Going Off The Rails

The Summer Of Train Journeys

The train conductor on the Pacific Surfliner takes my ticket and asks me if I’d like a glass of Chardonnay or Cabernet.

I'm sinking into my gigantic seat, like Chairry on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, and I can’t quite catch what the conductor said, because Anthony, the Club Car barman, is on the PA system, singing one of his original compositions: “It’s a Beautiful Saturday for a Train Ride.”

“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” I say, wondering if this journey could pleasantly escalate to a Karaoke marathon.

This is the train hookup we all dream of. Well, believe me, you can have some version of this rather easily. This still is from Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.

I am soaking wet from the Santa Barbara, California seashore and couldn't be happier. Yes, I am wet on the train.

You see, we had a half-hour layover at the Santa Barbara station, and I took advantage of its two-block proximity to the beach to take a dip in the beach in my underwear.

Welcome to Amtrak…