Although we flew down to L.A. from Seattle at the beginning of our trip, because Nigel is a train aficionado, we had decided to take the Amtrak train called the
Coast Starlight back home, a two-day trip. The Coast Starlight is Amtrak's last remaining full-service sleeper train. We engaged a sleeping car, with complimentary meals.
Unfortunately, because of my migraine, I had decided to skip my plans to visit the
Huntington Gardens the day after my visit to Kris Peterson, which also meant, unfortunately, that I didn't get to tour the Huntington with another California blogger, Denise Maher, who writes the blog
A Growing Obsession. I spent a large part of that day in my room, with high hopes that the headache would have passed by the next day, when we had to leave. By evening, I was well enough to eat a light meal, and thought with a good night's sleep, I might be all set for a fun trip. But that was not to be.
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| Not our train (that's the Disneyland train) |
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| That's more like it! |
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| The bench converts into a bed, with another bunk bed above |
Because of my migraine headache, I spent the first day of our trip laid out on the bench seat, with an ice pack pressed to my head and the window shades drawn to keep the sunlight out. Nigel ate two delicious meals, while I decided to pass on food.
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| Sink, cabinet, complimentary bottles of water (our own little bathroom is just around the corner of the cabinet) |
(My thanks to Nigel for the rest of these photos, as I was incapacitated.)
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| One of the dining cars |
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| View of the Pacific Ocean from the train |
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| California countryside and the front of the train |
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| More California |
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| Yet more California |
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| Finally, on the second day, Oregon! |
By morning, I was finally feeling better, and managed to eat some breakfast, a snack around lunchtime, and then a full supper, just after we left Portland. We left L.A.'s Union Station at about 10 a.m. on Thursday morning, and arrived in Seattle at about 9:00 p.m. the next night, on Friday. The second day was much more pleasant than the first, and I wish I could have enjoyed it more.
I know I'll get another chance to visit Southern California in the future. I want a do-over!
