The Rail Pass - Segment #6: Coast Starlight

My morning flight to Seattle from DCA, was my first from the airport since February's aviation disaster that killed 67 passengers and crew, so I was a little nervous. But as most flights do, this one went off without a hitch and I arrived safely in Seattle.

The route from SEA-TAC was different than I'd remembered from my 2019 trip. I was able to take the train into town and the light rail to two blocks from my hotel in the Lake Union area. Good public transit is always a plus in my book!

Despite being cobranded with EVEN suites, the Staybridge suites more than exceeded my expectations. Although I'm usually team Marriott, Staybridge Suites has shown itself to be much more reliable than Residence Inn.

Although, true to form, I spent most of my time in Seattle working, I was able to explore a few areas of the city I'd missed during my earlier visit. A friend suggested that I visit Alki Beach, a city park and the site where the first white settlers arrived in Seattle in 1851.

I eventually arrived but before I made it to my destination, I took a wrong turn looking for the ferries and ended up at the baseball stadium.

Always willing to make the best of a situation, I noticed that there was an after game special with hot dogs on sale for 2/$7. I hadn't eaten and really like hot dogs, so I decided to try it out. That willingness to try new things lead to a conversation with Al Griffin, the owner of Al's Gourmet Sausage, one the vendors selling the famous Seattle hot dog with cream cheese.

Al Griffin, owner of Al's Gourmet Sausages

He was celebrating his 30th year in business and preparing for a big celebration later in the year. He gave me tips about my upcoming train trip and convinced me to try this Seattle game time staple. It wasn't until Sonic debuted its hot dog offerings in 2011 that I realized that just like with BBQ styles, each part of the country has it's own style of hot dog. Up until that point, I'd really only publicly seen the standard ketchup and relish hotdog. The most fancy hot dog I'd ever prepared or eaten, was the one I'd learned from my dad's younger brother when he'd accompany my dad on home improvement jobs: Mayo, cheese slice, ketchup, and relish. But that was the limit for me!

After thoroughly enjoying my stay in Seattle, I arrived at King Station for my departure. The last time I had a sleeper car and I wondered how the boarding experience would differ. Remembering the tip I received in Chicago, I checked my larger bag!

The baggage staff while not outright rude, were less than helpful. I began to think that my horrible experience on the Empire Builder had more to do with the Seattle based crew than the train trip itself. I retrieved my seat assignment and sat in the lobby and patiently awaited my departure time. I boarded the train for my east side seat. I sat in front of a slightly younger couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. They'd decided to take the train along with friends and family to celebrate. Unlike me, they'd heavily researched the trip and had approximate times for the most notable scenery. Of the nine segments, this was my second favorite. Nothing could top the California Zephyr but this was definitely a close second. Had I known better and possible did research, like that couple, I would have probably skipped the first leg of the trip. There is only so much farmland you can see until it all begins to run together!

States visited: California, Oregon, California

Although I had a window seat, I missed a lot of the early scenery due to the fact that I was facing east. However, after the train had emptied out a bit, the attendant let me move into the car ahead so that I could have a quiet, unobstructed view of the ocean. I called a close friend who doesn't travel much and shared video of what I was seeing.

This was my fifth time on the west coast, but it was only the second time that I'd really seen the Pacific Ocean. Shortly after I'd returned home, I commented on LinkedIn about how amazing it must be to see that sort of thing everyday. Returning to my excitement at seeing Pixar Studios, I wondered what amazing things I'm surrounded by that I'm taking for granted. People were just drinking their coffee and driving like, "Just the ocean, nothing to see here, folks."

While traveling south, in addition to the coastal views, we rode through the mountains and forests. We had two hours where there was no cell service or internet. We also had to stop several times due to freight trains having the right of way.

Mountain scenery from Coast Starlight

Even though the train trip itself wasn't the best of the 30 day Rail Pass experience, this portion of the trip was the best overall. Although still working, I was not rushed trying to meet deadlines, my hotel in Seattle was great, I had no seatmate for the duration of the trip, and the scenery was gorgeous.

I arrived in Los Angeles and made my way to my hotel in Pasadena to rest overnight before embarking on the next leg of my trip to San Diego.