Coast Starlight

 
When we took the train from San Diego to San Jose a few weeks ago, we weren't certain what to expect - the whole trip took about 14 hours, one of which was a layover in Las Angeles. I have lots of expereince taking the train in Europe, but this was my first *real* train trip in the States.
We arrived at the station in San Diego very early in the morning, and you could tell who was an old pro at the trains - they had their pillows and blankets and thier bags were ready to go. JK dropped JT and me off, then drove to one of the long-term airport parking lots and jogged the 10 blocks back to us. (This solved the problem of the carseat which we didn't want to take along since we were staying with relatives with an extra carseat and arriving back at the airport a week later.)
The ride from SD to LA was uneventful, and since it was early, we were tired. It was open-seating, and everyone was encouraged to sit on the second level of the train unless they were elderly or handicapped. We boarded in front of 2 Amish couples, both with a small child, and one of the men was on cruches. We also boarded near an older woman who asked where the smoking car was. There are none, the conductor told her. But I was told that there was one, she insisted. Nope, not in the entire United States. This irked the woman, but whe was able to get off at the stops and get her fix. (A change from the smoking/non-smoking cars and cabins on European trains.)
In LA we had to get a "boarding pass" for out next train, but that actually meant that we showed our id's and got a check on our tickets. People were liing up for the train, but we sat and ate an egg bagel and drank coffee. Why line up? We then walked to the train and again, people lined up to get on. The cars were divided by destination, and we were in the last car. Although we had "reserved seats," we actually hadn't been assigned seats, so the conductor checked our tickets outside the train and told us where to sit. Later, another conductor came by and filled out another sort of seating chart. This whole procedure seemed a bit silly - why not just assign seats when people buy their tickets? You could cut out at least 2 steps right there.
The train was comfortable and clean. A lot more legroom than coach class on the plane. There was also a dining car (we had brought sandwiches for lunch and then decided to eat dinner at the less expensive snack car), a lower part of a car (called the "kiddie car") with toys and videos for kids, and best of all, the parlor car. Unlike the olden days (or the movies), it didn't have comfy seats, but it was all windows with seats facing out, and you could enjoy the scenery.
The Amish joined us on the second train. (In case you wonder what they eat on the train - the ate cornflakes with milk (they carried a little cooler) and then cheese puffs.) There were also some younger adults (college age?), even one girl with dreadlocks who got out her accordion and serenaded the parlor car. (Very strange. I am surprised that she was allowed, but no one seemed to mind. We were enjoying a pizza and a bottle of wine in the snack car while JT had his daily dose of "m-ms", so we didn't mind either.)
All in all, it was a pleasant trip. Supposedly if you take the train the opposite direction (it comes from Seattle), you can end up being several hours late as the delays add up. (Amtrak sometimes has to wait for the frieght trains from Union-Pacific to come through.) But we arrived in San Jose right on time!