California & the Pacific Ocean

After our lunch at the TRAXX restaurant in LA Union Station, we were boarded onto our train #14 the Coast Starlight just after 1 pm. I boarded at the 1432 car and settled in bedroom E, which is just at the top of the stairs. I noticed that this was an unrenovated car, and when I walked next door and saw that the 1431 car had been renovated, I decided to ask the conductor when he came by if I could switch cars if there was space available. The showers are slightly larger with the curved door in the renovated cars.

It was just my luck, and I got moved into bedroom B in the 1431 car. Now, some might say that I was better off in 1432 in the E bedroom, as the sofa was facing forward and it doesn't share a wall with another room, but I think I will be happier in the renovated car myself.

I headed down to the Pacific Parlor Car to grab a glass of wine and enjoy the view as we traveled past the ocean. For those of you that aren't familiar with the train, the PPC is a car that is ONLY found on the Coast Starlight train, and one of the reasons that I traveled all the way to LA via the SWC when I could have taken the Empire Builder straight to Seattle from Chicago.  I was pleased as punch when I saw the PPC in the consist today, and I was even more thrilled when I sat in the car and drank a glass of wine.

The wine tasting started around 3 PM, and Mel and Francis, the PPC attendants, poured generous servings of wine accompanied by cheese. Mel told us that we were in luck, as the wine tasting used to cost $5 until last week. He also noted that they had just changed all of the wines offered during the tasting. We tasted four different wines and had three different cheese, and it was all included with the price of the ticket.  At the wine tasting I met Rick, a business man who boarded in Simi and was headed to Salinas. He pointed out some sights as we moved up the coast. The scenery was OFF THE HOOK - the train was practically on a cliff with the Pacific Ocean to the west of us. I also met Debbi, who was traveling with her husband all way the up to Washington and has also taken many trains.

I am scheduled to have dinner at 5:30 in the PPC. It is 4:30 now and I figured it would be the perfect time to relax in my room before dinner. Even though we started late today, so far this train has proven to be the most exciting and most fun of them all, and I am so thrilled that I was able to include the Coast Starlight in my trip. Now I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that we don't end up 10 hours late, like the train before us!

The consist of this train is engine - engine - trans/dorm - sleeper - sleeper - sleeper - PPC - dining car - SSL - coach - coach - coach.