Here's a post to help all you casual Amtrakkers out there. I"ll keep it up to date as I extend my Am-treks beyond the Oceanside-Fresno loop, but I've discovered a few gems worth sharing.
First off, for fellow San Diegans going north to visit, you'll find that there are no rail north of LA. Instead, you get bus (also now with wifi, just like the trains!). You'll be forced to detrain in LA at Unions station which has it's own fair share of eateries. Often this is a short stop since the time from OSD to LAX (as the station is overloadedly called) is pretty predictable, unnecessitating a long layov However, your second layover in BFD (yes, Bakersfield is a BFD) may have a pleasant hour to kill depending on LA traffic. Lastly, you'll land in HNF or FNO depending on how dairy you're feeling.
Bon Appétrak!
First off, for fellow San Diegans going north to visit, you'll find that there are no rail north of LA. Instead, you get bus (also now with wifi, just like the trains!). You'll be forced to detrain in LA at Unions station which has it's own fair share of eateries. Often this is a short stop since the time from OSD to LAX (as the station is overloadedly called) is pretty predictable, unnecessitating a long layov However, your second layover in BFD (yes, Bakersfield is a BFD) may have a pleasant hour to kill depending on LA traffic. Lastly, you'll land in HNF or FNO depending on how dairy you're feeling.
The Gems
BFD...
...has a 5-10 mins walk from the station to Mi Peru - a Peruvian restaurant with an unusual (and good!) beer selection (author feigning pure sobriety after a St. Sabastian Dark). They offer food to go (waited ~15 mins for my order) - good time to try a craft Mexicali brew, like Day of the Dead. Even the teetotaler will find Mi Peru an unexpected pleasantry on their journey north, especially with the prize train station alternative is vending-machine tuna and crackers.
The shortest path is also the most scenic:
- If looking at the train tracks, follow them to the right - that's West (so look for the setting sun if traveling at dusk.
- You'll approach cross through a cul de sacish piece of parking lot as you approach a bridge (which crosses something like Ave Q). On the right side jut before crossing, you'll find a staircase that goes down to a foot path under the bridge along the Q
- Follow said path along pretty waterway. As it T's into California, J-walk across to the small building with busy signage. Upon closer inspection, you will find you have arrived.
- Eat, drink and be merry, for you now have 30 mins to catch your train.
HNF...
...Smells like burning sulfur. In the hot summer, you may mistake your living state, but this is normalcy for us country types. Get off your derrière and take the dairy dare to eat at Superior Dairy. If you're the liverwurst, they got you covered. If not, don't tell me it's a texture thing: just acknowledge that your Germanic grandma introduced you to the delicacy at too young an age to appreciate it and thereby ruined you. Our foremothers failed to gently ween us from the Frankfurtish gateway meat into less-muscle-centric meats, and now we all scoff at gizzards. So sad. Even if you lack the liverlust, Superior has an SOS sundae that will blow your mind (and freeze your brain).
FNO...
...should have kept the more comical initials of its airport brethren: FAT. With too few puns to introduce this paragraph: Shepherd's Inn. It's across the street from the station and use to house local shepherds in the ~25 rooms there. The rooms are no longer for rent, but the restaurant and Scotch-filled bar are very (enjoyably) available. The main waitress is from Texas, so if you want a conversation about some biggish city surrounded by farm land that isn't Fresno, I guess you have an option.
Oh ya, and it's Basque, which means you can pay $2 more for "Basque Style" food which means you get like 5-7 courses all served in a row. Funny how "American style" isn't the gluttonous one.
