly 45 days ago when
I had boarded the first train there, the California Zephyr to Denver. After a
few minutes the Coast Starlight did its next stop at Oakland Jack London Square
station. Running along the bay we reached San Jose, CA about an hour after we
had left Oakland. Most of the following morning the train was running through
the endless farm lands of Northern California. I stayed all morning in the
launch car and spent the time with writing. The next stop Salinas, CA was
reached well ahead schedule but the departure got delayed by more than 15
minutes due to a medical emergency. The ambulance had to be called. Soon after
we had left Salinas the dining car attendant came in order to collect orders
for lunch. All spots had been filled with sleeping car passengers and I was put
on the waiting list. I was sitting in the first car right behind the diner and
was therefore number one on the waiting list. Still I didn’t expect to be
called to the diner any soon. Therefore I got a little snack from the launch
car cafeteria. I had just opened the package when they announced the first
seating and the parties on top of the waiting list. I had to rush to get the
snack back to my seat together with my PC and camera. I was just downloading
pictures from the camera to my computer. I had my obligatory Veggie Burger, now
for the last time. After lunch I returned first to my seat, just to find
another fellow passenger that had now gotten the window seat next to me. I
finished my snack and went back to the launch car where I could sit by the
window and enjoy the beautiful Central Californian landscape. The next stop was
in Paso Robles, CA which we reached about 30 minutes behind schedule. Before
approaching San Luis Obispo, CA some breathtaking views opened up and the train
took some very sharp turns. As I was seated in the middle of the train I could
see both ends of the train at once. After we had left San Luis Obispo I got
some company at my table in the launch car, a very friendly older gentlemen
from Simi Valley. We had some interesting travel stories to share and once we
got closer towards Santa Barbara he pointed out many interesting spots along
the tracks as he was very familiar with the area. He was very inspired by my 45
USA Rail trip and got very interested in doing a similar trip in the future.
Once we reached the coast the scenery became indescribable beautiful as the
train went very close along the coast. Closer than any road, even the Pacific
Coast Highway, would ever get you. We had a short stop in Santa Barbara, CA
before we continued along the coast. Soon before we reached Oxnard, CA we left
the coast behind and went inland. From Oxnard is was about two more hours to
Los Angeles. The train did some last stops in Simi Valley, CA, Van Nuys, CA,
Burbank-Bob Hope Airport, CA and finally at 8.40 pm about 20 minutes ahead time
the Coast Starlight pulled into Los Angeles Union Station. After 215 hours on the train and 10.110 miles
on the rails I was back in LA. I claimed my bags and was then off to the bus
that took me to my apartment.
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| Coast Starlight at LA Union Station |
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