¿Qué Onda Güera?

Greetings from Portland!

And as this title suggests, I'm fresh off the train ride of 36 hours, almost to the minute! Opting to stay away from the ridiculously overpriced flights of America, I decided to ride the train instead, an option nearly forgotten until now. The airlines in America are making it more difficult than ever to get anywhere by plane; same small seats, but now more expensive! No food served on the plane! You'll have to pay for that! And on some flights, you're charged extra for choosing an aisle or window seat! And you only get one piece of luggage! No thanks, Delta. I'm a new big fan of Amtrak.

The train is an option in America that is rarely considered. Trains are much slower and if you are in any sort of hurry, the train is not the best option for you. But if you have some time to get to your destination, this is my new favorite form of transportation. Train travel is great in other countries, nearly every other country, but is sort of undeveloped in America. I was fortunate to have enough time to take the train from San Diego to Los Angeles to Portland, OR on the Coast Starlight.

And a beautiful (though long) trip it was!

I was given a ride from Ensenada through Tijuana to San Ysidro, CA. Then a quick one-hour trolley ride later, I arrived to stay with a friend in San Diego for one day and two nights.

The road to Tijuana.

This poor donkey was painted as a zebra.

Some sort of sunsphere, Tijuana.

Lunch with Evangelina.

Conquistador statue, Balboa Park in San Diego.

Building in Balboa Park.

The fence on the overpass.

Then, after visiting my friend, I got on the train from San Diego with a quick stop in LA.

Union Station in LA.

My meal for the next 36 hours...trail mix! This is about all I ate the whole way up.

The train on the coast.

Vacationers parked for the 4th of July weekend.

When I woke up the next morning, we were in Northern California, near Mt. Shasta. We quickly (well...not quickly...) crossed over into Oregon.

Mt. Shasta.

Mt. Shasta / clouds

All in all, it was a really relaxing, very long train ride up the Pacific Coast. There was lots to see. And it was the perfect way to spend most of my 4th of July!

Hope you all had a great Holiday weekend!