Travel Plans

I'm heading up to Sacramento on the 12:39 Capitol train out of Fremont Centerville, with the hope that as it's only the train's third stop, there will still be seats available. It's too much to hope that one of the handful of single seats will have not yet filled. Lisa left Oregon yesterday and will collect me from Sacramento this afternoon and take us up to Yuba City, where we will spend the night and have a very low-key Thanksgiving lunch with my grandfather tomorrow. After that, we drive to Reno for three nights. Sunday morning, Lisa sees me off on the California Zephyr out of Sparks -- which is still a passenger stop, although Union Pacific has done everything they can to hide the station -- back to the Bay Area, while she heads east toward Columbus and SMOFCon.

( Of the Vanishing Reno Holiday Inn )

( Zephyr Seats: Now You See Them... )

Meanwhile, I must push to get some results for work so that I can actually leave at Noon to go catch my train. Or at least I must get things to where I can take pieces of the job with me and maybe get some work done on the train. I was up until after 2:30 this morning getting to the point where I could set off a long optimization batch run before I could get some sleep. On the bright side, because I'm not driving, I don't have to worry about falling asleep at the wheel, and there's no danger of overrunning my train stop, as the Capitol's last stop is Sacramento.

Ready to Go

I have turned in my reports -- mostly to people who are already on vacation, but never mind about that. I'm packed and ready. Amtrak reports train 532 will depart ten minutes late from San Jose, but hasn't got around to updating the departure time from Fremont Centerville. I'll be shutting down here shortly. Next update from Yuba City later tonight.

Happiness is a Single Seat

Cheryl and I walked down to the Fremont Centerville station to catch my train, which was expected about ten minutes late. The station indicator signs even explained why (“held for connection”). I kept my cool as I heard the whistle for the “heart attack trains” – an ACE train for Stockton carded to arrive a few minutes before my Capitol train for Sacramento and a westbound Capitol bound for San Jose, which was unloading on Track 2. (Track 1 is the long platform close to the station. Track 2 is a short platform opposite.) Unusually, the westbound Capitol had one door open on the station side of the train, rather than the platform side. They were unloading a wheelchair on a door with the car spotted on the grade crossing at Fremont Blvd rather than on the platform a car length behind it. I assume the train stopped a little long, and had to unload there on account of there’s no way for a wheelchair to move between cars.

Having fifteen minutes to wait for my delayed train, I suggested we get a coffee in the Depot Café. While we waited for our mochas, who should happen to come in but johno, who said he had just picked up a friend (Terry Terry) who had come in on that westbound train. He collected his lunch order from the café and we bade him farewell, then headed down to the far end of the platform.

( A Tale of the Train )

The trip through the flatlands between Benicia and the Yolo Causeway were without incident. I drank my coffee and read one of the books Cheryl bought me while we were in Chicago. After we left Davis, I started stowing my things and preparing to arrive in Sacramento slightly after 4 PM, having had a very relaxing and pleasant afternoon. Throughout the trip, as I watched cars inch their way along I-880 and I-80 through Oakland-Berkeley, and saw that the backup from Cordelia Junction on I-680 stretched nearly all the way back to the Benicia Bridge, I felt better and better about leaving the driving to Amtrak and letting other people stress out in the rain and holiday getaway traffic. Train travel really is the way to go whenever possible.

Of Trains and Bears

As my train arrived (about 40 minutes late due to the late start, the open drawbridge, and the double-stopping at most stations), I switched my radio from the railroad band back to Lisa and my standard simplex 2m frequency and gave her a call. She answered, saying that she was parked across from the train station and that I should go to the front of the station where she would pick me up. Bad idea. I waited for most people to exit first so I could put my stuff together in peace, then headed out to the front, briefly stopping to say a good word to Eugene K. Skoropowski, the Capitol Corridor Managing Director, who was, following his normal practice, standing in the Sacramento Amtrak station waiting room with a big ASK ME sign around his neck.

( Getting out of Sacramento )

Kuma Bear had to make way for me as we drove up from Sacramento. He normally sits in his special car seat on the passenger side, but there's not enough room for that and for me at the same time, so Kuma had to instead sit in the middle of the pickup's bench seat. Lisa buckled him up safely, though.

Now I'm mostly caught up and hope to get some sleep tonight after having been up very late last night wrestling with an optimization model from work. We have a noon checkout tomorrow, and we're not in any rush, thank goodness. We eventually have to get up to Reno tomorrow night, but we're not going to hurry if we can avoid it.