Rails Around the USA:
Summer, 2005

Southern California

July 3- 8, 2005

Laurence Krieg

Monday 7/4/2005

10:01 AM

The Macdonald-Wright guest room

I'm now successfully installed in the Wright-Macdonald guest room, enjoying a cool sage-y breeze before it gets hot. Nina took me and Gwen, their elderly dog, out for a walk this morning around the University Hills housing area of UC-Irvine. It's very nice. Ted made a delightful supper last night, featuring grilled beef, grilled potatoes, stir-fried bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions, artichokes, and broccoli. Lots of fresh fruit - especially strawberries - before and after the meal.

The Macdonald-Wright home

Ted, Nina, Gwen (the dog) and I just got back from watching fireworks on the hill. There must have been about 50 people there, and it was fun watching everybody come up the winding path through the brush to the top of the hill. There were very good fireworks in several communities around, but the ones to the west, nearer the ocean, were partially blanketed in fog. That was interesting in itself, though eventually the fog and smoke obscured all but the lowermost parts of the rain of fire. The clouds and high-rise towers around lit up nicely, though. I think that was the Newport Beach fireworks. It will definitely be one that I remember.

Nina Macdonald and Ted Wright, at Crystal Cove Beach

Earlier this afternoon, the three of us (leaving Gwen behind) went to the beach and walked along it. I took several pictures, but as we were leaving I pulled my camera out of my pocket to get one last picture, it escaped my grasp, and fell down. Unfortunately, I was on a bridge over a gully about 20 feet deep, and the camera went down to the bottom. :-( Ted and I tried coming up the gully from the beach, but the bank was too steep and crumbly; I gave up, but Ted climbed down right under the bridge, hanging on to bamboo and scrub. He retrieved the camera and I was able to get pictures from the memory card, but the camera itself is dead. I took it apart to see if drying it would help, but it seems unlikely that I'll be able to get it together in working order again. So I'll be shopping for another camera; I must admit I've thought of getting a new one because of the weaknesses of this one, but I'd hoped to wait another year. Clearly, I need one for the rest of the trip though.

Tuesday 7/5/2005

Morning

Nina Macdonald at work in the home office

Nina takes Ted to the airport early in the morning; he's going to Portland, Oregon, to be with Haywood at a basketball tournament. At 9, Nina has a dentist appointment, so I take Gwen for a walk, then come back and use Haywood's computer, which which is networked with the rest for broadband connectivity. I've tried to get my machine to work on their eithernet LAN, but with no results. Melinda comes at 10 for a business meeting with Nina. She's Nina's partner in Pixelloom LLC, Web developers. Melinda is Chinese, married to an Indian gentlement whom I don't get to meet. She's very energetic, full of fun. She and Nina talk business; then we discuss up-and-coming technologies which I wish I were more proficient with.

Noon

I invite Nina and Melinda to lunch, and they choose a delightful French bistro, where we sit outdoors under a shady umbrella. Conversation is lively and the food delicious.

Afternoon

It's a busy afternoon. Nina takes me straight from lunch shopping for a replacement camera. After trying Costco, we find a great selection of cameras at QTS Computer and Electronics. I buy an Olympus, which has turned out to provide very high quality images. Nina takes me home, and I start charging up my camera. It won't be ready today, so I borrow a Fuji from Nina and put my data card in it.

About 4 PM, I set out to drive to Monterey Park to see Meta Liawaty. But before I get on the freeway, I want to make sure the "Check Engine" light in my little rented Hyundai doesn't portend disaster. I wind my way into the John Wayne Orange County Airport, where my rental agency has an office. Once I find them, they quickly reassure me that the problem is minor: someone refilled the gas tank without screwing the cap back on tightly enough, which potentially allows petroleum vapors to enter the atmosphere, thus adding to southern California's air polution problem. They tighten the cap, and sure enough, the light goes out. Their parting advice: "If the Check Engine light starts flashing, then you know you've got a real problem. Otherwise, don't worry about it." Thanks, guys. Wish I'd known that before wasting all this time...

Evening

Meta Liawaty

Meta first appeared in my Web design class as a shy, quiet girl. She worked hard and got good grades; I had no hesitation in making her a Lab Assistant when she asked for a job, and she provided steady, expert help to my students.

Meta is from Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, where her father is a business man dealing in recycled gold. She came to Michigan immediately out of high school, for love, learning, and adventure. She seems to have found all three!

She and her boyfriend Riko came to Los Angeles in the summer of 2004; she found work as a secretary with an Indian jewelery trading company in central LA's jewelery district, while Riko has worked as a computer programmer-analyst. They were joined late in 2004 by Meta's high school girl friend Nia, who also works at the jwewlery company.

From Orange County Airport, I make my way north along various freeways. Unfortunately, it's rush hour, so the going is pretty slow - stop-and-go in many places. Finally, I get off the Pomona Freeway and go north on Atlantic Avenue, through a neighborhood with Mexican travel agencies, money forwarding services, and everything labelled in Spanish. But as I get closer to Meta's address, I cross an invisible border. Suddenly, no more Spanish: there are Chinese grocery stores, Chinese restaurants, Chinese banks, Chinese travel agencies, everything labelled with Chinese characters. Meta, who is Indonesian, apparently feels more at home among Chinese than Mexican people. The apartment building where she lives with boyfriend Riko and girlfriend Nia is imaculately kept and beautifuly landscaped, though quite densely populated.

Meta proposes going to the Cheesecake Factory of Pasadena; I've never been to one before, though there was one barely a block from Ian's apartment in Seattle. I'm surprised how elegant the ambiance is; I don't recall what I ordered - only that it's very good. Of course, we have cheesecake for desert! Meanwhile, Meta is facing a number of life decisions which we talk about in a frank and friendly way; I briefly share some of C. S. Lewis's ideas about the four natures of love, and hope it helps.

After supper, we go up California Highway 2, the Angeles Crest Highway, the idea being to get a panorama of the city. Meta has lived for about a year in LA without getting into the surrounding countryside, which is actually quite close to Pasadena. But we return soon, since Nia needs a ride to a job and doesn't drive in the US. For some reason, I can't get Nina's Fuji camera to work, but Meta has a digital camera that does work. We get some pictures with that (which she hasn't uploaded to her computer yet). Just two blocks from her apartment is a wonderful overlook whose view is almost as good as the one from Highway 2, and we use that as the backdrop.

The trip back to Irvine is much quicker than the trip up - traffic has thinned out considerably.

Wednesday 7/6/2005

Morning

I have a lot planned for today, so I get up about 6 and get ready to go. But first, I have to get my new camera ready to use. Yesterday afternoon, I plugged in the battery charger and charged up the first battery; when I got home, I put the spare battery in to charge up, so now both are ready to go. And I need to make sure I can handle the basics with this machine. I take a few pictures of the guest bedroom to make sure, and they come out nicely.

Ground squirrels

After breakfast with Nina, who has had trouble sleeping the night before, I set out on the drive to San Diego. My first opportunity to use the camera on "real" subjects comes at a scenic overlook on I-5. Not only are there great views of the seacliffs, but there are some half-tame ground squirrels, quite willing to favor us humans with their cuteness in return for a modest handout.

UCSD Library

As I get near San Diego, I see signs for the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), a campus I don't want to miss. I drive around the pleasant campus, but like UC Irvine and Microsoft I find nothing really unique or photogenic - until the Library. I've certainly never seen anything like that before, apparently designed at the height of Star Trek's popularity.

La Jolla

From UCSD it's a short drive past the Salk Institute to the Torrey Pines Glider Port. Here the beach is 3-4 times further from the top of the cliff than it is at Newport Beach, and I don't even think of making the long trek down, let alone up. Leave that to the fanatics who run down and up again. I'm quite content to feel the breeze and experiment with my new camera's 10x zoom, which pulls in a really nice view of La Jolla on its peninsula two or three miles south.

Gliding at Torrey Pines

The Torrey Pines Glider Port itself is a jumping-off point (literally) for hang-gliding. The location is ideal because the sea breeze racing up the cliffs provides a monumental updraft, with which it would be very difficult to do anything other than fly upward. This gives me more opprtunity to experiment with the camera, this time using the video feature. I get a good clip of someone doing a touch-and-go landing on the airstrip (actually a nicely kept lawn) while the lawn sprinkler apparently tries to gun him down.

Then south on Torrey Pines Road to La Jolla, where I rubberneck at the upscale resorts and restaurants. I'm hungry, it's lunchtime, and I don't see anything I can afford until I get to a Starbucks. It even gives me a chance to download email to my own computer via wireless - not free, but so it goes. This is affordable and very pleasant, until an upscale-looking extended family group from India comes in with a couple of loud little boys, who run around screaming unchecked. Time to head down to San Diego itself.

Afternoon

Continuing down Torrey Pines Road, I get to the more modest (but still expensive, I suspect) beach resort area of Mission Bay. There I take more pictures, only to discover (later) that I've left the camera in video mode. Instead of a few really nice pictures, I have tons of video of my feet walking around.

The Museum of Man "...designed for the 1915 Exposition by the famous American architect Bertram G. Goodhue to celebrate San Diego's Hispanic heritage. The California Building -- the symbol of San Diego -- was designed in the style of a Spanish-Colonial church.

My next goal is Balboa Park, which I've heard of and which looks really interesting on the map. But first, I need to do some shopping (sunglasses, something to drink...) and find a modest-looking shopping center near the big naval base, on Midway Drive.

Somehow, I get trapped in the neighborhood of the base and go around in circles a couple of times before managing to get on the freeway. At last - Balboa Park and the Museum of Man. Again I take more pictures without realizing I'm in video mode, and this time get some dizzying footage of the steering wheel spinning round and round as I navigate the crowded traffic circle.

San Diego Light Rail at Santa Fe Station

Another San Diego feature I don't want to miss is the wonderful light rail system. In a laudable attempt to save money, I leave the car in a free spot in Balboa Park and walk a good mile to the rail line. There I get pictures of a train approaching (video on purpose this time) before riding down to Santa Fe Station. This is a beautifully restored and landscaped Spanish colonial style building where I get lots more pictures. Back on the light rail, I overshoot my stop and end up waiting some 20 minutes for a return train. Frustratingly, a train zooms past empty, but the next is close behind. It's sardine-packed, and fellow passengers explain that the previous train had a problem opening its doors (or closing them) which is why (a) the first train blew past us, and (b) why this one is so packed - it's loaded for two.

San Diego apartment building

On the way back up to Balboa Park, I pass several interesting buildings, and manage to get good photos not only of them, but of the park itself - and the Museum of Man (shown above). Like Los Padres, Balboa Park is right under the approach path to a major airport, but here the aircraft aren't much more than 100 feet above the treetops. It makes for an exciting place to relax.

Evening

Balboa Park

At 5 PM it's time to leave San Diego and head northeast to Riverside. Unfortunately, several million other motorists seem to have the same idea. Things go slowly but steadily until a tricky intersection where I take the wrong exit. The first indication I've gone wrong is that there's very little traffic going my way. Eventually, I deduce that I'm going back into San Diego, so I get off the freeway and try to circle around. Though I have my handy GPS receiver and laptop, it's not at all trivial to follow the map while maneuvering in rush hour traffic on a California freeway. After losing about twenty minutes, I make my way back to where I took the wrong exit, and find traffic is much lighter. Thinking rush hour must be over, I zoom along happily until I catch up with a phalanx of vehicles going slowly for as far ahead as the eye can see. I must have caught up with the grand rush-hour exodus. Should have known I couldn't get off that easily.

Halfway to Riverside, traffic finally lightens up a bit and I can make better time. By now I'm concerned that John and Carol Leland, whom I'm meeting for supper, will be wondering where I am. A phone call reasures them, but when I reach Riverside, even though I've studied the map carefully, I miss my exit. I'll blame it on the fact that the setting sun was blinding me, and construction barrels had me weaving all over. The GPS helps me get back on track, but I call the Lelands again to make sure I'm going right.

Me, John, and Carol Leland

It's a late summer twilight by the time I get to John and Carol's house. We head for their favorite Korean BBQ house of Riverside, where we have an excellent exchange of news and a very tasty dinner. I avoid the kimchee, whose odor I've never gotten used to, but John and Carol light into it with great gusto. They each spent a few years in Korea - in fact, that's where they met. Carol was a chaplain of the Orthodox Christian faith in the U.S. Air Force, and John was teaching English at the university in Taegu. They didn't get married until years later, but they make an excellent pair. John is ultra-scholarly and serious, while Carol is practical and full of good humor.

The return trip from Riverside to Irvine is quick and relatively short. Thank goodness - it's been a very full day, and I'm happy to collapse in bed at the Wright-Macdonald home.

Thursday 7/7/2005

Morning

This is a relaxed day, much appreciated after yesterday's many adventures. I stay in the Macdonald-Wright house to work on email, photos, and journals, but take a couple of walks in the morning around the university housing area. Gwen, their elderly dog, appreciates this because she gets to come along too.

I really like the way the university housing is set up. There is a peripheral road from which multiple culs-de-sac radiate. A few lead away from the center, but most lead inward. Those foresaking their cars find that the interior of the development is a series of gardens, playparks, and playing fields linked with flower-bordered paths that eventually lead down to the university. The result is that those who want to walk to work can do so through landscaped gardens without crossing more than one or two streets. I've compiled a special series of pictures illustrating this, which you can see in the Irvine section.

Afternoon

Nina is out for lunch, so I raid the refrigerator. Interesting selection - very California: health-conscious, heavy on the fruits and veggies.

In the late afternoon, I drive out to the Earth Café, on University Drive in Irvine. You won't be too surprised to hear why I chose to go there: free WiFi. It gave me a chance to download all my email, which I wanted to be sure to do before setting out on my three-day cross-country rail journey. Earth Café is owned by a musical gentleman from Spain, who has a wide selection of world-music CDs available for sale. He plays selections from them, which makes for a different and stimulating café experience.

As I drive back to the Macdonald-Wright home, I get a call from Martha: Because of the forcast path of Hurricane Dennis, Amtrak has cancelled the Sunset Limited between San Antonio, Texas, and Orlando, Florida. I spend the early part of the evening frantically exploring the options: fly all the way from LA to Florida, fly from San Antonio, or re-book on Amtrak for a later departure.

Evening

Dirony Karunananthan (taken May, 2003)

This evening is booked for dinner with Christo and Dirony Karunananthan. While Christo earned his PhD in Business Accounting at the University of Michigan, Dirony studied Web Design with us at Washtenaw Community College. The Karuna-nanthans, whose name is Tamil for 'kindness-family', are Roman Catholic natives of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Christo has studied in Australia as well as the USA, and is very cosmopolitan, friendly, and outgoing. Dirony, though a first-rate Web designer (and stunningly beautiful), is very quiet and reserved. She has prepared a series of delectable South Asian dishes, which she serves with quiet friendliness, while Christo and I have a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion of "life, the universe, and everything" (except Douglas Adams).

Christo and Dirony both drive me "home" to the Macdonald-Wright house. By now, Nina is in bed, and I spend a very intense couple of hours investigating travel options for tomorrow (well, for later that morning). Finally, I decide to take the train from Los Angeles to San Antonio, where it's scheduled to arrive late Saturday night. From there, I book a flight on Continental Airlines that's supposed to arrive in Tampa on Sunday at 11:15 AM. I'm really disapponted not to be able to do a complete circuit of the United States by rail, but I nix the idea of re-booking on a later Sunset Limited. First of all, I don't want to impose on my hosts any longer; but there's no telling when rail service will be restored after a major hurricane passes through.

Mind you, my flight is scheduled when Dennis is expected to sweep through the Gulf of Mexico past Sarasota and Tampa, so I expect at the very least some turbulence along the way. ;-) However, if the flight is cancelled or postponed, Continental will re-book me, and I expect I'll get to Florida earlier than the train would have, even so. I crawl into bed well past midnight.

Friday 7/8/2005

Morning

This is my last breakfast with Nina; like all the preceding ones, it consists of a choice of high-fiber cereals and lots of fresh fruits.

At 8:30 I begin my drive to LAX. Traffic is heavy, but moving along quite nicely. I find the right place with no trouble, and turn in rental car.

My next goal is Los Angeles Union Station, so I retrace my route of Sunday afternoon: Rental car shuttle to airport; airport shuttle to Green Line station; Green Line to Imperial Wilmington; Blue Line to Metro Center; Red Line to Union Station. (Fellow rail fan[atic]s: the details are all on the rail journal page describing the Los Angeles to San Antonio trip.)

Noon

Feather-clad Andean dancers

I have two and a half hours before my train leaves, and I'm determined to see something of downtown Los Angeles - a part of LA I've never visited on previous trips. I decide to take my baggage rig on a walking tour, since (for various reasons) it isn't practical to leave it at the station. Across from Union Station is the Old Plaza, where a lively gathering is listening to Andean music and watching feather-clad dancers perform. On the other side of the Old Plaza is the Mission Church, from which the city gets its name (in much reduced form: if you're interested, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has the details).

Misión Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles [de la Porciúncula]

My never-ending quest for free WiFi has produced a Google map, printed at the Macdonald-Wright's, which guides me as I search for someplace to have lunch. First, southwest on Main Street through the Civic Center. It looks too sterile and stony (though on the way back I realize I missed a large underground mall and food court). So on I go, past courthouses and Caltrans headquarters, as far as 5th Street. The character of the neighborhood becomes progressively less reputable as I go, and though I see many eateries, none of them appear on my free WiFi list, and all are packed with people who look just a bit predatory. My baggage rig rolls on, making my arms ache and my sweat pour down. I turn northwest through a food court between 5th and 6th streets, on to 6th street, past large numbers of clearly homeless people. Ah - the Union Rescue Mission: so this must be the part of town they call Skid Row. That explains the slightly predatory appearance, and my instinct not to pull into an eatery with my large baggage rig.

from LA Omni Hotel's Web page

"Situated atop historic Bunker Hill, the AAA Four-diamond Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza is just 20 miles from Los Angeles International Airport. This luxurious high-rise is the cornerstone of California Plaza, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles."

Grand Café

"Grand Cafe offers a casually elegant atmosphere featuring innovative California cuisine. Indoor and outdoor dining available with views of the reflecting pool surrounded by magnolia trees and cascading waterfalls overlooking the Museum of Contemporary Art. Open daily for breakfast and lunch."

I forge ahead until I get to Olive St., where I turn northeast in search of the nearest free WiFi listing: the Omni Hotel. This turns out to be at the top of a rather steep hill, necessitating a lot of hard pulling on the heavy rig. Pausing only a moment to catch my breath, disregarding curious looks from the uniformed bellhops, I charge past the row of black Lincoln and Cadillac limos and into the lobby. At least here, I'm not the only one pulling a rolling baggage rig, though I don't see anyone quite as sweaty. I quickly duck into a marble-lined Gentlemen's Room, park my rig next to a potted palm, and try to clean up and cool down. It's now a little past 1 PM, and my train leaves shortly after 2. Cooling down really fast just doesn't work.

A quick look at the hotel directory, and I head for the Grand Café, because it offers outdoor seating - I simply cannot stop the sweat from pouring out. With all the dignity I can muster, I request an outside seat, and the Hostess smilingly escorts me to a shady spot under an umbrella. From here, I have a good view of the Museum of Modern Art's central court, but my main concern is getting something to eat in time to race back to Union Station. Before too long, a waiter (curiously, his name is José) takes my order for a ceasar salad. It really doesn't take long to arrive, though by now every minute feels like ten. I consider setting up my computer and using that free WiFi I worked so hard to reach, but discover I'm too exhausted to tear down my rig, I'm still dripping with sweat (I might short-circuit the machine) and there just isn't time. So I try to relax and contemplate the large modernistic sculpture (or is it post-modern) just over the way.

Modern art from the Grand Café

The ceasar is generously supplied with chicken, and before long I've picked the best parts out and ask for the bill. The customary routine with the credit card seems to take forever, but I actually find myself rolling out of the Omni with my rig with about half an hour to get to Union Station.

I've had a chance to study the map, and go via 2nd, Main Street, and Father Serra Park. After charging across busy Alameda Street, I decide to go direct to train, without pausing at the Amtrak counter. The fact that they don't have the Sunset listed on the Departures board hardly phases me: I make an educated guess as to which platform it's on, charge straight up the access tunnel, and there it is. I'm not quite home free, but you can read about that in the rail journal.