This year
AMTRAK turned 40! So when I realized that I would be able to attend
Blog World Expo 2011 in downtown Los Angeles, I decided to travel by train from Tucson, AZ to
Los Angeles Union Station. Round trip ticket (1000 miles) for a reserved coach class seat (which totally reclines like a La-z-Boy), sans meals, was $70.
Leaving Tucson
Have you ever traveled a long distance by AMTRAK? I have. Every trip is slightly different. This trip I was traveling solo, so I didn't have children to wrangle or a mother-in-law to assist or a husband to convince that he should not opt to disembark from the train three states early! It was just me and a few hundred other travelers who were taking the
Sunset Limited /
Texas Eagle from Tucson to Los Angeles. The train was to leave Tucson at 10:30PM, but on November 3, 2011, it really was the
midnight train to Los Angeles!
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| Palm Springs Wind Farm |
The funny thing is it really didn't matter to me that we left Tucson late. I knew we would be traveling through the night and if sleep escaped me there was a Club Car complete with a snack bar and an observation car to visit. As it turned out, I slept comfortably and awoke around 6:50AM as we approached Palm Springs. The view from my window (captured with my RAZR phone) was the "wind farm". Pretty eerie, don't you think?
For the next two hours I experienced a trip down memory lane. You see I lived a good many years in California's San Gabriel Valley - Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, West Covina...my oldest son was born in San Dimas, I finished college at Cal State Los Angeles (East LA), externed at LA County Hospital and Los Angeles Juvenile Hall and worked in downtown Los Angeles from 1974- 1981. I felt comfortable both on AMTRAK and in Los Angeles.
Arriving Los Angeles Union Station
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| Los Angeles Union Station |
As I said earlier, I was in Los Angeles to attend Blog World Expo 2011 (you can see a link to my review below). Downtown Los Angeles still looks good. It was my first time in the Los Angeles Convention Center on the same campus as the Staples Center.
2 comments:
Judy, sounds fun actually! when we lived in St. Louis a few years back we used to take the train to Chicago for the weekend to shop and eat! I made the trip several times, but one of the best was when my best friend from Birmingham, Alabama drove up to St. louis with her three girls and we boarded the Amtrak train with my oldest daughter and off we went to the 'big city.' The girls were indeed enchanted by the train trip and my friend and I enjoyed relaxing versus driving! It was slow, but fun and the girls, some seven years later, still recall their big trip to Chicago! Thanks for reminding me that train travel can be great!
Jorja,
I love hearing your memories about taking the train to Chicago. We once had a 6-7 hour layover at Chicago Union Station. It was quite early in the morning. First we ventured out for breakfast and then I took the boys to the top of the SEARS Tower.
My children still recall these trips. As do I.
Judy
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