Last stop, San Diego

I took Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner train last weekend from Orange County to San Diego and was surprised by how full the train was on my way down to San Diego on Sunday. I even had someone sitting next to me, which wasn't so bad because the seats are roomier than on a plane. And it's rare in these days of earbuds and driving solo to talk to a stranger so it was kind of fun to get into a random conversation. After sitting for an hour or so in silence, at the end of the ride we got talking about sailing (he was competing in the Newport to Ensenada yatch race), marathons and biking. Sitting on the upper level, there are nice views of the ocean and the quaint beach cities (at least they look quaint out the window of a train) of San Clemente and Oceanside.

It took 2 1/2 hours and cost $21 one way. It's supposed to take two hours but we got delayed because of track work. I think that's unusual and I wouldn't hold it against Amtrak because the train was on time on the way back. The train takes a little longer than driving and since I have a fuel efficient car, costs a little more too. But as someone pointed out to me, it saves time because you can get things done on the train. I did a little bit of work and read some of the newspaper, although I wasn't as productive as I'd imagined. At some point it was more enjoyable to just look out the window at a different view of the trip to San Diego, which I've done countless times on the freeway. This is even though I sat on the wrong side of the train and was staring inland instead of at the ocean. But I caught a glimpse of the ocean when I walked around and out the other window, so I'm not complaining.

I figured I'd sit oceanside on the way back the next day, but got all turned around because the seats were facing backwards and ended up on the inland side again! This time I didn't even try to be productive. The train was less crowded so I had the row to myself. I put on my iPod and drifted off to NPR's Planet Money podcast, the gentle voice of Adam Davidson attempting to explain mark-to-market assets. I woke up in time, a little groggy, but I didn't miss my stop!