Month: March 2022

Who spends time in downtown Los Angeles? Me, as a result of travel arrangements. When I had booked my train legs, I was uncomfortable with planning to get on the Tucson-bound train that leaves just 1 hour after the Coast Starlight is supposed to arrive in L.A., since trains are so often not on time. So I chose to layover a day before catching the Texas Eagle train to Tucson. That left me in downtown Los Angeles, near the train station and the Doubletree, for a whole day. I planned to go to the Skyspace observation floor for a bird’s eye view of the city, which I had booked and paid for through Amtrak Vacations, plus Little Tokyo, which is just a couple blocks away from the hotel.

So I started this morning with that plan and left the hotel in late morning, taking an Uber to the US Bank building. In the lobby when I asked how to reach the Skyspace floor, the information lady told me it had closed at the beginning of the pandemic and wasn’t planning to reopen again. WHAT? Amtrak Vacations never informed me of the closure! So there I was in the business district of downtown, my plan shot. But taking advantage of a beautiful day, I chose to walk around instead. I aimed generally for Little Tokyo and started walking.

I found Little Tokyo, so at least the second half of my plan worked out. In the Japanese Village Plaza I stopped in a bakery and bought a couple of steamed buns filled with chicken curry, which I enjoyed for lunch while seated on a bench outside. Then I visited the Japanese American National Museum across the street, spending a while there absorbing their exhibits of the history of Japanese Americans from initial immigration through the internments during World War II. The exhibits were well done and moving.

After walking back through Little Tokyo to the hotel, I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the lobby and hitting the adjacent Starbucks. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant, then I picked up my luggage from the hotel’s storage and returned to Union station via Uber for the 10 p.m. train, with another roomette, to Tucson.

The train left on time and I was asleep not much later.

My trip to Tucson and Galveston for birdwatching started out with a new experience for me: an overnight journey by train. Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train from Seattle to Los Angeles departed at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, March 28, with me aboard. After a bus ride with luggage from Issaquah to the train station, I boarded the train and was greeted by my train car’s attendant, Cindy. She directed me upstairs to roomette 2 on the left (eastern) side of the car, where I settled in.

Cindy provided me with all the informed I needed as a first time overnighter on Amtrak and was friendly and talkative. During the 35-hour ride, she supplied me with bottled water whenever I ran low, got my bed ready at night and put it away in the morning, and was fun to talk with.

I had 5 meals in the dining car, just one car away from mine. Unfortunately, due to COVID protocols, everyone could eat only with their own family/party, so I dined alone. It also meant eating on plastic dishes with plastic utensils. Passengers could choose whether to be served in their room or in the dining car, and many chose their rooms, so the dining car was never very full. The food was good, with some decadent desserts including a wonderful flourless chocolate torte, and even free alcoholic beverages. Sitting in the dining and lounge cars gave me the opportunity to see the view on the other side of the train from my roomette.

The first day in Washington and Oregon was cloudy and showery. The train was in southern Oregon when I went to bed Monday night, stopping in Klamath Falls as I tried to fall asleep. Although the motion of the train was comfortable rocking, I found it difficult to sleep with the various noises of passing freight trains and the hard bed. I finally drifted off, getting a few hours of solid sleep.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, we were in California and it was sunny through some fog. The sun continued as we passed through Sacramento, Gilroy, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and then along the coast. My roomette wasn’t on the ocean side of the train, but as I ate and early dinner at 5:00 in the dining car, I enjoyed the view of the coast.

The train arrived in Los Angeles about 8:45 p.m., the last stop on the route. I “detrained” and found my way to the front of Union Station, where I summoned an Uber ride for the 5-minute drive to my hotel, the Doubletree on South Los Angeles Street. My 10th floor room gave me a view over the city. I was happy to have a more comfortable bed than on the train and fell asleep quickly.

I’m looking forward to traveling again after staying home for two long pandemic years! I’m making sure my blog skills and tools are up to date and hoping that 2022 brings new travel adventures.