If you aren’t fond of driving like I am, you look for alternatives when you travel. So, when I was asked to attend a convention in Escondido as a guest voiceover actor, I requested they book me a ticket on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train from Union Station in Los Angeles to Oceanside.
Trains are romantic, let you relax along the way, and beat all the traffic. That’s a plus for an Angelino like me. And I always love visiting Union Station in downtown LA because it’s newly restored and gorgeous.
My roommate dropped me off at the LA Metro station in Pasadena and I took it directly to the train station. The convention hosts had booked me business class, which was nice. However, there isn’t much difference between coach and business class, except that I was given a box of train treats. (Cookies, crackers, nuts, etc.) It was a nice touch, although I didn’t really need the extra calories.
Amtrak offers seniors a 10% discount so if you are taking the train to San Diego or Santa Barbara it’s quite affordable. The Surfliner runs as far as San Luis Obispo, which is 351 miles from San Diego, and is a wonderful way to see the Southern Californian coast and its scenic beauty.
After leaving Union Station, we made stops in Fullerton, Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine. All the train stations on this route have their own unique looks. Fullerton and Santa Ana are old Spanish Style and Irvine and Anaheim are shiny and modern.
Once you get to San Juan Capistrano, which is an amazing stop near the old mission, you will see ocean views most of the way.
If you are heading up to Santa Barbara, or San Luis Obispo, it is almost all ocean views so make sure to sit on the “sea side” of the train.
Most of the passengers ride on the upper deck which can be a little challenging if you are hauling luggage. The lower berth is reserved for the elderly or those with mobility issues. I had no problem on my way to San Diego, but I collected extra baggage at the convention so it was a little more difficult. I know it would have been easier if I’d driven but taking the train is so much more fun.
There is a café on the lower deck where you can get breakfast, sandwiches, beverages, beer, and wine. It isn’t fancy but very convenient.
A stay at Mission Beach
After my conference ended, I got a ride to Mission Beach in San Diego to visit my brother and his family who were in town staying at their summer beach house. I hadn’t seen him since before the pandemic, so I spent a couple of days enjoying the beach. It was Halloween weekend and people were skateboarding and bike riding down the boardwalk in costume.
The next morning, I met up for coffee and a walk to the Catamaran with my travel blogger friend Elaine J. Masters the Trip Well Gal.
My brother had to drive up north for a few hours so after my walk with Elaine, I took another long walk down the boardwalk and around the bay.
Later that day, my brother coerced me to take a one-hour bike ride down almost to La Jolla. I hadn’t been on a bike since I rode down Haleakalā in Maui 20 years ago, but it all came back to me.
We did another long walk before sunset to walk his 3 standard poodles.
When I checked my health app on my smartphone I had done 21,700 steps plus the bike ride and lived to tell about it. As you can imagine, I was quite proud of my accomplishment.
Photos of Mission Beach
Please click on the images below to see them full-size in a gallery.
Belmont Park carousel and roller coaster 
Midway at Belmont Park 
The Bahia Belle Riverboat on Mission Bay
When it was time to go back to LA, my brother dropped me off at the Old Town San Diego train station. I had a coach ticket this time which was perfectly fine and just as comfortable even though there were no train treats.
For someone who lives in a “driving” city like me, taking the train is a treat and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Do you like riding on trains? What is your favorite “train” destination? Please leave a comment below.
The train trip sounds like so much fun!
It was Pennie. I love taking the train.
I LOVE trains! Husby and I are planning a cross-Canada trip via VIA Rail. So looking forward to it!
Thank you for sharing this, Rebecca! So much fun!
That sounds amazing, Diane. I have heard the Canadian railway is pretty spectacular!
How. much fun does THAT look like???
It was pretty fun, Carol!
I haven’t been on a train in years. I’d love to do one that’s more scenic. I used to just grab the commuter trains from Connecticut to NYC whenever we wanted to go in for a show or a museum trip.
Scenic trains are the best. I would love to take the Canadian Rockies train or something like that. I also don’t mind taking the subway because it’s easy.
California does a better job w/its passenger rail then any other state, imo, and subsidizes ticket prices far more then say, NY does, or Oregon/Washington.. At least when I was riding Amtrak often, the man who managed Amtrak California had done a deal (money payments) w/the host freight RRs (Amtrak owns very little of its own track/rail lines, just some in the north east & Michigan) so that on time performance of several of the CA Amtrak lines was superior to that of the major airlines– up to 98-99% OTP. The food is better then on many of the other Amtrak routes, except for Amtrak Cascades and the Acela.
I used to take the Cascades (PNW Amtrak), Empire Builder (from PDX to Chicago) and the Lakeshore Limited (CHI to Penn station, NY) fairly often. Took a few other of the long distance trains occasionally or only once. Unfortunately, I never managed to ride the southern route across the US before the big storms/hurricanes, that hit Alabama & messed up the track. I think the host RR has repaired the track sufficiently for freight but not for passenger rail, although various govs of Alabama and perhaps MS have tried to get that route restarted–they miss the tourist dollars they got from rail passengers. Maybe it’ll happen now w/the infrastructure bill. Until then, thanks to decreased levels of funding and draconian (and pointless) Congressional requirements, Amtrak’s food service has suffered and some needed repairs aren’t happening. Some of the rail stock Amtrak uses and has repeatedly refurbished dates from the 1950’s. It needs to be replaced w/good quality rail stock, although I’d be sad to see the Parlor cars disappear (if they haven’t already). The parlor cars are half cafe w/booths & half a sitting area. Depending on what Amtrak’s doing (or can afford to do), people in the sleeper cars can eat in the parlor car rather then the dining car, from a slightly different menu. Occasionally the parlor car activated (had staff for) using the bar in the PC to offer some drinks. Only people w/sleeper reservations could use the parlor car. The parlor cars date from Amtrak’s creation–when it took passenger service from the private RRs, they were part of the rolling stock Amtrak took over. Private rail decided they couldn’t make sufficient profit to continue providing passenger rail, Congress decided that passenger rail was too important a mode of transport to let it die & created Amtrak. However, in the 1970’s, Amtrak ended quite a few routes, some of them much missed. Years later, a group of passenger rail supporters kept the Texas Eagle running–it runs from Chicago to San Antonio (connecting service to LA via the Sunset limited).
The Empire Builder and a couple of other long distance trains go through some wonderful scenery. You see alot of the US you might not otherwise see, and all in relative comfort and w/out having to pay attention to road traffic.
Last semi-long distance Amtrak train I took was from NY Penn to Richmond, VA, business class (worth the cost) & back two days later. A nice trip, far nicer and less hassle then flying would’ve been and way way less hassle then driving.
Glad you enjoyed your trip. I’ve never ridden–I’d like to someday. I’ve taken the Coast Starlight from Oregon to LAX and also admired LA’s Union Station.
Wow! Such great information about Amtrak. And great to know that California rocks with trains. Thanks, so much!