Coast Starlight - 9/14/2021
This is day five of my cross-country Amtrak vacation with Shawn. Today we will be boarding the Coast
Starlight covering 469 miles in about twelve and a half hours on our way to Los Angeles. After a quick
breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and made the short walk over the tracks to the Emeryville train station.
Our train pulled out of the station right on time at 8:20am and headed south through the East Bay region. After
passing San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley, we entered the Coyote Valley and it's vast farmlands.
California’s enormous agricultural industry would be a major theme throughout most of the first half of today's
journey.
The Pajaro River led us from the Coyote Valley to near the coast and by noon we had entered the Salinas Valley.
The San Ardo Oil Field was another of the varied scenes we encountered along the way.
At Santa Margarita we began the climb over the Santa Lucia Range and down to San Luis Obispo. Over these
16 miles of rail we would rise from an elevation of 998 feet to 1380 and then down to 240 feet. This is called
The Cuesta and is the most difficult climb on the entire Coast Line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The train uses Cuesta Pass to traverse the Santa Lucia Mountains. The pass has an elevation of 1,533 feet,
but the train crosses under it utilizing a tunnel. Tunnel 6, the summit tunnel, is 3,600 feet long and contains
the high point of the grade. After emerging from the tunnel we could see US Route 101 on the other side of the
valley.
Now on our descent, we would make several horseshoe turns back and forth.
The Stenner Creek Trestle, built in 1904, is 931 feet long, making it the longest bridge on the Coast Line.
By mid-afternoon we approached San Luis Obispo and passed the campus of California Polytechnic State
University. On the practice field was the Cal Poly Mustang Band, also known as The Pride of the Pacific. I
had a little band geek moment and thought of Sarah.
We were able to step off of the train for a short break. San Luis Obispo is a beautiful city, with unique
architecture.
Once we were passing through the grounds of Vandenberg Air Force Base we were near the edge of the Pacific coast.
Vandenburg is home to facilities for NASA, Space X, and of course, the Air Force.
As we crossed the large base we were closer and closer to the water. And then from here, past Santa Barbara
and into Ventura there were many stretches that were very close to the water's edge.
I was constantly checking the trains progress by GPS and watching the clock against the approaching 7:00pm
sunset. One of my most important goals of this trip was to be riding the train right along the coast watching
the sunset across the Pacific. It is at Ventura that the tracks leave the beach and turn inland to Oxnard and
Simi Valley. It was my estimation that we would be in Ventura right at sunset, just barely enough time to get
a couple great pictures. I was still worried if I would get the shots I was hoping for. But it was all
for not, fifteen minutes before sunset we rolled into heavy fog.
Click here to see all of my photos of today's trip across California.
We would be in this fog all the way into LA.
The Coast Starlight arrived at Los Angeles Union Station right on time at 9:00pm. It opened in 1939 and the
structure combines Art Deco, Mission Revival, and Streamline Moderne style.
Click here to view my photos of Union Station.
We got a rideshare from Union Station to our hotel in Hollywood. As we exited the freeway and onto Highland
Avenue traffic was slow and all of the parking spaces and nearby parking lots were completely full. A short
distance away we saw searchlights stretching into the sky. It felt like we had truly arrived in
Hollywood. The driver said we were near the Hollywood Bowl. Shawn did a quick internet search and found
out that cellist Yo-Yo Ma was performing.
A few blocks later we arrived at our hotel, the Loews Hollywood Hotel on North Highland Avenue.
Once we checked in, we headed to the elevators and stepped inside with a mother and her daughter. Just as the
doors were about to close, others almost stepped inside as well. But once they saw the four of us already
inside, they decided to catch the next one. I noticed the surprised reaction of the daughter and asked if we
should know those who almost boarded the elevator with us. She said that they were contestants from America's
Got Talent. Wow, we were in Hollywood for less than ten minutes and already we almost met a celebrity.
Once in our room we checked out the view.
Click here to see various other pictures from our six days in Los Angeles.
Tomorrow we’ll have a full day of exploring the heart of Hollywood.
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