The Class Reunion was a blast. I had not seen a lot of those people in forty years! Glad I went and hope we do it again sooner than forty years! Now back to the trip to California...........................
Flowers Blooming at Quincy, California
Now back to my trip. After we de-trained (is there such a word?) in Colfax, California, my traveling buddy and I spent a few days visiting dear friends and their Morgan horses in that neck of the woods. I won't bore you with that part of the trip or post pictures of all the horses (I know, the Morgan people are gnashing their teeth right about now and rending their clothing)..Then she and I got on the Amtrak Thruway Motor Coach to catch the Capitol Corridor in Sacramento. We got on the bus in Auburn, California and I had the distinct displeasure of trying to print my tickets while the bus driver was impatiently waiting for me. Why? Because I had stupidly misread the time we were suppose to leave and we almost missed the bus! YIKES. But all is well that ends well I guess. A miss is as good as a mile.
And in case you were wondering, the QUIKTRAK ticket thing-a-ma-bob is NOT quick when it is printing nine gazillion boarding tickets for two people and the Amtrak bus driver is checking her watch every 1 millionth of a second. Oh, now that WAS stress.
We got off the Bus and onto the Capitol Corridor train at the Sacramento Station.
I noticed a lot of Amish were on both trains we took. Apparently trains are faster than horses.
On this leg of the trip, I found it difficult to switch from the bus to the train. Getting on the right bus was very easy as all of the buses were marked with lighted signs on the front which rotated the stops they were going to. NONE of the trains were marked and almost every single passenger that got on was worried they were getting on the wrong train. The conductors had to keep repeating the train's destination over and over and over. It seemed to me a sign like the buses had was warranted and would have made it much simpler.
View of the Hills East of Sacramento taken from the Capitol Corridor Train
One of the ladies on the train said she rode this train almost every week and it had only been a few weeks earlier that the hills had been very green and then bam! they dried out very quickly.
Wetlands near Martinez. Do you see the Egret?
At Martinez, we changed from the Capitol Corridor train back to the Amtrak Thruway Bus to head north to Garberville, which is near the Humbolt State Redwood Park.
Harbor at Martinez from the Bus
The Rust Bucket Fleet in Martinez Harbor
The 'Rust Bucket Fleet' was interesting. It is scrapped naval vessels that are warehoused in the harbor. They said they will need to do something to get rid of them as they were leaking and polluting the water.
Hills Heading North
Valley from Bus with fog as night nears. Did you know that Redwood trees get their moisture not from the ground but from fog? They only grow in a 45 by 250 mile swath along the coast of California.
Almost dark as we near Garberville.
My friend lives near Garberville and that was Home-Base so to speak for the next few days. A wonderful place to have Home-Base! I really enjoyed her hospitality immensely. And it was sure nice to snuggle into a bed after our arrival that evening. A long day traveling!
Next Blog - the Redwoods, Ferndale, and a wonderful car ride down the Coast.
How am I doing? Still enjoying the Armchair Trip?
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