- Joined
- Jun 7, 2019
- Messages
- 3
In January this year I took my first trip to the USA by myself and my first trip on Amtrak. I was visiting my family in Boston, and thought that rather than flying across the country it would be far more fun to enjoy the journey by train, while getting to visit new cities like Chicago and San Francisco!
This has been my second time travelling on overnight trains, after being on Snälltåget’s overnight ski train from Lund to Åre in Sweden!
After spending several days enjoying Los Angeles and the warm weather, I began my first journey on the Coast Starlight on Saturday January 12th.
When I arrived at the Union Station, I was surprised to be the first passenger at Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge. I woke up early that morning, being anxious to not miss the train! I did not want to repeat my holiday in Penang, Malaysia where I slept through my alarm and nearly missed my flight back to Australia!
As the morning progressed more and more people started filling the lounge, until an announcement was made that the Coast Starlight had arrived and was ready for boarding. Being my first time in LA, I was a bit nervous and unsure where to find the platform, but an older Canadian man let me follow him to the train. Seeing the Superliner cars for the first time was quite awe inspiring, as they are much larger in person than I expected!
Although this would only be a daytime segment for me from Los Angeles to Oakland, I chose to travel in a roomette as it was only $20 more than business class. The free lunch and dinner on the train made it a worthwhile investment!
As the train started moving it was exciting to see leave Los Angeles behind and see the scenery change into rolling hills.
We received announcements from the Conductor informing us to stay in our seats until our tickets had been checked, and also from the cafe attendant Moses, who was hilarious. Soon after a dining car attendant came round the train taking reservations for Lunch. I chose the first sitting, but my ticket still hadn’t been checked by the conductor. Conflicted, I made my way over to the dining car - my ticket never ended up being checked at all on the journey.
I got to enjoy Amtrak’s cheeseburger, which is surprisingly good for train food, and a delicious caramel parfait for dessert. I loved the caramel parfait so much it was the only dessert I had on Amtrak!
My favourite part of the Coast Starlight was getting to spend hours next to the Pacific Ocean, just metres away from the sea!
As we traversed inland we passed green hills that appeared like it was straight out of a Microsoft desktop photo.
I arrived at Oakland - Jack London Square only one hour late, which seemed punctual by Amtrak standards!
I was excited to explore San Francisco, and couldn’t wait for my next adventure, on the California Zephyr...
This has been my second time travelling on overnight trains, after being on Snälltåget’s overnight ski train from Lund to Åre in Sweden!
After spending several days enjoying Los Angeles and the warm weather, I began my first journey on the Coast Starlight on Saturday January 12th.
When I arrived at the Union Station, I was surprised to be the first passenger at Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge. I woke up early that morning, being anxious to not miss the train! I did not want to repeat my holiday in Penang, Malaysia where I slept through my alarm and nearly missed my flight back to Australia!
As the morning progressed more and more people started filling the lounge, until an announcement was made that the Coast Starlight had arrived and was ready for boarding. Being my first time in LA, I was a bit nervous and unsure where to find the platform, but an older Canadian man let me follow him to the train. Seeing the Superliner cars for the first time was quite awe inspiring, as they are much larger in person than I expected!
Although this would only be a daytime segment for me from Los Angeles to Oakland, I chose to travel in a roomette as it was only $20 more than business class. The free lunch and dinner on the train made it a worthwhile investment!
As the train started moving it was exciting to see leave Los Angeles behind and see the scenery change into rolling hills.
We received announcements from the Conductor informing us to stay in our seats until our tickets had been checked, and also from the cafe attendant Moses, who was hilarious. Soon after a dining car attendant came round the train taking reservations for Lunch. I chose the first sitting, but my ticket still hadn’t been checked by the conductor. Conflicted, I made my way over to the dining car - my ticket never ended up being checked at all on the journey.
I got to enjoy Amtrak’s cheeseburger, which is surprisingly good for train food, and a delicious caramel parfait for dessert. I loved the caramel parfait so much it was the only dessert I had on Amtrak!
My favourite part of the Coast Starlight was getting to spend hours next to the Pacific Ocean, just metres away from the sea!
As we traversed inland we passed green hills that appeared like it was straight out of a Microsoft desktop photo.
I arrived at Oakland - Jack London Square only one hour late, which seemed punctual by Amtrak standards!
I was excited to explore San Francisco, and couldn’t wait for my next adventure, on the California Zephyr...