my jaunts: the coast starlight

view of mount shasta in northern california from the coast starlight

view of mount shasta in northern california from the coast starlight

about a year after i moved to LA, los angeles magazine mentioned huell howser as one of their top 50 favorite things of LA.  not one to miss out, i instantly googled huell, and learned he was a popular los angeles tv personality (he has since passed away, RIP HH), with multiple shows on public television that chronicle his travels through california.  i instantly fell in love.  huell was an extremely charismatic man, who was paid to travel through california, meet people, and talk about their adventures on television.  dream job!

after setting up a series recording for all of his shows (he has many), i learned he would be appearing at train day at union station.  sounds nerdy, but we went and met huell!  we also were able to tour many of the trains at union station and learn of the routes.  it is here that i learned of the coast starlight, the amtrak train that travels from los angeles to seattle over a 36 hour period.  sold.

meeting huell howser at los angeles' train day at union station

meeting huell howser at los angeles’ train day at union station

two years later, we boarded the coast starlight at union station, found our roomette, and off we went!  our car attendant brought us champagne as a send-off, which only helped to reinforce the fact that we had made an excellent decision.  since we had a sleeper room (“room” is a bit of a stretch, but the space served us well), we had access to the parlour car, which included personal dining (with a delightful and witty waiter, greg) and arm chairs in which to relax and enjoy the views.  we also visited the sightseer car, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dramatic landscapes.

a champagne send-off on the coast starlight in los angeles. all aboard!

a champagne send-off on the coast starlight in los angeles. all aboard!

the early afternoon of day 1 was spent enjoying the breathtaking ocean views of the southern and central california coast.  though we had taken a trip through central california earlier that summer, the train meandered through the rarely seen views from vandergriff air force base, which is off-limits to drivers.  a guide who formerly worked on the base peppered us with some interesting tidbits about the area and the base.  we enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car that afternoon (all included in the price of our ticket), which included wine and cheese from regions we passed on our route.

coastal views in central california, just north of santa barbara

coastal views in central california, just north of santa barbara

when we woke up on day 2, the scenery was completely different: deserts and coastal cliffs now turned into mountains and pine trees as we travelled through oregon and washington.  we met more of our fellow travelers (i had no idea such a large train community exists!), and swapped stories from our respective hometowns.

views of oregon on the second day of our coast starlight train ride

views of oregon on the second day of our coast starlight train ride

the most memorable part of the trip, though, was the relaxation that ensued.  on a train, i was trapped.  i couldn’t  work (wifi is available, but only works about half the time), i couldn’t run errands, and i couldn’t worry about delays (and there were many delays; definitely do not make plans at your destination for the four-hour period after you are scheduled to arrive).  instead, i spent time reading, chatting with my husband, and meeting people from all over the world.  i enjoyed the diverse views, and finally had some time to think, without caring about the urgencies of my everday life.  how often do our trips afford us that luxury?!  next up: the empire builder line from seattle to chicago.  montana, here i come.

the dining car in amtrak's coast starlight

the dining car in amtrak’s coast starlight

who should go: explorers, those looking for some time to relax

who should not go: the high maintenance

what to read: a murder on the orient express, agatha christie

what to watch: darjeeling limited

what to pack: rooms are small, so pack light.  a scarf and cardigan will protect you from the changing temperatures on different cars.  a camera is a must.

my jaunts: for love of the game

a beautiful night for baseball at chavez ravine in los angeles

a beautiful night for baseball at chavez ravine in los angeles

all of this post-season baseball has me excited for, well, the best sport in america.  i haven’t always been a fan, though.  during a wildly fun trip to new york in the summer of 2004, my best friend dragged me to a new york yankees baseball game.  i was very skeptical of this outing (why do we need to go to the bronx again?) and frantically looked up safety issues for the surrounding burroughs.

my first ever major league game at yankee stadium with kim!

my first ever major league game at yankee stadium with kim!

once in the park, though, i fell in love.  the fans, the music, the hot dogs and beer, the players – i loved it all!  and it was so decidedly new york.  it was big and it was passionate and it was that crazy high of community you get at any great sporting event.  and it didn’t hurt that a-rod hit a walk-off home run to win the game (fact: i did not know who a-rod was at said game, but rather fell in love with hideki matsui).  riding back on the subway to manhattan (crammed full of fans, by the way – no safety issues there!), a long-time yankees fan struck up a conversation and, after hearing this was my first game, said, ‘after a game like that, you’re a fan for life.’  and so i am.

enjoying the game from the bleachers at the rangers ballpark in arlington

enjoying the game from the bleachers at the rangers ballpark in arlington

fast forward 9 years, and i’m now married to an avid baseball fan, which means we spend a fair amount of our summers watching baseball.  naturally, any trip to a major city involves catching a game or at least a stadium tour.  i’m looking for a map to track the stadiums visited (anyone have any ideas?  i’m all ears!), but in the meantime, please enjoy some photos and, of course, some lists.

the view of downtown pittsburgh from pnc park - stunning!

the view of downtown pittsburgh from pnc park – stunning!

  • favorite stadium overall: old yankees stadium (of course, it’s where the magic happened)
  • favorite view from the stands: tied between pnc park, where the pittsburgh pirates play, and petco park, where the san diego padres play.  one is on the water with the city in the background, and the other is in the middle of downtown san diego.  stunning.
  • favorite hot dog: the world famous dodger dog in dodger stadium in echo park, los angeles
  • favorite beer: the many microbrews offered at safeco field, where the seattle mariners play
  • favorite stands: the crammed and awkward stands at fenway park in boston (especially the green monster!)
  • favorite fans: the bleacher creatures :)
the view of downtown san diego from petco park

the view of downtown san diego from petco park

what are your favorite sports related sites to visit?

reading my way around the world

marfa book company, where i found the history of giant, which was later written into a movie filmed in marfa

marfa book company, where i found the history of giant, which was later written into a movie filmed in marfa

in case you haven’t heard, my husband is now a doctor. not the real kind of doctor, as he likes to say, but the kind that still gets some awesome initials after the name (i’d like to think that “cpa” still counts for something, but so far it’s not working in my favor). these initials (ph.d. in case you haven’t yet caught on) are from his five years spent learning everything there is about government and history. this proves to be a really useful skill when we travel and i say things like “now this country was on which side of the war?”

it's official: he's a doctor!

it’s official: he’s a doctor!

history was always my worst subject (ok, and chemistry). i could never remember the names and the battles, and the years just always blended together for me (is there really much difference between 1225 and 1290?). thankfully, travel is changing that, and making it more real to me than the pages of my former textbooks.

i have found that i really enjoy immersing myself in a travel destination through books, movies, and music. when traveling last summer to monterey, california, i read john steinbeck’s cannery row. not only did we visit cannery row and see the places on which the book was based, but we were also able to visit the steinbeck center in salinas and learn about steinbeck’s life growing up in salinas, and the true stories that inspired the book.

the pacific biological laboratories, fictionalized into western biological labs in steinbeck's cannery row (monterey, ca)

the pacific biological laboratories, fictionalized into western biological labs in steinbeck’s cannery row (monterey, ca)

i watched vicky cristina barcelona before my trip to barcelona. i read giant while traveling to marfa (still a favorite).  i picked up a copy of a moose and a lobster walk into a bar while stopped at a light house in portland, maine. and a tale of two cities made the french revolution come to life much more than that world history class i took as a freshman.  what better way to learn about the people and culture of a place than to read their stories and learn the history that defines the location?

interior of marfa book company, with tons of books on art, texas, and art in texas

interior of marfa book company, with tons of books on art, texas, and art in texas

other suggestions:
– read don quixote when in madrid and alcalá de henares (alcalá claims to be the birthplace of cervantes)
– read the age of innocence when in new york
– watch paris, je t’aime before heading to paris

what are some of your favorite location-specific reads/movies?

update: after writing this post, i was strolling through elliott bay book company in seattle (great bookstore if you are in the area), and came across an amazing resource, book lust to go. this book lists reading options (fiction and non-fiction) based on destinations. since i was about to head to barcelona, i checked the spain section, and it had the recommendation of the shadow of the wind, which takes place in 1945 barcelona, and was perfect for my trip (and long enough for the trans-atlantic flight). book lust to go is exactly what i’ve been looking for – pick up a copy!

visiting park guell in barcelona, as seen in vicky cristina barcelona

visiting park guell in barcelona, as seen in vicky cristina barcelona

map of steinbeck's travels in "travels with charley" at the steinbeck center in salinas, ca

map of steinbeck’s travels in “travels with charley” at the steinbeck center in salinas, ca

my jaunts: seattle

sitka and spruce in seattle

sitka and spruce in seattle

my work recently took me to seattle, a city i had never visited, for a week. i had been saving articles about seattle for a few years, and was excited to finally get a chance to explore. seattle is such a unique and arresting city that i instantly fell in love. full of lush, green spaces, warm people, excellent food, and countless book stores and coffee shops, seattle was a welcome break from the always-rushing los angeles. my husband joined me, and we took some tips from nyt’s 36 hours, and headed straight to capitol hill to visit volunteer park for views of the city from the brick tower and great food from volunteer park cafe, both of which did not disappoint.

we made a quick stroll through pike place market (where the starbucks brew got its name), but the better attractions of the area are the cute stores and restaurants surrounding the market. my favorites included beecher’s cheese, which has large windows for visitors to observe the cheese-making process first hand, and the metsker map shop, where i could have spent hours perusing through travel books, city maps, and globes.

view of seattle from volunteer park in capitol hill

view of seattle from volunteer park in capitol hill

taking another cue from 36 hours, we headed to sitka and spruce for dinner one night, which is housed in a warehouse-like building off pine street that shares space with a bakery, a meat market, a small bar, and more. we ate at s&s on monday night, which is malafacha night, which involved a long menu of ridiculously delicious tacos, which were rich in flavor and accompanied by micheladas, my new favorite drink (beer and lime juice – how did i not know of this gem earlier?!).

victorian scene in port townsend, washington

victorian scene in port townsend, washington

as much a city of water as of land (views of the sea are constant), we boarded a ferry in our rental car to explore some of the surrounding area. i had read an article in sunset magazine a few years ago that mentioned the small town of port townsend, so we headed there first. about an hour’s drive from the ferry stop on bainbridge island, we indulged in piping hot pizza from waterfront pizza as soon as we arrived (buy a slice from the window downstairs or sit upstairs in the tiny dining room with the dumbwaiter for more substantial portions). the town is adorable, dotted with victorian houses and buildings, and with a charming downtown that runs parallel to the waterfront. i enjoyed browsing through get-a-bles and what’s cookin with ice cream from elevated ice cream in hand.

after a quick coffee from pane d’amore, we headed south to gig harbor, an almost too-idyllic spot southwest of seattle that was recently named one of the best small towns in america. we browsed the stores along the water (loved bayside book company), and ordered smoked salmon and rainier beer from tides tavern as we watched the boats pull into the dock for the evening.

who should go: readers, coffee drinkers, shoppers of madewell (is it me or did the entire town appear outiffted in their recent catalog?)
what to read: nothing. save your books for the countless book stores throughout seattle (i loved elliott bay book co in pike/pine)
what to watch: sleepless in seattle and grey’s anatomy (confession: i was saddened to learn that seattle grace hospital does not actually exist; don’t judge)
what to pack: layers, an umbrella, boots

ferry to bainbridge island, en route to port townsend

ferry to bainbridge island, en route to port townsend

refreshing happy hour at tide's tavern in gig harbor

refreshing happy hour at tides tavern in gig harbor

checking out a mariners/rangers game in seattle

checking out a mariners/rangers game in seattle