Travel by Train: Part 2 - Burning the Midnight Oil

Because the train was late getting into Salem, it was already about 6:30 by the time we got to Eugene. I had made my way to the dining car for dinner. I sat next to these grandparents from Montana and their granddaughter. They were on their way to San Diego for the holidays and the train was more convenient because of the long drive to the airport from their home and the likelihood that this time of year, the quickest route in shut down because of weather. Dinner came with salad and a roll. I had the crab cakes with red pepper sauce, rice pilaf and vegetables. A coffee and Bailey's was my drink of choice.

After dinner I decided to check out the arcade (the Coast Starlight has one car with an arcade on the lower level) before it closed. It had a few pretty old arcade games and only one (a racing game) looked any fun. It was not an arcade that would work well for kids; the racing game was the stand up type where someone would have to push the pedal and hold the kid the steering wheel if the kid wasn't tall enough.

I then cranked up the ipod and sat in the observation car to listen to more Beethoven symphonies. It was dark and the only thing to really look at were lights dotting the distance and the occasional Christmas lights of small towns we passed through. I went back to my seat and laid it down to catch a quick nap, I sat there for an hour or so before realizing it was still really early. I grabbed my book, An Empire of Wealth, and went back to the observation car. After I ordered a double scotch (the train's bartender really got into his role as a train bar tender and kept remarking on the wonderful evening on the Coast Starlight), I found a seat and read for a few hours. At about midnight I was finally tired and went back to my seat to attempt to sleep.

The Amtrak seats go further back than airline seats and there is a leg rest that rises from the chair (like a recliner) and then a footrest so you can pretty much extend all the way out without feeling cramped. I shut my eyes and lightly slept. Then, maybe an hour or so past Klamath Falls the train came to an abrupt stop and all the power went out. It turns out there were boulders blocking the tracks. After about a half hour or so, the path was clear and we started moving again. Around Redding, the sun started to come up over the Sierras and I remained in and out of sleep until Chico. At Chico I was pretty awake and decided to read some more, the next stop was Sacramento, where I would have to change trains. The surrounding air was foggy as we made our way to California's capitol. We passed the Diamond Nuts factory on the way in. I packed up my carry on and prepared to leave the Coast Starlight.