11 replies to this topic

[Bill]

My first post so don't shoot the newbie:-) I am going from Cincinnati OH to Chicago to LA to San Diego by Amtrak and will only be in San Diego for two days,Feb. 4th and 5th...any suggestions on what to see in only two days,my travel companion is limited on how much she can walk so I am looking for as much bang for the buck I can get.We will be staying in the Gaslight district. Any tours or web sites I might hit? Wish I had more time. Just to make you jealous we then go to Frisco then to Chicago back to Cincinnati, all by Amtrak. Thanks for any input. Bill

[Bill]

My first post so don't shoot the newbie:-)
I am going from Cincinnati OH to Chicago to LA to San Diego by Amtrak and will only be in San Diego for two days,Feb. 4th and 5th...any suggestions on what to see in only two days,my travel companion is limited on how much she can walk so I am looking for as much bang for the buck I can get.We will be staying in the Gaslight district. Any tours or web sites I might hit? Wish I had more time.
Just to make you jealous we then go to Frisco then to Chicago  back to Cincinnati, all by Amtrak. Thanks for any input.

Bill

If anyone has any tips on the trains I will be taking I sure could use them. Southwest Chief and the California Zephyer but not too sure on the San Diego to Frisco part of the trip, have not seen the actual travel plans yet from my agent.
I will be leaving my face print on the windows I am sure,will have my scanner,thanks to this site I will have the frequencies. I admit I am excited about this trip, it will be my first out and back rail vacation,vs rail one way and airline the other. Thanks.

[RailHaRRy]

Bill,

What sort of things do you like to do? Here's some random ideas.

-Ride the San Diego Trolley. I suggest you take the Blue Line from downtown to Old Town (which you might wish to look at too), then the Green Line from Old Town to it's intersection with the Orange Line at the Grossmont Transit Center in the eastern suburb of La Mesa, then the Orange Line back to downtown. Allow at least 2 hours for riding the Trolley (LRVs actually). See: http://www.sdcommute...olley/Index.asp Also see: http://www.oldtownsandiego.org/

-The World Famous San Diego Zoo is a short bus ride (MTA) from the Gaslamp District (catch the #7 bus on Broadway eastbound). Allow at least 4 hours to see the Zoo, including the 40 minute bus tour in the Zoo (wheel chairs available also). See: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/ Contact me directly (you have my e-mail) if interested in a couple of Passes to the Zoo.

- Sea World. Take the Blue Line Trolley to Old Town as above, then the #9 MTA Bus. Allow at least 4 hours for Sea World. See: http://www.seaworld....ca/default.aspx

- If interested in setting foot in Mexico (which I don't actually recommend; I live close to the border and never go there), you can take the Blue Line Trolley south to San Ysidro, then walk across the border. Allow 45 minutes each way on the Trolley.

There are many other attractions in San Diego and the immediate area, so let me know what is of most interest to you and I'll provide more info. And do contact me if you are interested in a "tour guide" part of the time.

Enjoy your trip!

[Bill]

Railharry, Thanks for taking the time give a list of places to go. Mexico is out,that would have to be an entire different trip I would imagine to be able to enjoy what they might have to offer. The zoo looks promising, I gotta ride the trolleys tho,I have a series of tapes,America By Rail, The West Coast tape starts out riding the trolleys north and I was impressed by how clean everything was and it just looked like a nice place travel around. Gonna check out the places that you suggested with my travel companion and see what she might like to do also. That is very nice of you to offer to be a tour guide for part of our two day whirlwind tour of your city, we are going to Frisco also but I would have just skipped that if it were totally up to me,been there a few times. Might take you up on that deal:-) This is my biggest passenger rail adventure I have planned to date sooo I wanna go now..............:-) Thanks again, Bill

Edited by Bill, 06 November 2005 - 04:10 PM.

[Bill]

I haven't traveled Amtrak since 9/11. How is security now days?When returning from the Grand Canyon to visit my cousin, at the train station,( Flagstaf)very early in the morning, the local cop had a drug dog going thru all the luggage in the lobby,a young kid in front of me had a positive reaction from the the dog and two big burley guys came and ripted his stuff apart,found nothing. He walked around and gathered his stuff up and put it back in his bag.No appoligies. Then my wife and I were rudely awaken by a local cop at I belive it was Ft.Madison,he started going thru our luggage,(we were in first class)6 in the morning,we are not exactly dressed at that time,saw him taking several bags off the train with him. The crew did not have an idea as to what what was going on. Contacted our lawyer and it seems a cop can come into your sleeper, take any bag that is not taged properly and haul it out and not tell the train crew that they were there. So what are my chances of being hassled by security while on a train. I am 51 and my companion is 67. I am not trying to be negative but am getting too old for this stuff.

[Bill]

My last post was a little negative, I want to say that Amtrak and it's employees had nothing to do with my situation. All of my dealings with Amtrak have been positive. A good group of people,the on train people to the people at the ticket windows. I just wanted to make it clear that Amtrak was not aware of what was going on,according to the lawyers. Still looking forward to my next Amtrak adventure:-)

[martha]

Then my wife and I were rudely awaken by a local cop at I belive it was Ft.Madison,he started going thru our luggage,(we were in first class)6 in the morning,we are not exactly dressed at that time,saw him taking several bags off the train with him. The crew did not have an idea as to what what was going on.
Contacted our lawyer and it seems a cop can come into your sleeper, take any bag that is not taged properly and haul it out and not tell the train crew that they were there.

My first post and I will use it to question your lawyer's impression of what local police can and can't do. The constitution prohibits unlawful searches and seizures. As a general rule, a warrant or consent is required to search your person or a place where you have an expectation of privacy. I would argue strongly that Amtrak passengers have an expectation of privacy in their sleeping compartments.

As far as the luggage, I believe the cops need a warrant to search the luggage. They also need probable cause to search. Unless you consent to a seach.

Martha

[Bill]

Marthra, I gotta admit that I can't remember if we gave permission to search our bags, we just rolled over as we were in a dead sleep. He identified himself and didn't find anything in his quick search. By that time we were a little bit awake.I did see him leaving the train with a few bags. The Amtrak crew had no knowledge as to what was going on, we could have pursued this further,which we did once we got back home but I think we would have gotten no more than a sorry for your inconvience type of reply in the end so why waste my time.....I am sure that is that is the normal American response. I am sorry I brought this up on this board,wish I had never said anything,all posts are so positive and I bring a negative here.......not the place. Merry Christmas. Bill

[Bill]

Finally got the times I will be leaving LA and getting to San Diego..LV LA at 9:40 am av SD at 12:25pm, my return trip lv SD at 6:15 and av at LA at 8:50 am.I am into scenery and this will be my only time on this train,I like,oceans,open spaces,mountains,junk yards,placial estates, big blue tarps housing people,aunt Mildred hanging her wash...any thing I see out the window. Should I on this part of my trip just look at the ocean side one way and on the way back hit both sides or stay on the other side completely? I wanna see everything,this is most likely the only time I will be in this area. Many thanks for any info. The Amtrak crew usually follows behind me with a windex sprayer and paper towels to clean off the windows after I left my face print on them looking out:-)

[RailHaRRy]

Bill -- I suggest you sit on whichever side the sun is mostly not on. Given the times you mentioned, that means taking the NON-ocean side southbound, and the ocean side northbound. You'll see all the scenery that way and not be bother by the sun which can be a big bother on this roughly northwest to southeast route. Actually if you can get a seat near the middle of a car (at least not right at the end) you'll have pretty good views from both sides, except perhaps for beach views when the train is running on the cliff above the beach (a portion of San Clemente and about a 2 miles south of Solana Beach). The route gets right along the beaches about 3-4 miles south of San Juan Capistrano station for several miles, then periodically after Oceanside southbound. There is interesting scenery along the entire route for rail fans. After crossing the L.A. river (concrete channel) south bound watch especially for railyards on the left for the next 10 miles or so. The first big one is BNSF's major intermodal yard on the west coast -- you'll be on their main line tracks until just after Fullerton station. Another sight of interest in the L.A. area is the Anaheim Angels stadium (I refuse to use the "official" name) which I always joke about -- the largest railroad station in the world, with 45,000 seats in the alternate waiting room. South of Santa Ana watch for World War II blimp hangers on the right -- recently a Marine Corps helicopter base, but now I'm sure what is there now. Interstate 5 (San Diego to the Canadian Border) parallels much of the "Surfliner" route -- check congestion as you go. Mission San Juan Capistrano is not visible from the train -- the large church is relatively new. But the station is worthy of note -- much of it is old railcars. After leaving the beach along San Clemente you'll pass on your right the "Dolly Parton Memorial Nuclear Power Station" -- you'll see why we call it that. Officially it's name is San Onofre. From there to Oceanside you are mostly on the huge Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, hence the lack of development. A few miles south of Solana Beach you will leave the ocean behind and climb up Miramar Hill with many twists and turns going up -- this 2.2% grade is the steepest on the route. From the top it is only a few minutes into downtown San Diego. Watch for Mission Bay Park on the right -- first body of water you'll see -- and then San Diego's very-much-downtown airport. Contact me by e-mail and I MAY be able to meet you while you are here and show you some of the sights. -HaRRy, in the San Diego area