I Heart The Train!

Whenever I go visit friends in San Diego, my preferred method of transportation is via train.

Specifically, the Pacific Surfliner, pictured above pulling into sunny downtown San Diego. I love the train for so many reasons, I wonder if just one blog entry can even do it justice. But I can try. For the train, I will try.

First, there is the beautiful Union Station in downtown Los Angeles: In the midst of the accountants, crackheads, and rats (yes, folks, LA has rats - I've seen them) that populate downtown Los Angeles, there is this magnificent building. Which is only more support for my burgeoning love for/obsession with downtown LA. Look at it! It's gorgeous!

I like looking at the board with the arrivals and departures as if I am a foreign backpacker making my way around the country. I usually sit in one of the old leather chairs and read while waiting for my call for departure.

Which brings me to my next point: productivity! I am all about maximizing my limited free time, and the train fits that mandate wonderfully. If I was driving on the 405, my supplementary activities would be limited to listening to the radio and/or talking on the celly. There would also be the threat of debilitating traffic. However, while I am on the train, I can do whatever I want! I can read, write correspondence, eat, drink (folks: they sell beer and wine on board! Not that I am at liberty to indulge at the moment...), sleep, work on my needlepoint (if I knew how or was so inclined) - really, there are limitless possibilities. And if you want to do NOTHING - there is always the beautiful Pacific Ocean right outside your window so you can sit and stare and contemplate the nature of Man.

Here's another brilliant point - one more person on the train (me) equals one less car on the road (Loretta). The passengers on the train are effectively working to save the environment! Mass transit works! And unlike the airport, where you have to get there all early, check your baggage, get your liquids confiscated, traverse across terminals, blah blah blah, there is none of that at the train station! You get there, you check in, and you are on your train. For this you require maybe 10 minutes. The train gets me to San Diego in about the same amount of time it would take me to drive.

The train does not come without it's drawbacks, however, outlined below:

• Prohibitive cost. A roundtrip ticket from LA to Solana Beach (north SD) will run you about $46. Add to that parking at Union Station, which is about $6 per day. Sadly, gas is more economical.
• Train's getting popular. Fridays and Sundays are especially crowded. This weekend I had to sit backwards from LA, and I sat with a "new companion" on the way back. Not ideal train-riding conditions for me, but still not enough to put me off the idea either. Business class is always an option to ensure greater comfort and exclusivity, but that brings us back to the first bullet.

So, for now, the train remains a "special treat" that I like to indulge in when I know I have the extra cash, and when I can ride at non-peak times to avoid the masses. I love it! The adventures you can have on the train! You can meet new friends (I met some Heineken-drinking 19-year old Marines on this last trip - Hi Tony). On my birthday, the conductor gave me a FREE upgrade to business class, where I kicked up my feet with a complimentary bottle of the finest in twist-off-cap wine. Thank you, Pacific Surfliner, Amtrak, and locomotive lovers everywhere - and long live the train!