Journey North #2

10:15am. Leaving Union Station. Going through some very "interesting" neighborhoods.
Around 10:40 we pass the Burbank airport and continue through backyards, backlots, back of everything. Can't wait to get close to the ocean again.
11:30am. Finally nicer scenery as we go through the Topanga Canyon.
We enter the agricultural Simi Valley on our way to the coast.
12:00pm. We arrive in Oxnard. I've always thought that was a funny name.
12:18pm. We finally reach the water. The weather is not as nice now. It is overcast but the ocean is still beautiful.
12:51pm. We roll into Santa Barbara station as we are eating lunch in the dining car. It is raining raining a little bit now.
2:00pm. We are back in our seats after a long nice lunch break with our charming table mates, Grace from Seattle and Joanne from San Jose. It is now pouring down. You can't tell where the Sean ends and the sky begins. From the train we watch the waves explode against the cliffs below us. On the other side, green rolling hills disapperaring in the mist in the background. It is impossible now to take any pictures as the camera focusses on the drops on the window pane. The groundcover along the shore has the fall colors usually associated with California going from greens to yellows to oranges to reds.
2:25pm to 2:32pm. No cellular service. Well I guess I can't move here, no matter where "here" might be. According to the GPS in my phone we are now near a town called Betteravia (if my guess is correct it means beet; the word is betterave in French). We are approaching a town called Guadalupe. Pretty ironic.
3:10pm. The sun peers through the clouds as we are approaching San Luis Obispo. Some white puffs hang in front of the hills like pieces of cotton candy.
4:00pm. We left San Luis Obispo a little while ago and are now litterally going 1.5mph through the most beautiful and green hills where a few cows graze without a doubt enjoying the grass that the rain showers from the past few days have helped grow.
4:55pm. I fell asleep for a few minutes but my phone woke me up as we were leaving Paso Robles. The light of day is diminishing and soon we will be plunged back in darkness.
6:00pm. It is night time and we have been traveling now for 12 hours. So far it's been such a wonderful trip. The rain did not take anything away from the beauty and serenity of the sceneries we have experienced. We will be going to dinner soon and probably have an early night since we had to wake up so early this morning. To be continued...