Next big trip, includes a few thousand rail miles. I am sure Jo and I will land on a few buses during this trip. If any auto usage is incurred, it will be through absolute necessity and with slight disdain.
- September 26th departing Portland Union Station @ 2:25pm on Amtrak Train #11.
- September 27th arriving Los Angeles Union Station @ 9:00pm on Amtrak Train #11.
- Chilling the OC life & roaming the LA mega sprawl via Metro.
- September 30th departing Los Angeles @ 2:30pm on Train #2 and Arriving Maricopa @ 10:07pm on Train #2.
- October 1st-4th will be staying at the Hampton in Gilbert (Mesa)
- and then
- Hotel San Carlos on the 4th-7th
- October 7th departing Maricopa @ 1:02am on Train #1 and arriving Los Angeles @ 9:40am on Train #1.
- Chilling in LA again, and shredding the OC.
- October 9th departing Los Angeles @ 10:15am on Train #14.
- October 10th arriving Portland @ 3:40pm on Train #14.
If you have any suggestions (I have received a few) of any particular routes, places, or other things Jo and I should hit up while in LA/OC please do comment. Also in PHX – got a few things lining up and definitely looking forward to checking out both metropolis. The last I was in LA was about a year ago, and the last time I saw Phoenix was in 1994 aboard the Sunset Limited – we took an unplanned 8+ hour delay into the city – it was a weird but awesome trip. 🙂
Transit Sleuth 
-Another one of my handy "Make the most of of a Transit pass as possible" tip: IF you take Metrolink (Commuter Rail) anywhere, note that a Round Trip ticket is good as an EZ-Transit Pass on Metro (see: http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/riders_guide/paying_fare-07.htm), and for Transfers on to local OCTA buses (they emailed me on this one, so no link).
-San Clemente Metrolink Station is right on the beach as is Oceanside (Transfers to COASTER to San Diego do not always match up here). Rapid 704 from Union Station to Santa Monica, Transfer available at Vermont/Santa Monica Red Line Station, goes via Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and to Santa Monica Boardwalk/Pier (I have personally done this run).
-Amtrak is the wonderful place that kicked me to the unemployment office back in December 08 leaving me in the current "No Job" situation I still have, so unfortunately I refuse to ride or promote them anymore, its a shame, but i was given no reason, so I have no reason to patronize them, I actually discourage them. =( But in SoCal thats easy!
-Have fun, I grew up in SoCal, its fun, but it sure has changed.
How are you getting from Maricopa to Phoenix?
There’s no connecting anything, and even Amtrak says you are on your own.
There’s a connection to Flagstaff, 150 miles north of Phoenix, but the ride from L.A. is 11 hours.
Driving from L.A. to Phoenix takes about 6 hours.
We’re jumping the Sunset Limited out that way (thus some of the odd scheduling – but it works well for visiting LA & all)
We’re getting a ride w/ a comrade or two. 🙂 I had checked that and found it to be shockingly absurd that the station was way the hell out there in the boonies. Phoenix really needs to resurrect what they had downtown. Just in 96′ they had the traditional station (which I stopped at last time I was through the area).
To put it out in Maricopa seems shortsighted at best, idiotic at worst.
IIRC, the reason Amtrak runs "in the boonies" is because either Union Pacific or Southern Pacific abandoned the route into Phoenix account a lack of traffic to support the line.
Amtrak certainly had no interest in buying the line for one train every other day…and frankly it’s completely inefficient to maintain a railroad to that high of standard for such little ridership when there are other transit needs that can use the money – and match it with ridership.
Well, that makes sense Erik. I wasn’t sure what the dealio was, since the entire mid-western region is more akin to ghost towns than actual productive wealth creating enterprise.