Weekend Driver San Diego

Here’s another video from the Coast Starlight, tunnel to tunnel in the Cascades. From Feb. 9, 2011.

From my Starlight trip, a blog entry I wrote but didn’t post. Enjoy… Around Mt. Shasta, Feb. 10 After a decent night’s sleep, those of us on the Coast Starlight today awoke to blue skies as we looped around Mt. Shasta. The big rock is covered with snow and glistened in the morning sun. I [...]

After the bus trip to Portland, it’s been a nice ride down the west coast.My dinner last night was a fine piece of halibut in the dining car. Dining on a train is a great experience; watching the world go by and the waiters managing to work from a tiny prep area and never spill [...]

So a few things I learned about GPS on the train and when I got to Seattle. First, I left my trusty Garmin Nuvi at home, thinking I would rely on the GPS I expected to have in the car I would drive, plus the two (count ‘em, two) GPS systems in my Android phone. [...]

After a decent night’s sleep, those of us on the Coast Starlight today awoke to blue skies as we looped around Mt. Shasta. The big rock is covered with snow and glistened in the morning sun. I popped into the dining car to enjoy an early breakfast (not one of Amtrak’s best) while we twisted [...]

Aboard the Amtrak Coast Starlight Well, once again the auto writer is on the train. I’m heading to some cold weather (after 80 degrees in San Diego) in Seattle and driving in eastern Washington for a bit of a break. Caught the Pacific Surfliner this morning in San Diego to Los Angeles, then about an [...]

Back in 2000, I took one of Amtrak’s tour packages, the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, with a stopover for a few days at the historic Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier, Mont. In 2010, wanting a bit of a rest, I decided to again take the train a long distance, this time from [...]

I’m headed out to Santa Fe, NM, on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. About a half hour before the 6:45 p.m. departure, the conductor’s call echos through the historic Los Angeles Union Station… “Now boarding, Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, with stops at…” At the time, I’m wandering around Union Station and head to the track tunnel, where the [...]

After several attempts, I’m off to Santa Fe, NM, to visit my friend, the author Janet Lowe. Wanting to get some rest, avoid airports and try something different, I opted for the overnight trip on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. Leaving San Diego on the Pacific Surfliner, its a bit more than two traffic-free hours to the [...]