A RAIL-SMOOTH FAMILY TRIP SAN DIEGO TRAIN DODGES TRAFFIC, MINIMIZES KIDS' FIDGETS, WHINES.ABOARD THE PACIFIC SURFLINER The Pacific Surfliner is a 350-mile (563 km) Amtrak passenger train route serving communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. It is the second-busiest rail route in the Amtrak system after the Northeast Corridor. - The most beautiful view from this Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run train isn't the beaches of southern Orange County, although they are gorgeous. The most beautiful view isn't through rugged Chatsworth, although it's easy to see why so many old-time Westerns were filmed in those picturesque hillsides. No, the most beautiful sight as the train whizzes down the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, coast from Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. usually becomes apparent just a few miles south of the Orange County line. That's where the train tracks run parallel to Interstate 5 for a few miles. And that's where, on just about every weekend, thousands of other tourists sit in a parking lot known as the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. while the Pacific Surfliner and its passengers whiz past. Moments like that are what make a vacation. And that was the moment I knew this particular trip would be unlike the scores of other trips I've made to San Diego. The Pacific Surfliner has been making the coastal run for a dozen years, mostly under the moniker (1) A name, title or alias. See alias. (2) A COM object that is used to create instances of other objects. Monikers save programmers time when coding various types of COM-based functions such as linking one document to another (OLE). See COM and OLE. the San Diegan The San Diegan was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and a "workhorse" of the railroad. Its 126-mile (203-kilometer) route ran from Los Angeles, California south to San Diego. It was assigned train Nos. 70–79 (Nos. . It starts in Santa Barbara and ends in San Diego, or vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. for those northbound, with stops throughout Ventura, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and Orange counties. It makes the trip 12 times a day. So why did we take the train? It'd be nice to say we took the train to save the environment, use less gas and put less wear and tear on our state's highway infrastructure. But that's only half the story. We took the train because my wife and I have two daughters, an energetic 5-year-old and a newborn. Forget the spotted owl or the horned frog (Zool.) a very large Brazilian frog (Ceratophrys cornuta), having a pair of triangular horns arising from the eyelids. See also: Horned ; we took the train to save our sanity. It worked. The train on this particular Saturday morning was on time, clean and a three-hour respite from ``Are we there yet!?'' It also turned into the biggest toy a certain 5-year-old girl has ever seen. ``Look, Daddy, in the train I can stand up,'' my daughter said, popping up out of her seat. ``In the car, I can't. ``Look, Daddy, in the train I can walk over to the bathroom. In the car, I can't.'' ``Look, Daddy, in the train I can ...'' OK, so maybe the train isn't perfect. But for a few hours each way, it's about as good as it gets for parents with young kids. The train stops in 20 stations between Santa Barbara and San Diego. We boarded in Moorpark, and enjoyed a half-empty train until pulling into Union Station in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . The train picks up a lot of passengers at Union Station, understandable considering it's the West Coast's rail hub. Los Angeles was the sixth-busiest Amtrak station in 2000, with 959,192 boardings. That's significantly lower than the nation's busiest, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. (8.3 million boardings) but still well ahead of the rest of the West Coast. Union Station is accessible to most of Southern California via Metrolink, in addition to Metro Rail's Red Line and scores of busways. And, of course, there are plenty of freeways nearby for those who want to leave their car at the 1930s-era station. But this weekend is for the rails. Leaving downtown L.A., the train literally turns around, so that those who were facing the oncoming scenery through the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. now see what the train just passed as it heads through south L.A. County and points south. What they see isn't much for dozens of miles, as the Surfliner makes its way through the central city, south L.A. and northern Orange County. It's a good time to check out the lounge car. On these short-trip trains, Amtrak provides a snack car. Hungry travelers will be disappointed in the limited selection. But for those looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a quick bite - or a diversion for a 5-year-old - the lounge car hits the spot. Sodas, beer, chips and candy dominate the offerings, but adventuresome travelers can also get a burger that'll be microwaved to just the right temperature. There are also Krispy Kreme two-packs, which are also nuked to get the glazed icing on the move. One of the Surfliner's stops is in the parking lot of Edison Field, the home of the Anaheim Angels baseball team. There's a shuttle that takes Amtrak riders to nearby Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Disney's California Adventure is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. . On the way home, the Anaheim station turned out to be the most popular along the Surfliner's route. That's because the Angels were playing the San Diego Padres in an afternoon game and scores of San Diegans took the train to the game. The stations in north San Diego County were filled with Padres fans, decked out in team colors. By the time the Surfliner pulled out of the Oceanside station, Amtrak employees were opening an extra car at the end of the train that had been closed when the train left San Diego. They also had to open a few more cases of beer before the train got to its first Orange County station. No use waiting for the game to start for a Padres fan, apparently. The Surfliner route is filled with stations like Anaheim, with interesting destinations nearby. The Solana Beach station, for example, in north San Diego County is a block from the Cedros Design District, one of the most eclectic arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. shopping districts in Southern California. Solana Beach's station reflects that design style: a funky, glass-and-metal semi-sphere sitting on a hill above the tracks. Once travelers arrive in San Diego's downtown train station, there are a half-dozen ways to get to wherever they want to go. In addition to taxis, buses and rental-car service, San Diego's trolley system runs through the station, allowing easy connections to most of metropolitan San Diego, plus Tijuana, Mexico. In addition, numerous hotels offer free or low-cost shuttle service from the station. And there are shuttles, taxis and buses aplenty a·plen·ty adj. In plentiful supply; abundant: "There were warning signs aplenty for their candidates as well" Michael Gelb. between San Diego's hotels and its major tourist attractions: Sea World, the San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo One of the world's largest collections of mammals, birds, and reptiles, located in San Diego, Calif., and administered by the Zoological Society of San Diego. The 100-acre (40. , Old Town. Who needs a car? The fact is, taking a train changes perspectives. Who needs a car, indeed, when the train gets to San Diego in almost the same amount of time but without the freeway hassles? I knew the train had cast its magic on my 5-year-old girl when we were traveling through the San Fernando Valley. The train slowed as it entered the Van Nuys station, a relatively new platform that sits in the middle of the industrial Valley. ``Wow, it's so beautiful!'' my daughter said, her eyes as wide as pancakes. Who needs a car, indeed. IF YOU GO GETTING ON BOARD: Amtrak has several daily trains between Union Station in Los Angeles and San Diego, with additional trains scheduled on weekends. Departures range from 6:05 a.m. to 9:50 p.m. FARES: Round-trip adult fare is $55. Seniors are $46.75. Children are $27.50 with a paid adult. INFORMATION: For more information, call (800) 872-7245 or visit amtrak.com. CAPTION(S): 6 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner skirts the beach at San Clemente on its return trip from San Diego to Los Angeles, top and above. For those traveling with children, top left, the train is an ideal way to cover a distance that can seem interminable in a cramped car. (4 -- color) no caption (AMTRAK sign) (5 -- 6) The Pacific Surfliner stops in San Clemente at the pier, left, near pedestrians headed for the beach; above is the radical design of the Solana Beach train station in north San Diego County. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer Chris J. Parker/Staff Photographer Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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