Sightseeing With Amtrak

Dick had a hankering for some Santa Maria-style barbecue so what better place to get it than . . . . Santa Maria. We've often talked about taking a train trip and he decided to combine the two into a day jaunt. Our plan was to take the 9:15 Amtrak from Oxnard to Guadalupe, then return to Oxnard on the 5:01. Dick went to the station on Thursday to purchase our tickets; Amtrak's website is difficult to navigate (there's a surprise). The agent said that Coach was almost full - there might only be standing room - so Dick bought Business class tickets. Maybe the agent got a cut of ticket sales or maybe there were a lot of no-shows, but coach was definitely not full; more like echoingly empty. (We know this because the restrooms in our cabin were broken, as were the ones in the next two sections. Everyone had to use the toilets four cars back.)

Business class had definite advantages. Reclining leather seats, plenty of leg room, free snacks and drinks, and big windows to watch the world roll by. Very comfortable and relaxing. With one annoying disadvantage - cell phone usage was not banned, as it is on airlines. See the guy in the seat behind Dick's head? Very loud, very carrying voice. Lots of big important travel plans he had to arrange right. this. minute. We got to hear all about it until cell service suddenly cut out (awwww) just north of Santa Barbara.

Why, if we wanted Santa Maria, did we go to Guadalupe? For this - The Pacific Surfliner travels along the coast all the way from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, with a stop in Guadalupe but not in Santa Maria. To reach Santa Maria, we would have had to take a train to Santa Barbara, then a bus from Santa Barbara to Santa Maria. Not what we had in mind.

The highway and train track run right along the coast from Oxnard to Santa Barbara. At Gaviota, the highway turns inland but the train continues up the coast into areas with few roads. The scenery was breathtaking, with ocean vistas on one side and meadows, ranches, and mountains on the other. And the best part was that we got to sit back, relax, and leaving the 3+ hours of driving to Amtrak.

We had a few minutes to kill while waiting for the taxi in Guadalupe. The depot is a three-sided, open air building with benches and entertainment - two birds scolded us - then serenaded us - for disturbing their nest building activities. But watching their antics also showed us these - spider egg sacs. I really don't want to be around when those hatch . . . .

Guadalupe was a little further from Santa Maria than Dick thought (a $33 cab ride, each way. ouch. Public transportation in CA s***s.) The driver dropped us at a BBQ stand near an antique store (another reason we chose Santa Maria; they're supposed to have a lot of great antique stores) - which turned out to be beside a fabric store with a wonderful yarn shop. Can you say 'stash enhancement'?

I found this book, which I'd never seen before. Cables are my favorite thing to crochet; I can't wait to start on these patterns. The store also had some unusual yarns. I bought one skein to make Dick a scarf, along with (better sit down - this may be a shock) some knitting needles. And I knit while waiting for the train - and while on the train - and all day today. And tomorrow, I'll have an FO to show you. A knitted FO.