Day at Disneyland: Getting There
The big day arrived at last. Monday, May 9, 2023.
I arrived in downtown Martinez and found plenty of parking in the lot at the Amtrak Station. It’s one of California’s busiest passenger rail stations with Capital Corridor, San Joaquin, California Zephyr, and Coast Starlight trains serving here. In fact, moments before San Joaquin train 710 arrived for Bakersfield, the southbound Coast Starlight train 11 made its brief stop to discharge and pick up a few passengers.
My choice of a parking spot would later provide amusement on my return 3 days later.
It has been a while since I last rode this train. At that time, a good friend (and Disneyland aficionado), Ed Mackinson was working aboard as a conductor. What started as a service with one northbound and one southbound train each day has grown into a major transportation service with a robust schedule of six round-trip trains a day under state sponsorship.
The San Joaquin trains primarily use the bilevel passenger cars purchased by the state of California for Northern and Southern California service. The train often consists of six car trainsets of four coaches and a cafe car. Once the conductor had scanned my electronic ticket, I was free to get coffee and pastry. It was a relaxing ride with stops in Antioch, Stockton, Modesto, Turlock, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Hanford, Corcoran, and Wasco; with a final rail destination of Bakersfield. Motorcoach service to Los Angeles Union Station completes the trip.
Joining me en route at Fresno was my good friend and former Disneyland Jungle Cruise skipper, K.D. Younger. This trip allowed her some much-needed diversion from otherworldly concerns for a few days. Other characters along this time include best pal Michelle Valladolid (a veteran of early internet days as well as an occasional columnist at a variety of websites); and Michael Riley ( a friend of many years with various Star Trek and Disney misadventures including a stint as the Emergency Retail Hologram as Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas). With all three of these compatriots, there are plenty of great Disney and more memories behind us. They also have joined me for trips on chartered private railcars to various destinations. One could not ask for better company on this adventure.
Upon the arrival of our motorcoaches at Union Station, I headed for the Hertz counter to pick up my rental car for the next few days. The Manager’s Special turned out to be a four-door Chevrolet Spark. Small but useful, it got us around the Southland for the next few days without incident.
Union Station has seen a renaissance in the last few years as it became a true multi-modal transportation hub. What began as a rail-only facility in May of 1939 with passenger trains of three mainline railroads and trains from across the country today sees Amtrak trains and buses, along with Metrolink trains from all over Southern California, Metro light and heavy rail along with local and long-distance bus services. Not to mention Greyhound and many other local bus services. It is indeed a busy place.
The station has also seen a revival in food and beverage service with everything from a small market to Starbucks to quick service and fast food all available. Traxx is a popular sit-down dining option. But on this day, our destination was the revival of a classic space at Union Station. At one time, the Harvey House restaurant was the best of the best when it came to dining while waiting for your train to depart. As it served its last meals by Harvey in 1967, today it serves as the Homebound Brewery. It’s a classic brewpub with beer brewed on-site. A great mix of cocktails, beverages, and food all come together as a great place to meet and greet.
Meet and greet indeed! This was an opportunity to meet up with a Facebook friend, Jeff Sumners, who shares a series of interests including railroading, Nevada, theme parks, Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, to name a few. Over a few pints of great beer and snacks, we commiserated over some recent experiences. Hope to get the chance to enjoy more time soon.
Eventually, K.D. and I made our way to our Motel 6 in Buena Park to turn in at the end of a long day. Which leads to the end of this chapter of our story. Next time? If it’s Tuesday, this must be Orange County. Stay tuned…