More Train Drama; fires, fried chicken and freaks November 30 - December 1

Coming into Portland

After a happy Tebo reunion and sad goodbyes it was time to get back on the train. I took the ferry (like a pro now) back to Seattle, luggage in tow, but at least it wasn't raining this time. I did have to fight the morning commuters for a taxi and since it is a really short ride from the pier to the train station I had difficulty finding a cab willing to give up a better fare for my pitiful one. The Seattle Train Station was busy with post-Thanksgiving travelers and the line-up for the Coast Starlight train south down the coast was not short.


Hopeful that my lower level seating plan would work in my favor, once again I was one of the first ones in the car and settled into my favorite spot for my 27 hour journey to Salinas. There was some commotion (pretty typical) with people getting luggage settled and seating figured out. One pair in particular stood out, a woman and her grandson (neither of which seemed to have learned the meaning of "inside voices" in elementary school) struggled into the seats behind me. She was not a small woman and was explaining her mobility troubles (not quietly) to the car attendant. Apparently she was going to need her meals brought to her since she would have too much trouble getting up the stairs and over to the dining car. The Amtrak employee was really accommodating and assured her it would be taken care of.  I have no idea why she needed dinner brought to her because the two of them had a full paper grocery bag and some plastic ones full of prepared food. The fried chicken was the first to make its appearance followed by the phone call to the relative that prepared it for their long journey... to LA. I would not escape but her relatives were always happy to hear from her (even if the rest of the car would have happily passed on hearing the one-sided conversation).

Davis, California

Don't get me wrong, I traveled with a lunch cooler filled with sweet and salty snacks and a few beverages (train food prices are as bad as airlines and taste pretty similar) but the volume of food those two consumed was impressive and helped me understand her mobility problems. My noise cancelling headphones were put to the test and I realized I should have shelled out for the Bose...

In all honesty she was a nice woman and her grandson was a good travel companion for her (although he missed his girlfriend a lot... or so he said to her... often... when he called). She had a ball on the trip chatting up the attendant who patiently listened to her stories of train trips back when she was a kid.

Somewhere in California between Davis and Martinez

Martinez, CA

And then there was Nasty Guy. He got on the train sometime after we hit the California border. I never really figured out his issue but I am pretty sure he had many to choose from. He found some problem with the attendant and kept bugging him; kinda like those people in the plane who keep buzzing the flight attendant with things like "my feet are cold". Anyway, by the time I had woken up from a not so solid night of sleep (an insomniac frequent flyer sat next to me) Nasty Guy was in full A-hole mode. After I took my earplugs out I caught snippets of "I am reporting you" and "this is the worst service..." and the ever famous "I have been on X # of trips on this train and never have I had this sort of disrespect..." I have no idea what happened but man was this guy mad and he was not shy about expressing it. I am pretty sure I caught a complaint about passenger scent issues and I will not disagree on that front (post fried chicken + not moving for 20 hours... she did not smell pleasant) but what can the guy do about that? Ask someone to stop smelling? And it was a looonnng way from LA at that point.

When he got off the train he left sunflower seed shells below his seat. Yeah man, cuz who do you punish? The next person who has to sit there, not the attendant, they don't clean along the way...

First glimpse of surf

I finally started seeing some coastline and felt my trip must be nearing the end. Palm trees, ocean views... and then the train stopped, not at a station. There was a fire on the tracks about 30 min ahead of us and obviously it was not smart to plow through it (anymore than it is to go through a mudslide I guess) so we stopped, and waited. 30 min pass and apparently so did the danger and we were back on our way.  You know,  looked and looked for signs of that fire and saw nothing.  But, we were back on track and I was almost to my destination, Salinas.

And sand!

We pulled into Salinas about 20 min late (not bad) and I looked for some signs of instruction like 'Baggage Claim' or 'Exit', nothing. Only a few people got off the train in Salinas and they just kind of disappeared. I tried the doors to the station, locked, and finally wandered around the side to an archway (without a sign) and came upon a transport van.

My next stop was Monterrey (not on the train line) and I had a 'bus transport' to take me the rest of the way; I thought to myself, maybe this is it. I smile and ask the driver if this is the 'shuttle' to Monterrey. She responds with "yeah, get on." But I had luggage to claim so I ask where the luggage is delivered. Her response was an ever so vague wave, 'over there'. I press on, "Inside the station?" She says "Of course not, everyone knows the station is locked until 3PM" but no other assistance. Seriously lady? A little help. I get out of the van and start looking around, the train is now pulling out of the station and I imagine my luggage going with it until I see a golf cart coming through the arches with my luggage on back, yeah! And you can imagine what I said (in my head) to the oh so helpful driver.

There were a couple of other passengers in the van as well, all headed to Monterrey. I called Amy to let her know the fire was out and I was on my way to the pick up spot. I asked the driver how long it would take to get to my destination and the response was "you see the road" WHAT? Who says that? I get an approximate 10 min after explaining that I am not from here... Then the fun begins and I get a barrage of super friendly questions about where I am going and who I am meeting and did I know that Salinas was the home of John Steinbeck... Amy's call interrupted this with "you can't be dropped of, there is a hostage/police standoff 3 blocks from the station and the roads are all blocked." (it did not end well for the standoff guy, apparently he was trying to rob the pharmacy and ended up OD'ing in a bathroom of a nearby shop). So then we try to figure out a new drop off place and bi-polar driver drops back to not so friendly. I finally landed in the parking lot of a hotel near Amy's work and get out of the van ASAP.  I got a super friendly "goodbye" and off she went. It should not be this hard...

Amy showed up a few minutes later for another happy reunion.

Trip casualty - dropped my red water bottle in the van but didn't notice till it was gone.