Riding the Rails Trip #1
I took #714 South to Bakersfield, then the bus to Union Station in L.A.
For the return trip, I took the bus from L.A. to Bakersfield and then train #713 home to the Denair station.
I set out on train #714. The Amtrak train would take me from the Turlock/Denair station (located on Santa Fe in Denair) to the end of the line in Bakersfield. There, I would board a bus and travel over the Grapevine to Los Angeles’ Union Station. I was taking the trip to help out some family and I didn’t want to worry about driving and all the stress that often comes along with it.
I scheduled a train that left late enough that I was able to attend church with my two-year-old in the morning and still early enough that I was able to have dinner with my girlfriend in Los Angeles that evening. It was perfect.
While the Turlock/Denair train station is little more than an over-sized bus stop, it still makes for a nice send-off point. Connor seemed to like watching the train pull out of the station, though he later realized that the train was taking mommy away for a few days. I waved to my family as the train headed south down the tracks. I wish they had actually seen me as I waved.
I had no intention of eating anything on the train, but that didn’t take long to change. When I got my cup of coffee and saw that some of the prices were really reasonable, I knew I would have to take another look. So, when I was still hungry after eating the bagel I’d brought along, I scoped out the rest of the menu. One of the things that they had was a Hummus Snack Kit. I gave it a try and it was so worth it. It was pretty good as was the price. It cost $2.50. I also got a refill on my cup of coffee. That was a well-spent $1.50, too. The coffee includes free refills.
The candies are a little pricier than many places, but they are “king sized” candies and the prices are still better than you find at a movie theater.
The light snack was filling enough for my lunchtime travel, but didn’t fill me too much. I was still able to enjoy a nice dinner with my friend and her husband upon my arrival in Los Angeles.
On the way home, I had a breakfast burrito which left something to be desired, but I still thought it made an OK breakfast. I once again got a cup of coffee and took full advantage of the available refills. I also got a “Rice Krispies” treat that was by far the largest one I have ever seen! For lunch I had a Hummus Snack Kit and tried one of their wine selections, the Cabernet Sauvignon. I had an early bus out of Los Angeles and arrived home close to 2 p.m.
One of the most memorable train moments ever (for me) came when en route to Bakersfield on the southbound train, I witnessed an exchange between a Dodgers fan passenger and the Giants fan Dining Car server. The server, referred to as “The King,” was quite patient and very tolerant of even the most annoying passengers. He is who convinced me to go ahead and try the hummus when I asked about it.
The server on the way home wasn’t quite as friendly. He seemed a little stricter in some ways, I guess. But, he was nice and let me sit, sip my coffee and work on my writing in peace. (I figured out at some point on the way home that luggage is apparently not supposed to be in the dining car and I had settled myself in at a table for the long-haul.)
The journey on the train allowed me to people watch, rest and photograph my way down the Valley and back again. It made for a far more relaxing trip than I would have had if I’d driven. I look forward to one day taking a train trip with Connor and Darrel. I know it will be a completely different experience as a family than it was for a solo trip. I would certainly recommend it for whatever your needs.
You could, actually, take the train into the Bay Area, buy a BART ticket and use BART to get around. It may be something worth trying.
I am looking into short trips we can do as a family, as well as considering the longer one to Southern California. I am also hoping to try to travel as a family to Oregon where I have friends and family. The coastal train may be worth trying for that trip. I will be sure to share some of the experiences with you, our readers, as we give these trips a try. Train travel is certainly something high on my list to do again and the prices are quite reasonable. My roundtrip to Los Angeles was under $80.
Connor did such a great job on the short train ride in Jamestown in September, I look forward to seeing how he does on a “new” passenger train.
Amtrak has stations in Stockton, Modesto, Turlock/Denair, Merced, Madera and Fresno. Additional stations are along the way between Fresno and Bakersfield. This, of course, is the San Joaquin. Other California routes include the California Zephyr (which my parents and grandparents have enjoyed), the Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor and the Pacific Surfliner.
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 10:48 pm and is filed under News, Train of Thought. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
