Favorite Means of Transportation

photo by pnther60

Do you have a favorite way to go places? The convenience and flexibility of driving is undeniable, but man, oh man, I love trains! I love waiting on the platform and looking down the tracks to see if it's on its way, I love the smell at the train station, I love the whoosh of wind on my face as it arrives - it's all so exciting.

I rarely get to take train trips in the US, but a couple of weekends ago I decided that enough is enough, cats or no cats, I need to adventure.

I woke up at 7 am with trains on my mind and booked a ticket to Santa Barbara and back for the same day. It was a fun a little lunch trip to SB! In my usual non-punctual fashion, I arrived at the station 2 minutes before the departure time without my camera. I frantically punched in the reservation number in the Amtrak machine (the controls are so non-intuitive) to get my ticket. But the train was late anyway, so I had time to relax and ask a stranger to snap an overly-excited-waiting-for-the-train shot.

The ride was beautiful. The Surfliner train runs right next to the beach. I got to see lots of sea-lions (and/or dolphins - I'm not sure I can tell the difference), seagulls and pelicans. When you live in a small non-airconditioned apartment in the summer, you learn to not stay cramped inside. So, when an opportunity presents to escape to much milder Santa Barbara for a few hours, you definitely take it.

The only thing I don't like about trains is leaving whoever is waving goodbye to me on the platform. I hate saying goodbye, in general, but leaving by train makes it even worse. There is the standing and looking at each other teary-eyed through the train window, waiting for the train to start moving, walking next to the window while you can still keep up with the train, and then seeing the station disappear as you get further and further away. There is a feeling of helplessness. But inevitably, as the train gains momentum, the steady rocking of the train calms me down and I remember to just breathe.

photo by robyn

I fell asleep on the ride back, drove home to two obviously-just-woken-up-from-a-nap cats and all three of us stretched, yawned and went back to sleep.