Alyssa and I traveled together to California where she will embark on her Auburn University graduate school experience.
Bus – Due to inclement weather and rainy mudslides we started our trip with a bus ride. There were two mudslides in Washington on the railroad tracks. One was between Seattle and Portland, hence the bus ride. It was a comfortable ride and a fun start to our trip. King Street Station in Seattle was being renovated. This historic building has beautiful archetecture and will be amazing when completed. The bus got us to Portland in about three hours and unfortunately it was pouring down rain. If it hadn’t been raining so hard we were going to go out to get something to eat for lunch. Instead we ended up buying overpriced, stale bread sandwiches. Portland’s railroad station architecture was beautiful and festively decorated. There was a splendid model railroad set up that we enjoyed. Mark would’ve loved it. I was able to buy an Amtrak pin for my collection at the snack bar.
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| Alyssa and Jeanne on bus to Portland, Oregon |
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| Seattle Skyline from the bus window |
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| Alyssa in Portland Train Station |
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| Trying to get a picture of architecture |
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| Again trying to get a good picture |
Train – We waited a few hours to board our southbound Amtrak train number 11. We were assigned seats immediately prior to boarding. I asked for our seats on the right side (starboard for sailing people) of the train so we could see the Pacific Ocean. We boarded our train and were on our way. After making ourselves comfortable in our seats we went to the lounge car to play cards. Spite and Malice! Later we had a fabulous dinner in the dining car. Alyssa had a spinach lasagna and I had the salmon. All the food was cooked to perfection. We settled down for the night and tried to get a good nights sleep. The key word here is tried. Apparently, the train was filled to capacity so every seat was occupied. I wasn’t counting on that when we booked the tickets. Alyssa overheard a conversation that two trains were combined and that’s why it was so crowded. Tuesday morning we had an okay breakfast in the dining car. I was disappointed because I was expecting another fabulous meal. We decided to do lunch and dinner in the lounge/cafe car. By the afternoon the train was becoming a second home and was much less crowded. We spent most of the afternoon watching a movie on Alyssa’s new computer and enjoying the changing vistas through the enormous windows in the lounge car. We even drank some wine and snacked on a cheese and cracker tray we bought at the snack bar. When the sun went down we ambled back to our seats and I watched a Christmas movie while Alyssa finished her book. It was getting close to the time we would be in Van Nuys and Sarah would be waiting for us. When we were going through Oxnard, north of Van Nuys, we saw a cheerful Christmas sight. Businesses located close to the train tracks had enormous Christmas themed figures on their roofs. A Nutcracker, Snowman, and Santa!
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| Wine and Cheese Hour on the Train in California |
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| Alyssa reading on the train |
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| Ready to disembark in Van Nuys |
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| Alyssa and Sarah in Van Nuys |
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| Sharing a sister moment |
Automobiles – Sarah was waiting for us but Alyssa’s friends were driving around Van Nuys in search of the train station. After loading 9 suitcases and 1 bike into Sarah and Alyssa’s cars we proceeded back to Sarah’s house. Alyssa drove up the mountain to start getting ready for her trip. Sarah and I went to the Mexican restaurant for dinner and then came back to her house to go to bed. We both slept in with me sleeping later than Sarah. After a quick breakfast we went shopping and then back here so Sarah could get ready for work. I decided this would be a good time to catch up on my blog so this is being typed from Sarah’s house in Van Nuys, California.
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| Liam relaxing on the couch imitating Oscar the dachshund |
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| Fry’s Spaceship in Burbank California |
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| Sarah and Liam seeing me off at the Burbank Airport |
Planes – Sarah and I drove to the Burbank Airport with a pit stop at Subway for breakfast and a short stop at the Burbank Fry’s so I could snap this awesome picture of a spaceship. We got to the airport with an hour to spare before my flight. I checked my one piece of luggage and went easily through security. Alyssa and I came to Van Nuys with ten pieces of luggage between us! Love this airport because it’s small and you don’t have to wait in many lines. I flew on Southwest Airlines for two reasons. They allow two pieces of checked luggage and they allow refunds on tickets. No other airline does this anymore. The negative to Southwest Airlines is there is no assigned seating. If you don’t check in early and have a full to capacity flight you can end up with a less than ideal seat, also known as the dreaded middle seat. I got a high boarding number when I checked in so I got a middle seat on my flight to Sacramento. The flight attendants wore Santa hats, jingle bell necklaces, and Christmas pins! My flight from Sacramento to Seattle was a bit more comfortable because I was able to get a window seat and the row I was in was one of the few on the airplane that had an empty middle seat. I read magazines and listened to my MP3 player and the flight went quickly. When we got to Seattle we flew north of SeaTac airport before positioning the plane to land. Seattle from the air is absolutely breathtaking. We had a wonderful vista of downtown Seattle. It’s good to be home! I love spending time with Alyssa and Sarah but wish Mark would’ve been there too. This concludes the latest adventure of Rainy Day Quilter and Sailor.
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