Does anyone know if there is a place to check one's baggage at the Oakland station? Thanks.
Posted by CoastStarlight99 (Member # 2734) on :
I assume you mean leave a bag in the station and then claim it later. The answer to your question is yes, Amtrak charges $2 a bag though.
If you are talking about checking it onboard a train then obviously yes since its a staffed station.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Thanks, CS, that's what I meant, checking out luggage in the station and then walking around while waiting for the southbound Coast Starlight (assuming it will be late, which I gather is a fairly safe assumption).
If we learn the Starlight is VERY late, what do you recommend we do in Oakland? Is there a lot to see in Jack London Square? Is it a good idea to wander further afield (does one risk having the train make up lots of unexpected time, and then missing it?)? If it's OK to go elsewhere, where do you recommend? We like walking around and seeing nice old buildings. Is the historic district nearby, as in LA and Sacramento? Thanks so much.
Posted by Kiernan (Member # 3828) on :
Jack London Square is a nice place, and a good place to kill time, even though the Spaghetti Factory is gone. There's a big bookstore--Borders or something--and a bunch of restaurants and shops and stuff. And the waterfront and yacht harbors. If you're there on Sunday morning, don't miss the farmers market. Downtown Oakland is a fifteen or twenty minute walk, but there's nothing really exciting to see. There is, of course, a statue of Jack London at the square and a plaque with his most famous quote on it.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Thanks for the info; that sounds like a nice place to wait. Still, if it's to be a 7- or 8-hour wait (as it apparently was for 2 Coast Starlights this past week), I fear my friend will make me accept bustitution! But (sigh) if I must, I must. What do they offer, does anyone know? A 6-hour bus ride? Is it reasonably scenic?
BTW, Kiernan, I recognize your Oscar Wilde quote; it's from one of my favorite plays, The Importance of Being Earnest. But what the heck is Jack London's most famous quote? Let's see, "Forty below and I'm freezing my butt off"? "Oh, what I'd give for a piece of steak"? "Here, White Fang"? No, no, don't tell me, I will just check it out myself when I get to JLSq next year.
Just my luck, the Coast Starlight will be on time, and I will not have time to look!
Posted by Kiernan (Member # 3828) on :
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
Posted by Railroad Bob (Member # 3508) on :
One of my favorite little known London books is "Jack Barleycorn," in which he details his battles with the bottle. In one great story, he gets blind drunk in his Oakland saloon, decides to go for a "swim" in the Bay. Current catches him, starts pulling him out toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Waves are breaking over his face. As he is floating out to sea and certain death, some Greek fisherman spot him and haul him aboard, like a drowning cat. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd "use his time."
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
What I always liked best about Jack London was his sailing to Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific. I would like to go by boat to Hawaii some time too. NO FLYING!!!
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
Railroad Bob: That is toward the Golden Gate. The bridge had not been built at that time.
Boat to Hawaii used to be the main way you went. Now, they are no more. In fact there are not even any boats between the various islands in Hawaii. You must fly to go from island to island unless you happen to have your own boat.
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
Sojourn,
Have you seen Micheal Palin's (The ex Monty Ptython guy)journey program "80 Day's around the World" No Airplane's. His journal on his Amtrak journal which I guess was done around 1988 or so. The Lake Shore arrived at Grand Central Terminal. He really writes a good witty railfan journal.
George, completely off topic, but there is a small passenger ferry that runs between Molokai and Maui.
Also off topic, but Jack London used to hang out in my native village of Carmel, long before my time. He and his bohemian buddies used to sing a little song while pounding abalone, and you can see a verse he wrote on this page in my website: http://hometown.aol.com/toylandmry/abalone.htm You can also sing along..... Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
Thank you, Mr. Toy. I stand corrected. Somehow I missed the existance of that one. One very nice thing, at least 10 years ago, you can buy an airline pass from one of the island hopping airlines so you can jump from island to island. A vacation in Hawaii is somewhat like a vacation in Japan, bring lots of money. After visitint Pearl Harbor, the rest of Oahu I could give a miss and go to the less crowded parts.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
There are a number of cruise ships that operate trips from the Mainland to the Islands. There are also several ships that feature cruises between the islands. Sadly, though, the days of regular service like the Lurline and the other Matson liners lingers on only in the wonderful menus I've collected over the years.
The days of cheap flights between the islands are pretty much gone. too.
Sadly, the world moves
Frank in Sunny but cool SBA
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
I digressed in the last posting. Last Spring I stayed two nights at the Best Western Jack London Square. It was fine and the discount coupons at the Buttercup Cafe added to the experience. I took the Ferry to and from Jack London to San Francisco and had a memorable dinner at one of the restaurants on the water when I returned. They had several 3 course dinners for $20.00 if you were seated before 6PM. Can't remember the name of the restaurant, though. The Amtrak Station is modern and spacious which was nice since the southbound Starlight was 4 hrs. late.
Frank in still cool and sunny SBA
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Oh, Michael Palin is a man after my own heart. But too bad there is no regular boat service to the Hawaiian Islands. Where do the cruise boats leave from? What lines? The trouble with cruises is that you cannot stay anyplace very long. Also, they often don't go back--you have to fly back--and if you take them both ways, that becomes prohibitively expensive.
Posted by tg_lindo (Member # 3936) on :
Off topic, yes: Some of the Hawaii cruises circle the islands then cross the Pacific to Ensenada, San Diego (4 sea days), or Vancouver (5 sea days). Or go the other way. But only at certain times of year. This way you can arrange additional time on the islands before or after your cruise. I booked at a good time and my airfare supplement SFO to Honolulu and San Diego to SFO was only $100 above cruise fare.
On topic: Jack London Sq is walking distance to "Old Oakland" which has some nice Victorian architecture and also to Chinatown.
If you do have several hours to kill, note that the BART trains run more frequently than the ferry to downtown SF. The nearest BART station to Jack London is about a 10-15 min walk or a very short cab ride. There are brochures that tell you which attractions are near which BART stops in SF as they are all underground. Personally, I get bored at Jack London after about an hour.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
Thanks, TG Lindo. Old Oakland and Chinatown both sound interesting; I'd like to see some of Oakland if there is time. But as for going back to SF: We are COMING from San Francisco; we are booked on an early morning reserved shuttle bus from SF to Jack London Square, where we catch the southbound Coast Starlight. Do you recommend we phone Amtrak to see how late the CS is and take a later shuttle and hang out more in SF? Do they let you do that when you have a reserved ticket on an earlier one? There is also the fear that the train will pick up time and get in lots earlier than expected, and we'll miss it. I don't really know how to handle that . . . in most cases when I have been more than a couple of hours late on Amtrak, I've been ON the train, not had to consider these other factors.
Another thing that could happen is we get to Oakland, CS is very late, and they offer bustitution (we are going to SLO and I think there is a bus about an hour later). I don't want to do that, since taking the CS south of SF is new to me (I've only been on it north of Sacramento) and part of the reason for my trip. But if the CS is more than 2 or 3 hours late, my friend very well might want to take that bus. Esp if we are going to just be sitting around Jack London Square otherwise!
Thanks for your help.
Posted by tg_lindo (Member # 3936) on :
I'm actually a newbie to Amtrak and would not pretend to know the details of their policies. Now I better understand your situation, however.
The #11 CS southbound is supposed to arrive at OKJ (Jack London) is about 8:30am. When I was on it Nov 29, we arrived at noon. Over the last 5 days, from amtrak.com, I see it ran between 2hrs and 11 hrs (!!!) late. From my research when I was planning my trip, 2-4 hrs late "feels" like the norm.
Jack London Square is nice enough, but personally I'd go bonkers after a couple hours there, especially that time of the morning. Meaning, drinking at a bar isn't really an option, and it's too early for lunch in Chinatown. See http://www.jacklondonsquare.com/index.php for more details.
Granted I'm the kind of traveler who plays it on the safe side and does not mind waiting in a station or airport a couple hours to make sure I don't miss the train or plane. But depending what part of SF we're talking about, and the pre-lunch hours at that, I'd rather spend more time there and take a later bus than spend more time in Oakland. On a warm afternoon, I might have a different opinion. If you have a cel phone, you can call Amtrak frequently for updates.
Do the trains ever "really" make up lost time? In the tracking of the CS I have done, I've never seen it happen, but then again, my research is not extensive.
Posted by zephyr (Member # 1651) on :
quote:Originally posted by tg_lindo: Do the trains ever "really" make up lost time?
Yes. But often "making up lost time" is more of a matter of padding built into the time schedule as opposed to a real increase of lickety-split over the clickity-clack.
Posted by CG96 (Member # 1408) on :
If one reads the January 2006 issue of "Trains" magazine, there is a map that displays the location of multiple track main lines. Looking at several of the UPRR rails, it is obvious why Amtrak loses so much time. single track + 100 million ton-miles of freight per year + Amtrak = late trains. I wish some of Our Elected Representatives would get around to creating public-private partnerships in order to add more track to the lines. I think additional capacity would go a long ways toward removing the tardiness issues that Amtrak ( and shippers, I'm sure) face when shipping on rails that are crowded with freight.
Posted by tg_lindo (Member # 3936) on :
Maybe more rail capacity would get some of the 18-wheelers off the road. Not that I want the truck drivers to lose their jobs, but is not trucking the least energy-efficient method other than air freight?
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
And more off topic thoughts; and a tip of the cap to Andy Rooney.
"Do you ever wonder why Hawaii has an Interstate Highway?" Perhaps that's where Senator Stevens (R-Alaska) Bridge to nowhere might be going.
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