50 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

In general Fest issues, THIS story out of the Los Angeles area is very good news, as it decreases some limitations we had with every other Gold Line train previously ending in Pasadena where they did before. If our schedule gets out of kilter (a little earlier or later), we won't have a long wait on one end or be dumped in Pasadena to wait for the next train as many will now go through to Azusa.

 

I thank Mark for his information on the ORCA card. This weekend after adjusting the itinerary I will work on a costs page for Seattle. 

 

Unless we have plenty of time to kill, having arrived into Seattle early or on time on the Empire Builder, I cannot foresee there being enough time to take in any more of LINK or ride Sounder.  Sounder's return trips are limited to the rush hour, and during the rush hour we need to be having dinner.  While the primary reason for any Fest is to ride trains, we've done those already and what's new takes priority over what's done. Personally, if I am to be able to function the rest of our time on this journey, I still need to get to my hotel at a reasonable hour so I can have time to wash my clothes to have something available to wear the rest of the week. (Remember Amtrak's updated carry-on baggage limitations.)  LINK might be possible during the afternoon with a short-turn, as I know that the new segments of LINK we will be riding are all underground and thus offer no new outside scenery.

 

I understand we will want to come up to the surface at UW-Husky Stadium, and I'll program about 20 minutes for that, which I think would be sufficient to see the surrounding area.

[steve4031]

I just canceled a points room in Portland at the doubletree by the convention center.  I think this is the place where many in the group are staying.  So if one of you moves quickly you might be able to snag a room at this property.  

[KevinKorell]

I just made a few changes to the main itinerary... nothing that drastically changes our plans, but based on where we appear to be headed for meals.

 

For Wednesday 7/13 in Seattle, I've made the trip on First Hill Streetcar one way, going from Occidental Mall (a few blocks walking distance from King Street Station) and Broadway/Denny at the Capitol Hill LINK station.  Then we ride LINK a short distance to UW-Husky Stadium.  I have 17 minutes allotted which should give time to walk up to the surface, look around, and then go back down to track level to continue. I can make this stop a little longer if desired. Then we ride back on LINK to Westlake Center, walk over to the South Lake Union Streetcar, go to dinner at the end of the line, and then ride South Lake Union Streetcar back to Westlake.  I have us ending there, however if we have left luggage at King Street Station then we have to take LINK back there to reunite with it before heading to our respective hotels.  All that said, IF we do arrive in Seattle on time and have more time to spend, we can then start the First Hill Streetcar sooner and use the extra time to go further south on LINK. Again I don't see us having enough time available for a Sounder trip considering that time is limited in the evening and we have the 2 South Lake Union trips.

 

Regarding Thursday 7/14 in Portland, right now I'm assuming we can split right after arrival into town on Amtrak and check-in/store luggage at our hotels.  Then we can re-convene and have dinner, followed by an evening trip on one of the 2 circular streetcar loops.  There is no way of knowing how long dinner will take, but assuming it is based downtown at what seem to be the preferred locations, I arbitrarily allowed an hour between approximately 6:30 and 7:30 PM back to the same point. 

 

Finally, on Friday 7/15 in Portland, we will still be doing the MAX Orange Line at the same time, but now on the streetcar ride we save an hour plus the extra wait times in between by having already done one of the loops.  That will bring us back to Union Station before 12 Noon, giving us more time to split for lunch at places of our individual choices before we prepare to leave town on Amtrak.

[steve4031]

Great work.

[KevinKorell]

Good Monday morning. Take a good look in your mirror at yourself, and ask yourself "What did I accomplish this weekend that would be of help to planning the Fest?"  A few might be able to say a little, but for the majority the resulting answer would be negative.   How did I spend my weekend?  I did not go to yoga classes,  nor ride trains to Boston, nor attend a sports event.  With only a few interruptions for other things, the Busiest Railfan on the Internet mostly remained home doing what I do best.  Here are the accomplishments:

 

• As above, the entire Itinerary for Seattle on 7/13 and Portland on 7/14 & 7/15 was updated to better show what our local rail travel in each city will be now that our dinner plans are coming into focus.
• The Expected Transit Costs pages for Portland and Los Angeles were revamped to make them easier to read, removing sections that were not needed.  The Expected Transit Coasts page for Seattle was also written and completed on Sunday, and it is now available through the links on the main Fest page.
• Worked on my Rails To Restaurants features for the Fest cities we plan to visit. Seattle was expanded, so much that Tacoma was spun off to its own page and also expanded.  Portland is almost finished, and Los Angeles remains to be completed.  Both should be done by next Saturday.  They were terribly outdated, and needed a total revamp. Portland's restaurant market took a nosedive in the past several years, so many of the places I had listed were long out of business.  And in Seattle Center's Armory, virtually every restaurant had to be changed as the offerings are all relatively new.
• The Amtrak rooms chart has been expanded by request to include not just the three long distance trains that will be official rides of the Fest, but whatever trains are being used to get to the Fest start point and from the Fest end point. I requested this information the end of April, so if you haven't already done so, now would be a splendid time so you can get the next update and see where you are relative to others in the group.
• Lastly, now that it's June, I am starting to work on the confidential hotel & emergency contact list.  Please send me via e-mail only, and with Contact List in the subject title, the hotel(s) where you are staying in each of the three cities (Seattle, Portland, & 2 nights in Los Angeles), and if I don't have your phone number or it changed, that as well. Remember I keep this list off the internet and only between those whose names are on the list.  Thankfully there have been no emergencies where the list had to be invoked, but we do use it to know who among our group is staying at the same hotel properties.

 

Thanks to all who have already supplied their train information; these are the more eager of the group who will also no doubt provide their contact information within a day.

[KevinKorell]

As promised, I have now completed updates to the Rails to Restaurants listings for Portland and Los Angeles.   For Portland I added most of the restaurants that had been suggested in the Portland dining thread.  For Los Angeles, besides bringing things up to date throughout the area, I also added many places to eat in Santa Monica, the end of the Expo Line.

 

I do suggest you make use of these lists for all three cities, since lunch will generally be on our own.  Remember too Solana Beach, whose list I tacked onto San Diego.

[steve4031]

There is an in n out burger place near the culver city station.

[KevinKorell]

There is an in n out burger place near the culver city station.

Yeah I see a number of eateries around there. New can of worms. I'll get to that soon.

[saxman]

Anyone make a PDF yet of the itinerary? I wanted to print one out before I left early tomorrow morning for my flight to Orlando. 

[KevinKorell]

I made an HTML of the itinerary, and will print that out.

Sometime tonight I will create threads for day to day reports we can all contribute to, from the Fest from each city and each intercity segment.