Weekend Driver San Diego

The Southwest Chief arrived right on time in Lamy and the van was there to pick me up for the half-hour drive to Santa Fe and my hotel. My friend Janet lives just a few blocks from the old Plaza and within a fewhours of my arrival, she’s taking me on a driving and walking [...]

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 [...]