Train trips and Santa Barbara
Early to bed, early to rise. No one should have to get up at 4:30 am. It’s just a nasty time of day. After shuffling to the station in the dark, we boarded the train to Santa Barbara and settled into our seats. As the train started chugging along in the thin light, making our way through large iron overpasses and near deserted streets, Sacramento looked melancholy. The feeling didn’t dissipate as the dawn started to break over marshlands scattered with deserted buildings in various states of decay. The fact I was lapsing in and out of consciousness at this part of the journey probably didn’t help. Soon we got to Oakland (where a private car was put on! Ooh, mysterious) and then the inferstructure of the cities gave way to countryside and farmland. I much preferred watching cows get riled up and run alongside the train.
Lunch was “by reservation only”, and we had not yet figured out that there was a snack bar in the Lounge where we could get food, as well as the dining car, so we made a reservation. Train food is marginally better than plane food, but we were going to be on the thing for 12 hours, so we did have to eat something. It’s communal seating, so we eat across from a very nice, elderly woman who was going home to LA from visiting her grandson in prison. She told us how lovely the scenery is along the coastline, but warned us that it probably would be dark when we got there. But our trip from Santa Barbara to San Diego, which was in the morning, should be spectacular.
We then went back to our seats and settled in for the duration. The train went through mountains and over more farm country. The train came to a huge, looping switchback, which provided sweeping views-of the St. Louis Obispo men’s prison :P Then we climbed up, through dense fog banks. The world was turned grey, and you couldn’t see more than a quarter mile to the side. There didn’t seem to be much to see but low scrub brush. And then we rose above the cloud bank as the sun started its descent, lighting up the tops of the clouds. It was terribly pretty. Now we could see again, and while there were few farm animals around this time, I did spot a lone deer in a pasture near the tracks. Then the clouds dropped away and you could see that over the edge of the cliffs, the ocean lay below. It was a very dramatic shoreline, painted gold by the setting sun. Our friend from lunch came back to see us and comment on how the sun held out just long enough for us to get a glimpse of the sea below.
We arrived safe and sound in Santa Barbara and headed to the hotel. After a bit of confusion on the part of our cabbie, who seemed new to the area, we got settled into the Inn at East Beach, which was a lovely change from the night before. It was just a block away from the ocean, but just far enough away from the main drag that we decided to lay low that night and eat at the restaurant in the hotel across the street. The next day we checked out the bus service to the waterfront. Which cost a quarter! Seriously. And the same shuttle bus would go down State Street (the main street) for the same quarter. Instead we got off and wandered down the pier, taking in the sun while watching people surf. Crazy people and their surfing in January! We decided to take a bus tour to get aquatinted with the city (yes, again).
The tour was great, and Santa Barbara is incredibly scenic. After disembarking, we poked around State Street, having a great meal and exploring shops. We found a fun yarn store and a couple of clothing stores. But as we walked further towards the waterfront, the cool local shops gave way to row of upscale chains. Just as we were getting slightly discouraged, we saw the next couple of blocks were closed down for a farmers’ market. While we didn’t get any goodies this time, it was so nice just to walk through and take a look at everything. California does have good produce!
Our waitress let us know that everything shuts down pretty early in the off-season, so after dinner we caught up on some sleep before hopping on the train again for our trip to San Diego in the morn.