Now that I know the pic link works...
Departed LAUS on time, 5-7-07. Decided to hang out in the Pacific Parlour Car and soon got a pal in an older guy named Walt. He was headed for Eugene, OR. ""Where ya headed?" is always my first question.
We yapped and enjoyed the scenery from L.A. to San Luis Obispo. As we got underway out of SLO I walked the train to get pics of the horseshoe curve.
Starlight to Builder 1
For those wondering about the SDS policy I have the answer: The Food Stinks. Virtually inedible. To those who have said it's okay, I can only say that they must have very low standards. It sucks. There's no getting around this. And it's not just me. Not a single person I talked with aboard the Coast Starlight had anything good to say about the food in the diner, and I talked with a few. My buddy Walt was convinced that the "Angus burger" was made of filler. He said, "I ranched Angus for 30 years, and that ain't Angus."
I had the burger, but couldn't really tell. By that time I was so damn hungry that I woulda eaten brakeshoes.
Bad food.
The trip itself, however, was great as always. Fantastic scenery, and a very nice sleeper attendant. She converted my roomette right after Oakland. At Oakland a guy asked me for a light for his cigar. Of course I obliged, and we started talking. Turned out he was a Marine Corps pilot who had flown in Vietnam.
Yeah, you say, anybody can claim that. And I agree. But this guy knew details of his type of plane - A-4 Skyhawk - which I used to work on myself. I knew the details too. Genuine, and a helluva nice guy.
One of the most fun things - to me - about riding the rails is meeting people you'd never meet otherwise.
Patrick
Departed LAUS on time, 5-7-07. Decided to hang out in the Pacific Parlour Car and soon got a pal in an older guy named Walt. He was headed for Eugene, OR. ""Where ya headed?" is always my first question.
We yapped and enjoyed the scenery from L.A. to San Luis Obispo. As we got underway out of SLO I walked the train to get pics of the horseshoe curve.
Starlight to Builder 1
For those wondering about the SDS policy I have the answer: The Food Stinks. Virtually inedible. To those who have said it's okay, I can only say that they must have very low standards. It sucks. There's no getting around this. And it's not just me. Not a single person I talked with aboard the Coast Starlight had anything good to say about the food in the diner, and I talked with a few. My buddy Walt was convinced that the "Angus burger" was made of filler. He said, "I ranched Angus for 30 years, and that ain't Angus."
I had the burger, but couldn't really tell. By that time I was so damn hungry that I woulda eaten brakeshoes.
Bad food.
The trip itself, however, was great as always. Fantastic scenery, and a very nice sleeper attendant. She converted my roomette right after Oakland. At Oakland a guy asked me for a light for his cigar. Of course I obliged, and we started talking. Turned out he was a Marine Corps pilot who had flown in Vietnam.
Yeah, you say, anybody can claim that. And I agree. But this guy knew details of his type of plane - A-4 Skyhawk - which I used to work on myself. I knew the details too. Genuine, and a helluva nice guy.
One of the most fun things - to me - about riding the rails is meeting people you'd never meet otherwise.
Patrick
