End of the Line

So, now that I’ve been home for a few days, I thought it would be appropriate to wrap things up with some final thoughts and comments. 

As you may have gathered from the previous posts, I had a great time.  The outbound train trip was quite the experience, and was pretty much in line with the various experiences I read in the weeks and months while I was planning this trip.  A thank you definitely should go out to the various people on www.railroad.net, www.btco.net, www.trainweb.org, and other similar sites who previously posted trip reports or answered the questions I had while planning my own trip.

Would I consider doing this again?  If circumstances were right, absolutely.  I’ve heard plenty of good things about Amtrak’s other long distance trains, such as the Southwest Chief and California Zephyr.  Of course, it is hard to find a block of time in which to take a train trip, have time to layover in cities either to sightsee or visit people, and take the train back, which is part of the reason I flew from Vancouver to San Francisco and from Oakland back to the East Coast. 

While Amtrak experience on a train such as the Empire Builder may not be the same as in the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is used by many people as a way of getting around the country, and hopefully Amtrak will get enough money to run and maintain its existing infrastructure, as well as the funds to expand even further.  The Empire Builder that I rode was overbooked from Minot to Whitefish; people do use Amtrak not only for vacation but also to get places.  Also, one can see much more of the country from a train than a plane, meet interesting people, and it is far more relaxing than air travel these days.  Taking the train really is part of one’s vacation experience; it is not just a way to get there.

Anyway, over the past few days, I’ve started to organize through all the various photos that I took over the course of the trip (you’ve seen some previews in my previous posts.  I filled one of my 1 GB memory cards to its capacity, and the other only had room for photos in San Francisco because I deleted some before venturing out to AT&T Park for the first game I attended there.  I have yet to decide if I will do this update in stages, or if I will simply upload to all the various sections at once.  However, here is a preview of what will be coming, organized in the same way my website’s navigation is set up (and hopefully I haven’t left anything out from this list):

• Grand Central (Transit Photography)
  • Chicago, IL
    • New photos of all CTA Rail car types
    • New photos of most CTA bus models
    • New photos of METRA Commuter Rail trains
  • Portland, OR (new section)
    • Photos of TriMet MAX light rail and the Portland Streetcar
    • Photos of TriMet buses
  • Seattle, WA
    • New photos of both King County Metro and Sound Transit buses
    • New photos of the Seattle Center Monorail
  • Vancouver, BC (new section)
    • Photos of SkyTrain
    • Photos of Translink buses operated by the Coast Mountain Bus Company
    • Photos of the West Vancouver Blue Bus
    • Photos of buses operating in Whistler
  • San Francisco, CA
    • New photos of MUNI Metro Streetcars
    • New photos of many MUNI bus types, including MUNI’s Orion VII/HEVs
    • New photos of the Cable Cars
    • New photos of the historic streetcars operating on the F-Market Street Line
  • National Rail Operations
    • New photos of many engine and car types, operated both by Amtrak and various freight railroads, likely to be reorganized into new sections with a section for views from the train
• Skyline Terminal (Non-transit Photography)
  • There will be new photos in the following existing sections:
    • Chicago, IL
      • Including photos from the new Millennium Park
    • Seattle, WA
    • San Francisco, CA
  • The following sections will be created:
    • Portland, OR
      • Including photos from the Portland Rose Garden
    • Vancouver, BC
      • Including photos from Whistler
• Camden Yards (entirely new website section)
  • Camden Yards is a new section of my website, where I will show photos and review the major league baseball stadiums where I have seen games.  These stadiums are as follows:
    • Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles) 
    • Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
    • US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox)
    • Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
    • Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)
    • Shea Stadium (New York Mets)
    • RFK Stadium (Washington Nationals)
    • Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies)
    • AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants)
    • Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners)

As you can probably tell, this will be a quite a large update.  I will post an announcement here once photos from the trip are online, but the best way to find out about the website updates is to join the Oren’s Transit Page update list, which you can do by clicking here and filling out the form.

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed reading about my trip and adventures of the past two weeks or so, and if you were one of the people I visited or saw on the trip, enjoyed hearing about some of them in person, seeing the photos before anyone else had the chance to do so, or sharing in the experiences with me.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me an e-mail at oren@orenstransitpage.com.  Also, if you have not done so, do check out my website, www.orenstransitpage.com, either before or after I’ve uploaded all the various photos (or both). 

This is the last stop, all passengers must leave at this time.  Thank you for riding with us!

Returning on the Redeye

There isn’t much to write about the redeye flight home from Oakland.  After I signed off from my last post, I read a few chapters of Tim Kurkjian’s book, Is This a Great Game or What, before boarding for our flight began.  The plane was late in coming from Denver, its previous flight, but the delay wasn’t too bad.  We began boarding at around midnight PT, and once on board, I pulled an eyeshade over my eyes and tried to go to sleep.  We took off at about 12:25 AM PT, and I feel asleep for good shortly after that.  I woke up a few times during the flight, and woke up for good just as we began our descent into Washington-Dulles International.  We were about 30 minutes late, and an announcement was made asking people who were terminating in Washington or had ample time to make their connections to wait for those with tight connections to deplane, yet most people got up.  Air travel would be far more pleasant if people were not so rude and self-centered; the people who ride Amtrak are far more relaxed.  I got off the plane at about 8:10 AM ET, rode the mobile lounge to the main terminal to collect my luggage, and then took a taxi home, arriving there about one hour later, thus officially ending my trip.

A post with concluding thoughts will soon be posted here, as well as information about where to find photos from my trip, once those are online, so do keep checking in.  Alternatively, you can join the update list for my website, Oren’s Transit Page, to find out when the photos are posted there.  Simply click on the link for Grand Central or the Skyline Terminal, and then scroll down to the update list signup.  The update list for both sections is identical, and your email address will not be given out to anyone as a result of signing up for my list.

Home Sweet Home

I am back at home.  Details on the last leg of the trip and the start of organizing and posting many photos to come.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame Twice

Good evening from Oakland International Airport, where I am awaiting my redeye flight back home.  It is just after 10 PM PT on Thursday, August 9.  I am due in to Washington-Dulles at about 7:40 AM ET tomorrow morning.  However, my plane is coming from Denver and is late.  Therefore, my flight will be leaving late. 

Before continuing further, I should state that I was not as diligent in recording the vehicle numbers of the trains I was on here in San Francisco as I would have liked, so there are missing numbers, and others I am not totally sure of.  And with that out of the way, I can now tell you about my time in San Francisco, the last city on my trip.

On Wednesday morning, I took a cab from Janet’s house to Vancouver International Airport.  The cab ride only took about 20 minutes, and no more than 25, and was quite nice.  I got a glimpse of a Translink facility from the cab.  There was no line to check-in, and I proceeded straight to US Customs.  The United States has a customs preclearance facility at Vancouver International, so anyone on a US-bound flights does customs prior to boarding their flight.  However, the computers were down, so it took longer than it should have to go through the customs line.  However, I believe I was through that line at about 9:50 AM PT, not too long after I had arrived at the airport and with plenty of time to spare before my flight was to board.  I bought a USAToday and some breakfast, read the newspaper while eating, and then wrote the travelogue post about my close brush with baseball history.  The airplane was then ready for boarding.  While I purchased my ticket through United, the flight was an Air Canada flight on an Embraer E90 jet.  And while I had been assigned to seat 22A, a window seat, when I had confirmed my flight before leaving home several weeks ago, I discovered upon check-in that morning I was now in 12D, an aisle in the bulkhead row, which I much preferred.  The flight itself was uneventful, although we had a 20 minute taxi to leave Vancouver, and the pilot on our plane only told us after landing at San Francisco International that it is normal to have other planes landing on a parallel runway coming in on the same approach visible just outside our plane’s windows.  Excellent timing on his part.  After deplaning, I proceeded to baggage claim, and then took the AirTrain to the BART station to head into downtown San Francisco.

BART is very much like the Washington, DC Metro, in that it is a subway-commuter rail hybrid, but it leans closer to commuter railroad than the DC Metro does.  Unfortunately, there are no railfan windows on BART.  I took BART from the poorly designed San Francisco Airport stop on a train that was only 4 cars long for some reason I cannot comprehend to Civic Center (car number 2569, I believe), where I transferred to the MUNI Metro Subway.  However, due to a train at Montgomery that had “no forward motion”, there was a delay in service, and I had to wait over 10 minutes for an N-Judah streetcar (1527) which I took to my hotel.  The hotel was recommended to me by my second cousins, who used to live in the area, and it worked out well.  I checked in, unpacked, downloaded my email, and wrote about my last day in Vancouver for the travelogue. 

Then, it was off to AT&T Park, for that night’s game between the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals.  The reason for coming to San Francisco was that I figured if I am doing all this traveling, why not add one more city so that I could make it to another ballpark, since ultimately, I wish to make it to every single one?  I looked at all the matchups for that night, figured out where I could fly to easily from Vancouver, and had it narrowed down to Toronto or San Francisco, before choosing the latter due to what I had heard about the ballpark there, and the fact that the Nationals, my second favorite team, were playing.  Since Barry Bonds already had his 756th career home run, this was now a fairly meaningless game between two last place teams.  However, Barry Bonds did hit a home run (his 757th), and the Giants went on to win the game 5-0.  Despite it being early August, it was a very cool evening.  Additionally, the afternoon fog was starting to roll in and the weather had already been cloudy, so the amazing views of the San Francisco Bay were not to be had.  A number of fans seated near me said it was better during the day time.

After the game, I took the N Line back to the hotel, and determined my options for the next day.  I went to sleep at around 1 AM PT, and got up in the 8 AM hour.  I went to breakfast off the hotel lobby, then returned to my room.  Earlier in the week, I bought a ticket to the Thursday afternoon Giants-Nationals game, hoping to increase my chances of seeing Bonds break the home run record.  Unless you’ve only started reading my travelogue with this paragraph or never pay attention to any baseball news item ever, you know that Barry Bonds already hit the record breaking home run.  However, I figured since I had the ticket, I might as well use it, and returned to the ballpark again.  This time, I arrived early enough to walk around, which I had not done the previous night.  I saw some kayakers in McCovey’s Cove, walked by the Coca-Cola Fan Zone, and saw an amusing sign that pointed out the distances to various Giants points of interest, such as the Polo Grounds, Candlestick Park, and Cooperstown, NY. 

For the night game, I was sitting in the club level (200 level), right behind home plate and in front of the radio press box.  For the day game, I was in the 300 level, along the first base line.  However, from all points in the stadium, the view out into the bay was spectacular, and certainly was more like what I expected based on the rave reviews I’ve previously read about AT&T Park.  The Nationals won this game 3-1.  The Giants left many runners on third base, and 10 runners over the course of the game. 

Overall, I like AT&T Park.  It is set beautifully; I can’t think of any stadium that is built up against a body of water the way that AT&T Park is.  However, this view can really only be had during a day game.  Night games can be cold, windy, and foggy and have no view of the bay after a few innings.  There are very good views from throughout the stadium, and the scoreboard shows all sorts of useful information while the game is played, including what each batter did during the current inning.  Also of note, the Giants have a female public address announcer, the only one I know of in the major leagues.  However, the Giants certainly have their share of silly promotions.  Wednesday was Jewish Heritage Night, and the music between half-innings included songs such as Heivenu Shalom Aleichem, Mayim Mayim, and even Hava Nagila during the 7th inning stretch after Take Me Out to the Ballgame (If you recognize all those songs, you will also know why this is quite strange).  Thursday was Native American Heritage Day.  A look at the Giants website will show that there are plenty of cultural heritage nights over the course of the season, many of which seemed quite silly to me.

After the game, I took MUNI back to Embarcadero, where I boarded the F Line Historic Streetcar, and rode that to Fisherman’s Wharf.  I then walked over to the cable car terminal at Taylor and Bay streets, and then followed the line so I could photograph cable cars coming up and down the steep hills.  I then rode a car back to the terminal, hoping to ride on the outside which I have yet to do, but was unable to do so since all those spaces were taken.  Then, it was back on to the F Line to go back to Embarcadero, where I walked down Market Street to the Montgomery Station, photographing buses and F Line streetcars as I walked.  I then took the N Line out to the UCSF campus, where I was hoping to photograph the streetcars on an “S-curve”, but the photo spot proved to be more challenging than I expected, and I’m not sure I am totally pleased with the results yet.  I bought dinner on the way back to the hotel, which I checked out of this morning, but left my stuff there for the day.  I reclaimed my luggage, and then returned to the MUNI stop, where I just missed a trolley, but another pulled in right away (1525).  I noticed the sign read J-CHURCH/BALBOA PARK, but I figured this was an error of some sort, and the car would go into the Metro Tunnel.  But it turned onto the J Line at the portal, much to my surprise, and I had to walk back a block to await a “real” N streetcar to downtown.  I think an unintelligible about the train not going downtown was made, but I certainly couldn’t understand it if that was the case.  The next train did go into the tunnel, so I took it to Civic Center and changed for BART, which I took to Coliseum/Oakland Airport (car 392).  Once there, I got on the AirBART bus that connects the BART station to the airport.  The bus runs every 10 minutes, and the one I got on sat there for about 9 (I got on at about 9:11, we left at 9:20).  The ride to the airport took just over 10 minutes, but BART warns that it can take up to 30 when there is heavy traffic.  Needless to say, this train-to-the-plane connection will be come much easier when and if the people mover train (similar to AirTrain at JFK or Newark airports) is constructed.  I checked in for my flight, went through security, and now am writing this post.

I’m signing off at this point for now, but I’ll write a concluding post, detailing the rest of my trip home and other last thoughts for this travelogue, once back on the East Coast over the weekend.

Railfanning in the Rain

Good afternoon from cold, gray, San Francisco, CA, USA, where the time is currently 4:50 PM PT on Wednesday, August 8.  As I wrote in my last post from the Vancouver airport, I am not going to be seeing any history made when I go to the ballpark tonight.  I’ll have to just try staying warm instead.  According to weather.com, it is currently 59 degrees here, and going down to 54 tonight (For those of you in the sweltering heat back home, I put WTOP on for the first time in a week and a half while downloading my email, and I send my deepest regrets about your weather).

Speaking of the weather, yesterday was “typical” Vancouver weather as I understand it.  However, the plan had long been that I would use yesterday as a day to explore the city in whatever way I wished since Janet had work, and I did so.  I started out pretty early, and actually rode out with her to Simon Fraser University, where she is currently working, on these vehicles:

• D60HF 3008 (Route 99) to Broadway/Commercial Drive
• Skytrain 2XX (I don’t have the number on this unit) to Production Way
• D40LF 7478 (I’m not sure if this is the exact number of this bus) to the SFU bus loop

Once at SFU, she left me at a point so that I could explore the university, which like UBC, has very utilitarian architecture.  However, the school lacks a campus feel, for most buildings are connected so that one does not walk outdoors from one to the next, or takes plazas over the roads.  The campus is located on a hill east of downtown, but due to the weather, there were no views to be had from the campus on this morning.  While there, I had some breakfast, having bought juice from a vending machine and bringing some food along the way.

I doubled back to the bus loop, and continued my travels:

• C40LF 3397 on the bus from SFU back to Production Way
• Skytrain 251 Production Way to Columbia (this train was operated manually for part of the trip)
• Skytrain 087 Columbia to King George
• Skytrain 005 King George to Surrey Town Centre
• Skytrain 151 Surrey Town Centre to New Westminster
• Skytrain 029 New Westminster to Metrotown
• Skytrain 239 Metrotown to Main Street
  • At Main Street, I walked over to the nearby bus and train station to use the restroom, and to see what equipment was being used on the Amtrak Cascades from Seattle, that was due to arrive shortly before I got there.   I was quite lucky, in that my Cascades train on August 2 was the last trip to operate before the Talgo equipment was pulled due to maintenance issues until further notice (the last southbound train that evening was already canceled when I was leaving Portland).  I was able to see the train from Seattle by walking out to the bus platforms; it consisted of two Superliner coaches and one Superliner lounge, as well as engine 467.  There was a long line of people waiting to clear Canadian customs on the platform.
• Skytrain 238 Main Street to Waterfront
  • I walked to a nearby food court to get lunch, and purchased a USAToday to read while doing so.  After lunch, I took the Seabus from Waterfront out to Lonsdale.  While this ride is supposedly a good one, due to the aforementioned weather, there was little to see.   At Lonsdale, I wandered around the bus loop, but since photo opportunities were poor, I boarded the next ferry back to downtown and Waterfront (they operate every 15 minutes). 
• Skytrain 156 Waterfront to Broadway
• Skytrain 204 Commercial Drive to VCC/Clark
  • If you have the map memorized or were following along with one, you will now realize that this short segment was the only part of the system I had not traveled on before lunch.  Skytrain is now one of the transit systems I have ridden in its entirety, and one of the systems I have ridden in its entirety in a single day.
• Skytrain 204 VCC/Clark to Commercial Drive
• Skytrain 124 Broadway to 29th Avenue
• Skytrain 084 29th Avenue to Metrotown
• Skytrain 250 Metrotown to Edmonds
• Skytrain 146 Edmonds to 22nd Street
• Skytrain 150 22nd Street to New Westminster
• Skytrain 026 New Westminster to Braid
• Skytrain 204 Braid to Lougheed Town Centre
• Skytrain 211 Lougheed Town Centre to Commercial Drive
• E40LFR 2108 (Route 9) to Broadway and Balaclava Street
  • Here, I quickly stepped into a store called Kidsbooks, which is owned by a non-blood relative of mine.  The store is North America’s largest kids bookstore.
• E40LFR (Route 17, I didn’t record the number) from Broadway and Balaclava back to Janet’s

Just as an item of clarification, when I got off at any station above, it was usually to go find the bus loop or wherever the buses serving that station stopped.  I would then photograph them, as the weather permitted, before continuing my travels on the Skytrain.

Skytrain is a very unique system.  It calls itself the largest automated train system in the world, and I believe it.  Despite being automated, it felt quite safe, and there is plenty of staff and CCTV around to monitor things.  The honor system is in place for fare collection, as it is on many part’s of Vancouver’s transit system.  The railfan window on every train is popular, and it was frequently taken, especially on the newer Mark II cars.  The runs are fast, the stations are artistically interesting on the newer Millennium Line, and the system seems to run well.  Right now, Skytrain only serves some parts of the city, while not serving others.  However, once the Canada Line out to the Vancouver Airport is finished, my guess is more visitors will experience it.

Since the end of my railfan excursion essentially marked the end of my touring in Vancouver, I think this is an appropriate time for me to comment on what I think about the city.  I’ve been to a fair number of places over the years, and this trip has taken me to some of the cities that I consider to be among my favorites.  However, I really liked Vancouver.  I can’t think of any other city that has an urban feel to it, yet is so close to so many natural experiences, and has so many urban escapes within or so close by to the city.  People commute from Bowen Island to downtown daily, for example.  It doesn’t take all that long to get to skiing or mountain biking from the central core.  And if one doesn’t want to go away for the weekend to enjoy the outdoors, there are plenty of bike paths, beaches, parks, and forest walks within the city limits.  Additionally, Vancouver is very pedestrian and bike friendly; it is quite easy to get by there without a car, meaning that one can combine chances to enjoy the outdoors with the necessities of life.  I certainly liked Vancouver very much, and hope that I have the opportunity to return there again sometime in the future.

In the evening, we visited a relative of hers and the aforementioned relatives of mine, before returning home so that I could pack and we could sleep.

And now, it is off to the Giants-Nationals game.  For the first time on this trip, I will be rooting for a team, instead of just watching.  Check back soon for my reactions to AT&T Park, and to see if it lives up to what everyone says about it. 

Flirting with History, but No Date

Last night shortly before 9 PM PT, I was sitting with Janet and my cousin Jonah’s parents (a close relation in my family) at a dessert store called True Confections at the corner of Alma Street and Broadway in Vancouver.  While we were getting ready to pay the check, Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run, breaking Hank Aaron’s record.  I hold tickets to two Giants games this week: tonight and tomorrow.  Barry Bonds will be looking for his 757th home run.  I’m only now sitting in Vancouver International Airport waiting for my San Francisco-bound Air Canada flight, where the current time is 10:44 AM PT on Wednesday, August 8.

This is not the first time I’ve just missed seeing a baseball milestone, although most of what I’ve missed has pertained to Cal Ripken.  I was at Cal Ripken’s 2128th consecutive game.  The 2131st game broke Lou Gherig’s consecutive game streak.  I had tickets to what was originally going to be Cal Ripken’s last game before retiring, but a week’s worth of games were rescheduled for the next week after the attacks of September 11, 2001.  I was at Cal Ripken’s Hall of Fame Sendoff at Camden Yards in Baltimore on July 24; had I been in Central New York as I frequently am the weekend of his induction, I probably would have made an effort to be in Cooperstown.  Then, there were some lesser “milestones” of a sort, which aren’t exactly the types of events one wants to be at.  I have the scorecard from the Orioles last game before trading away a number of favorite players, including BJ Surhoff, as part of a rebuilding.  I was at Rafael Palmerio’s first game back after serving his suspension for testing positive for steroids. 

That said, I am looking forward to seeing tonight’s Nationals-Giants game at AT&T Park, said to be one of the nicest baseball stadiums constructed.  And I am looking forward to having more time in San Francisco, a city that I enjoyed visiting about 19 months ago and am excited to exploring more. 

I will now sign off, try downloading pictures from yesterday before my plane boards, and will write about my last day in Vancouver and tonight’s baseball game later this evening.

Add Another Type of Transit Used to the List

Greetings again from Janet’s house in Vancouver, this time from the basement, where it is 9:38 PM PT on Monday, August 6.  Today was British Columbia Day, and other Canadian provinces also had a holiday today in different names depending upon the locale.  The main point, however, is that it was a three day weekend, today was a day off for many people in Canada, and Janet was able to show me around the city despite it being a Monday.

We set out in the morning, after buying a one day pass for my use tomorrow, and eventually got on one of the new New Flyer trolley buses, which we took to near the Granville Street Bridge, which we then walked over.  It seems that most of the buses being used today were these newer ones, but I attributed that to the holiday.  I did see some older models out on the road for the diesel routes, though.

Anyway, after crossing the Granville Street Bridge, we walked along the seawall, occasionally admiring and more frequently critiquing the modern art along the way.  Our walk took us past the site of the 2010 opening Olympic ceremonies.  We then headed past the Central Library, which is modeled after the Coliseum in Rome, before heading towards the Gastown neighborhood.  We walked along Water Street, which is a street that has been redone with brick to appeal to tourists.  We also passed by a steam clock, but it didn’t seem to be functioning correctly (it is set to do the Westminster Chimes, but was blowing off steam at 10:50 as if it were 11, and did nothing at 10:45).

We then walked to the Canada Place, which is the cruise ship terminal, where one boat was in port.  We walked to the harbor observation area, where we had an excellent view of the harbor looking out towards North Vancouver.  We then walked back on the other side of the terminal building, and after a short break, picked up the seawall and followed it past the floatplane “airport” to Stanley Park, Vancouver’s large urban park.  We ultimately found a secluded area with some benches in the shade overlooking some water for lunch, before retracing our steps to catch a bus to West Vancouver.

A bus came sooner than expected, and we boarded.  While driving along, the driver asked if there were any atheists aboard, and when no one replied, proceeded to tell the joke about the atheist who is about to be eaten by a bear (I’m sure if you Google the right terms, you can find it).  This is something that I would never expect to hear on a bus in the United States.  The driver also posed his bus for me to photograph once we reached Horseshoe Bay, which was the end of the line.  Horseshoe Bay is centered around a ferry terminal, from which ferries leave to go to a variety of destinations.  After exploring the town (which essentially consists of a harbor and some shops, in addition to the terminal), we boarded a ferry to Bowen Island, which is about a 20 minute ride on the ferry.  The views from the ferry were spectacular, and we stood at the front of the ferry to take advantage of them and the cool, sea breeze. 

Once on Bowen Island. we went in search of a beach, which we soon found.  But we decided it was too cold for swimming, so we walked on further, and found blackberries to pick and eat instead.  After some time, we began to retrace our steps, although we took a slightly different path through the woods, to return to near the ferry dock, and purchased ice cream to eat while waiting.  The sun had moved along its daily course over this time, and was now at our backs for most of this ferry ride, as it had been for the first trip.  Therefore, the photo opportunities on this trip were good, as well.  Once back at Horseshoe Bay, we boarded a bus back to Downtown Vancouver and changed for another downtown to get back to Janet’s.  After dinner, Janet’s friend Cassie came over, we baked cookies, and chatted.  I will now make an attempt at an early night, for yet another exciting day tomorrow.

Seattle Center & Beautiful British Columbia

Greetings from beautiful British Columbia, where I am writing from the kitchen table in my friend Janet’s house on Sunday, August 5 at about 6:30 PM PT.  It has been a busy past three days, and I’ll get into all of it in a few moments.

My cousin Aviva and I decided to make Friday morning a lazy morning, so I slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and downloaded my email for the first time in days (no Amtrak train has Internet capabilities, and I doubt the Empire Builder will anytime soon).  Shortly before noon, we walked out to a nearby bus stop, and took a King County Metro bus to near the Westlake Center in downtown Seattle.  The last time I was in Seattle was in the summer of 2004, at which time the Seattle Center Monorail was not in service due to some sort of mishap.  Therefore, I was unable to ride it then.  (Luckily, the bus tunnel was open then.  It is now closed for work pertaining to the new light rail that is under construction).  We rode the monorail to the Seattle Center, and then walked over to the International Fountain.  There are some very creative benches in the circular walkway around the fountain, and I got some more photos of the fountain with the Space Needle as a backdrop.  I also got some photos of the benches in the area.  After some time, we walked around the Seattle Center some, and then went to the new sculpture garden located along the waterfront.  I found the sculptures to be quite interesting, and we then found a bench whose back was designed to look like an eyeball (there were other similar benches nearby, appropriately positioned to create pairs), and made some phone calls to family back on the East Coast.  The bench was also within earshot of a grade crossing for a BNSF freight line, so I was able to get a few photos of passing trains.

After this, we walked along the waterfront in the direction of the aquarium, in search of some food.  Since we were going to the Seattle Mariners baseball game that night, we didn’t want to eat too large a lunch and not have an appetite for ballpark food.  At about this time, Aviva’s husband Jonah called to say he was off work, and we agreed to meet him for falafel at a place near 4th and Main.  We took our falafel to a courtyard with waterfalls that was the birthplace of UPS.  After finishing this, it was nearing time to head over towards the ballpark. and I made another phone call back to the East Coast while doing so.

I think that Seattle is a very interesting city, and I like it a lot.  I find places such as the Seattle Center to be wonderful urban paradises in the middle of bustling cities, similar to Central Park in New York City or Millennium Park in Chicago.  Additionally, I enjoy the waterfront (and will be interested to see what is done with the elevated highway running along the Alaskan Way) and find that Seattle is a very easy city to get around, despite its steep hills.  So far, I have been able to enjoy excellent weather when I’ve been in Seattle, and seeing what are supposedly more “normal” conditions might change my opinion of the city, but I think it is an exciting and fun place, and hope to be able to go back again soon.

Before the baseball game, which seems to be my Friday night Seattle tradition, Aviva, Jonah, and I went to Pyramid Brewery, people watched, and chatted.  Then at about 6:20 or so, we went to buy food from a vendor outside the stadium, and then went in to Safeco Field from the main entrance.  For that night’s game, in which the Seattle Mariners hosted the Boston Red Sox, we had sections in the upper level looking straight out along the third base line towards left field.  The Red Sox lost for the first time at a game that I have personally attended (that I can recall), mainly because they were unable to produce runs in the first two innings when they got 6 of their 11 hits.

Overall, I like Safeco Field.  Last time I was there, my seats were in right field, and I didn’t enter the park through its majestic foyer, which I liked a lot (the new stadium for the Mets, CitiField, is supposed to have a similar foyer, which was a feature of the old Ebbets Field that was home to the Brooklyn Dodgers).  Safeco Field is very similar to Citizens Bank Park, where the Philadelphia Phillies play.  The concessions on the lower level are set up so that one can see from the concourse to the playing fields, there are views of the city skyline from the stadium, and the scoreboards are large and easy to see from many vantage points.  I especially like that they show how to score most plays on the scoreboard, since I keep score at the games I attend and occasionally miss something (such as the 9-4-2-5 play that resulted from Manny Ramirez’s poor baserunning.  However, I found the frequent promotions and sound effects, especially between each pitch made by Seattle closer J.J. Putz, to be overkill.

After the game, we drove back to Aviva’s and Jonah’s, and went to sleep.  The next morning (Saturday), after a quicker breakfast than the day before, I was driven to the King Street Station to take Amtrak Thruway Bus 8948 to Vancouver, BC.  Yes, that last statement was a bit of an oxymoron, since this was a bus where my ticket was purchased through Amtrak and was timed to meet the Empire Builder from Chicago, but the bus was operated by some Canadian company whose name I forget, and was most definitely not a train.  (Janet, the power behind the scenes as she calls herself, thinks the best description would be a “bus that is pretending to be a train”, among other ideas, but I’ve gone with the wordy description above).  Since Amtrak can only operate one Cascades round trip a day between Seattle and Vancouver, it operates additional bus service for the times the train does not run.  The bus ran non stop to the border, where we arrived at about 1:10 PM PT.  For buses crossing the border, every bus must unload its passengers, after which they claim their luggage and proceed to a customs inspection.  Meanwhile, the bus is inspected (we were warned not to leave anything on board or else it would be confiscated).  After every passenger went through customs, the luggage was reloaded onto the bus, and we set off again at about 2:10.  This wasn’t too bad of a border experience, since only one bus can be processed at a time, and we only had to wait 10 minutes for the bus in front of us to finish once we arrived, and no other buses were in front of us.  After a stop in the Vancouver suburbs in Richmond to let a few people off, we arrived at Vancouver Central Station, which is served both by buses and trains, at 3:07 PM PT. 

I only had a few minutes to wait for Janet to come and pick me up, after which we went back to her house, before setting out to see the University of British Columbia campus.  The campus looks like that of a school in the United States in many ways, with lots of utilitarian buildings that seem to have been constructed in the 1950s, 60s, or 70s, based on the exterior designs.  However, there are a number of vistas that overlook the Pacific Ocean which are quite pretty.  We returned to the house to eat, then set out on a long walk through the UBC campus down to the beach, then walked about 7 kilometers (5 miles) along the beach to Vanier Park.  Each summer, there are four fireworks displays as part of a competition.  The three countries each have one night where they make their own display, set to music, that goes off over English Bay.  Then, the fourth display is a finale, in which all participants each do about one third of the entire display.  That fourth display took place Saturday night, and we watched it from this park.  Being from the Washington, DC area, I get to see fireworks each July 4th on the National Mall.  However, I found that the Vancouver display was interesting since the people who made it had more leeway in the music they used since they were not limited to patriotic songs.  They also used a number of effects I had never seen before.  After the display ended, it was back to the house to sleep.

This morning, we drove out to Whistler, an alpine village about 110 kilometers from Vancouver where a number of 2010 Olympic events are scheduled to take place.  The drive from Vancouver to Whistler is quite scenic, and it goes along the ocean for much of the first half.  This road is being widened to accommodate Olympic traffic, and it is quite interesting to see how they are widening the road that runs between a cliff leading down to the water and a steep rock face.  While on our way out there, we stopped at Shannon Falls.  Once in Whistler, which is a village that seems to be trying to be European and isn’t exactly succeeding, we had lunch, and then went for a walk out to what is called Lost Lake, but Janet and I decided that the lake is no longer lost since we found it.  The scenery on this walk and at the lake itself was simply breathtaking, as we walked along a blue-gray stream that probably originated at a glacier, and then reached Lost Lake with its blue-green waters set among a variety of trees, including evergreens, and tall mountains still capped with snow.  We walked around the lake after sitting on its shore for awhile.  We didn’t have bathing suits so we were unable to go in, although it would have been quite refreshing to do so.  Then, in the interest of time, we took the less scenic but most direct route back to Whistler Village and headed home, where I write this post from.  Today was quite tiring, so I think it might be an early night to bed after some reading, before yet another packed day tomorrow.

Building Up to a Phenomenal End, the City of Roses, and Cascading to Seattle

Good evening from Amtrak Cascades train number 508, which just made an on time departure from Portland’s Union Station.  I have been seated on the wrong side of the train for the purposes of seeing scenery yet again, despite requesting a left side seat from the conductor when our tickets were collected inside the station and seats were assigned.  On the Capitol Limited and Empire Builder, this was not a significant deal, since my side of the train was on the good side yesterday, and I made use of the sightseeing car on the Capitol Limited and this morning on the Empire Builder.  The Puget Sound will be to our left (west) further up along the line, so the right side of the train offers a view of next to nothing.  I’ll provide some play-by-play of the Cascades as I recap my last evening and morning on board the Empire Builder, and my wanderings in Portland during the day today.  For the purposes of the Cascades play-by-play, all times will be Pacific and I’ll try to italicize those parts of the entry for easier reading.

(6:24 PM: We have crossed the Columbia River, crossing from Oregon into Washington State)

After signing off last night, I returned to my sleeper and prepared for bed, making sure to unplug the electronics I was charging since the train would lose power during our Spokane, WA station stop.  I took what could possibly be called the fastest shower ever, in the sense that the train was actually moving at higher speed this time than the previous two on board showers (anyone who knows me well enough knows I like long, warm showers).  However, by the time I was finished, we were stopped in Libby, MT for the station stop at that location.  After changing my watch in advance of crossing into the Pacific Time Zone overnight, I went to sleep at 11:16 PM MT. 

In the morning, I was half awake for the station stop in Pasco, WA, and then actually woke up for the day at 6:06 AM PT.  (6:31 PM: Arrived at Vancouver, WA, departed 2 minutes late at 6:33 PM.)  I then proceeded to the lounge car to pick up my complimentary cold breakfast.  The Empire Builder splits into two sections.  One goes to Seattle while the other heads to Portland.  I was on the latter.  The train’s cars are arranged in such a way that upon arrival in Spokane, WA, where the split occurs, the Portland cars are uncoupled from the rear of the train, and the Seattle section pulls away.  Then, two different engines back down on to the Portland section, and leave.  That is how it worked last night, but sometimes, engines for both sections pull the train from Chicago to Spokane, in which case the front engine(s) are uncoupled in Spokane, the other engines take the Seattle section, and then the uncoupled engines are recoupled to the Portland coaches.  No matter what happens with the engines though, the diner always goes to Seattle, and the sightseer lounge goes to Portland, and sleeper car passengers get a complimentary meal since there is no diner available, and meals are included with the ticket.  However, the prepackaged breakfast contained food that I was unable to eat, so I purchased a bagel and cream cheese, in addition to eating the complimentary food that I was able to have.

I then took a spot in the lounge car so that I could watch the scenery go by and take photos as the train traveled through the Columbia River Gorge.  This is the scenic highlight of the Empire Builder’s route from Chicago to Portland, and I don’t believe that the scenery on the Spokane-Seattle section is superior to that on the Spokane-Portland section.  For most of the two and a half hours, the train ran right next to the river, and I was able to get photos of some of the barges and dams along the river, as well as a photo of Beacon Rock, discovered by Lewis and Clark, and so large that only Gibraltar is larger.  I also continued to read the book I started the day before.  Much of this section of track is a single track, so we twice had to wait for freight trains to pass us coming in the other direction before continuing, causing us to be about 30 minutes late for our station stops at Bingen-White Salmon and Vancouver, WA.  However, there is some time built into the schedule, and we arrived in to Portland’s Union Station at 10:15 AM PT, five minutes ahead of schedule.  I then proceeded to the Metropolitan Lounge, to find out that I could not store my luggage there for the day, since the lounge closed at 5 PM but my train to Seattle did not depart until 6:15 PM.  I then proceeded to the baggage check, where bags are usually stored for 3 dollars per day per bag.  However, since I mentioned I had been in the sleeping car on the Empire Builder and was unable to use the lounge storage due to my late departure, the agent there said he would not charge me for the baggage storage.

Having completed the long distance Amtrak segments of my trip, I think it is a good time for me to comment on the Amtrak Long Distance experience.  First off, I have had a great time, and would certainly consider doing another trip like this if the opportunity presented itself again.  However, long distance Amtrak travel is not for everyone.  You will not find anyone wanting to get anywhere quickly on board these trains.  In fact, because Amtrak does not own almost all of the track its trains use throughout the country, passengers generally assume the train will be late and don’t plan anything time sensitive for several hours after the scheduled arrival time.  There are also people who are afraid of flying, older travelers, and some kids.  There are also some railfans and people who have always wanted to take an overnight train somewhere.  Since the Empire Builder has three stops in Glacier National Park, many people use the train to get to their vacations there.

The train is a great way to see the country.  All you would likely see from an airplane flight from Washington, DC to Seattle are the tops of clouds, and few distinguishable features on the ground, if any.  When taking the train, you get to see quite a number of small towns, as well as endless scenery, whether it be plains, mountains, or river gorges.  I now know why North Dakota and Montana are called Big Sky Country, and I traveled through quite a number of places in the country I will likely not travel to again, since I tend to prefer cities over national parks or isolated places when on vacation.  Unfortunately, one doesn’t get to see much of the towns that are passed through, since one can’t wander from the platform or station during a smoking or service stop, but with trains such as the Empire Builder only operating once a day, creating layovers along the way is difficult.

Train travel also offers one the chance to meet a variety of different people.  People riding the train tend to be friendly and relaxed, since they are frequently on vacation (or not concerned with the travel arrangements at this point).  The dining car has tables of four, so smaller parties are put together to maximize the table space.  With the occasional exception (such as the first dinner on the Empire Builder), the mealtime conversation is quite interesting, as people frequently talk about where they are from, where they are going, and previous travel experiences.  There are also the rare times you realize you and one of your dining companions have a common bond (such as lunch on the Empire Builder or at the wine and cheese tasting, where we were all baseball fans).  People in the sleeper car also are social, and I talked with many of the other people in my car at various points on the trip.  One couple even called out to others when the view was especially good.

However, one should keep in mind that if you are looking to find a 4 or 5 star hotel on wheels, you are bound to be disappointed.  Amtrak food, while better than what is served (or not served) on an airplane, is not gourmet.  The sleeper rooms provide enough space, but are not extremely spacious.  The bed allows you to lie flat, but it isn’t like sleeping in one’s own home.  Train travel is certainly worthwhile and quite enjoyable, but it is important to realize what NOT to expect, in addition to being excited about all that there is to look forward to while traveling by train.

(7:08 PM: Arrived at Kelso/Longview, WA, departed 7 minutes late at 7:10 PM.  I am now going to venture to the Bristo Car to see about getting something to eat before writing about how I spent my day in Portland)

(7:52 PM: Dinner has been completed, and I will now pick up where I left off.  So far, I wouldn’t classify the scenery as being super spectacular.  Additionally, the sun is in the west since it is late in the day, so even if I were sitting on the “right” side of the train as it were, my ability to see and/or take photos may still be limited.  We arrived at Centralia, WA at 7:54 PM and departed 14 minutes late at 7:56 PM.  We did pass some track workers between Kelso/Longview and Centralia and ran at a reduced speed as a result.)

I left Union Station and walked to the Old Town/Chinatown TriMet MAX Light Rail stop, the closest one to Union Station, where I bought an all day pass.  While making this walk, I was able to get photos of the locomotives attached to the Empire Builder’s Portland section.  I took the Light Rail to Washington Park, where I boarded a TriMet operated shuttle to the Rose Garden , where I took a self guided tour.  I then boarded the shuttle again (it operates in a loop around the park every 15 minutes) to return to the light rail station.  I then went for a quick joyride. taking the Blue Line out to Willow Creek TC, before taking an inbound Blue Line to Beaverton TC.  I got off there to photograph the buses waiting for passengers at that location, and then got on the next Red Line to head back to the City Center as it is called.  Since it was now almost 2 PM, I searched for a place to get lunch, ultimately found one, and read the USAToday that I had picked up while in the Metropolitan Lounge at the train station.

After lunch, I took the light rail back to Old Town/Chinatown, and then went for a walk in the Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which as the name suggests, is along the western side of the Willamette River.    While on this walk, I saw the southbound Coast Starlight cross the Steel Bridge, saw two drawbridges go up so a tall sailboat could pass underneath the bridges, went by the Salmon Street Springs, and saw Mill Ends Park, which is the world’s smallest city park.  The park consists of a plant in a circular planter in the median of Naito Parkway at the intersection with Taylor Street; the planter measures 24 inches in diameter.  My walk took me to the Portland Streetcar stop at 6th and Montgomery (the stop has a more specific name but it slips my mind), and I rode the (crowded) streetcar to Central Library, which is the stop at the corner of 10th and Yamhill.  I then walked over to 11th to photograph the streetcar coming the other way, then walked back to 10th to photograph the next streetcar going in that direction.  I then boarded MAX one last time to get to 3rd Avenue, where many of the city’s bus lines operate.  Walking along 3rd Avenue back towards Union Station, I got photos of the buses, and arrived back at Union Station at about 5 PM.  I bought a bottle of water since it was a clear but warm day in Portland, especially in the afternoon, went to reclaim my luggage, and awaited the boarding call for the train I am now on.

I like Portland’s small feel.  The city blocks are small, the buildings are not very tall, and some of the progressive planning methods used in the city were quite apparent to me.  Cars yielded to pedestrians, the public transit is well used, many people ride their bikes, places to lock bikes are abundant, and all sorts of traffic calming devices are in use.  While Portland did make a good impression upon me in the brief time I was there this afternoon, I think I might need a second visit before I can pass full judgement.

(8:16 PM: Arrived at Olympia/Lacey, WA, departed 14 minutes late at 8:17 PM) 

The Cascades operates with Talgo trainsets, which are unique because they are trainsets, like those on the Acela Express, that are semi permanently coupled together.  However, each car is only half the length of a standard Amtrak car.  The train also has a Bistro Car with a setup similar to that of the cafe/bristo on the Acela, but there is also a car with tables where one can take food purchased in the cafe and eat it there.  On the trains to and from Vancouver, BC, the car with tables is used as a full service dining car.  I believe the train has tilting technology, because the curves have been very smooth.  (8:30 PM: We are running right up next to the Puget Sound.).  They showed a movie, which I did not watch, and the TVs are supposedly capable of showing our location and estimated time of arrival, but right now they show nothing.  The trains have large windows, but small overhead luggage racks, so finding a place for a large bag can potentially be difficult.  I think there is a connection between the large window size and small overhead rack, and don’t believe the sizes are what they should have been.  Additionally, the at seat tray tables seem to be too low and the center armrest is in a strange position.  But all in all, I like this train very much. 

It is now 8:40 PM, and I will now do some work on trip photos (I have filled my first 1 GB card, reaching its capacity just outside Union Station upon my return there this afternoon), but will update this as the Cascades trip goes on.  And while this is the last train leg of my trip, there is still plenty more to come. 

8:55 PM: Arrived at Tacoma, departed 15 minutes late at 8:56 PM

9:22 PM: Arrived at Tukwila, WA, departed 14 minutes late at 9:24 PM.  An announcement has been made that we have 15 minutes to go until Seattle.

9:44 PM: Arrived one minute early in Seattle, essentially making my prediction that despite running late most of the way this evening, we would get in on or close to schedule.  My cousin. Aviva, was on the platform waiting for me.  After getting some photos, went to her soccer game (she and her husband, Jonah, play on a coed team together) and then returned to their house to sleep.

Ever Wake Up Not Knowing Where You Are?

I did at 7:07 AM CT this morning.  Unlike on Sunday morning, when I woke up during the Capitol Limited’s Elkhart, Indiana station stop, the train was in motion this morning when I woke up.  However, we shortly arrived at the station stop for Devils Lake, ND, at which point we were running a little over one hour late.  When we got to Minneapolis/St. Paul last night, we were only about 30 minutes late.

At the moment, we are on time, and are running through the Flathead Tunnel, which measures 7 miles long and is one of the longest tunnels in the world.  Of course, since the sun has already gone down, one can’t really tell from the sightseer lounge where I am currently sitting  that we are in a tunnel.  However, the sounds from around the train are those that result from tunnel running, so I have established that we are in the tunnel as a result. 

After signing off last night, I went out to get some fresh air at the Minneapolis-St. Paul stop, which is a service stop for the Empire Builder.  While at Minneapolis, the local coach for Chicago-Minneapolis passengers and the private coach at the end of our train were removed, making my sleeper the last coach of the train.  I then went to take a shower.  The sleeper I have on this train has been refurbished, and therefore has a slightly different shower setup, with a door instead of a curtain.  Also, one must push a button for the water to come out, and it only stays on for about 30 seconds until the button needs to be pressed again.  The train was still stopped for most of the station stop, so showering was not difficult.

After waking up this morning, I went to breakfast, where I was seated with an older couple taking their granddaughter on a vacation trip.  Shortly after breakfast, we arrived at Minot, ND, which is a service stop for the train.  I walked the platform, still unable to photograph the engines, and bought a USA Today.  A complimentary copy of whatever the local Minot paper was also given to the sleeper passengers, but I decided it would make more sense and be more interesting to read the USA Today.  We departed Minot at 9:29 AM CT, 38 minutes late. 

To all the naysayers who say no one rides Amtrak, today’s train was oversold from Minot until Whitefish, Montana, necessitating that the lounge be used for regular seating and was unavailable for sightseeing.  (At 10:10 PM MT, we have left the tunnel and are again outside.) I spent most of the morning in my sleeper room, which was on the better side of the train for views, reading The Way to Win, a book recommended to me by one of my housemates, and doing some work on my website. 

The overselling of the train also meant that many people wished to eat in the dining car for lunch, which was first come first served.  So far, this has been my biggest issue on the trip.  It seems to me that in the event that the train is so full, reservations should be taken for lunch and breakfast if necessary.    At the very least, sleeper car passengers should have priority on the waiting list.  I had to wait over an hour to be served, and did not finish until 2 PM MT (we had crossed time zones when we left North Dakota and entered Montana).  At that time, dinner reservations were taken.  Given a choice between 5, 6:45, and 8:30, I chose 5, since I wished to be in my room so I could photograph the scenery in Glacier National Park.  For lunch, I was seated with a man who was originally from Chile but has lived in the United States for ten years and is moving from Albany to Portland, a woman who went to Cornell University and her husband, both of whom now live in West Virginia.

Shortly after lunch ended, we arrived at Havre, MT for another service stop.  We left Havre at 3:23 PM, and soon after, sleeping car passengers were invited to a wine and cheese tasting that was held in the dining car.  I was seated with yet another older couple from Upstate New York that was traveling to visit their children on the west coast, and a younger, married woman who was traveling with her railfan husband and two kids to Glacier National Park.  The wine, cheese, and crackers were all good, and the tasting ended at about 4 PM.  We were still running about 30 minutes behind schedule.

Shortly before 5 PM, we arrived at Shelby, MT, a smoking stop, meaning that passengers could leave the train, smoke, or just get some fresh air.  At this stop I was finally able to get photos of our engines.   We also made up time somehow, and arrived here about 30 minutes before our scheduled departure time of 5:22 PM.  At 5:00, people on the platform with 5 PM dinner reservations were asked to go to the dining car, and I was seated with two women, each of whom was traveling alone to Portland.  By now, the dining car was out of desert, so I returned to the room at about 6:30 and had some chocolate that I had brought along while continuing to read.  Later on in the evening, I did more work on the website.  While doing all of this, I had an eye looking out the window and my camera ready to be grabbed for any scenery that came by. 

We crossed the Continental Divide, marked by a small sign next to the railroad tracks, at 7:03 PM MT, and left Essex, MT at 7:39 PM, two minutes early.  The Whitefish, MT stop was also a smoking stop, so I used that opportunity to stretch and get more engine photos.  The Whitefish station building is styled in a European manner, and is the nicest station I’ve seen on the Empire Builder route thus far.

After Whitefish, my sleeper car attendant, Anthony, announced he was making up rooms for the night, so I tidied mine up so he could do so and came to the lounge to write this.  As of now, we are still running on or close to schedule.  Overnight during our Spokane, Washington stop, the train will be split in two.  The dining car, forward sleepers, and forward coaches will go on to Seattle, while the lounge/sightseer, rear two coaches, and my sleeper will travel through the Columbia River Gorge, said to be the scenic highlight of the trip, to Portland.   I want to be up early to get a choice spot under the dome, so it is off to shower and sleep.  Good night!