Episode #910
July 11, 2026
Amtrak Vacation – part 5 of 5
The Return Home
Seattle to Los Angeles is a 23-hour train trip, including an overnight in the bedroom car.
The scenery passing by was lush and mesmerizing.
More interesting people and conversations at meals and in the observation car hastened our trip.
Our car had a loud thumping sound every time the train went around a curve (which is most of the time).
The conductor said that the sound had been reported to engineering, who said, “It’s one of the wheels tapping against the track, don’t worry.”
I thought, “If the wheel normally does not rattle, then it must be loose. If the wheel falls off, will we derail?”
I did not sleep well that night.
Thankfully, we arrived in LA on time. Los Angeles Union Station is beautiful, with masterful woodworking on the ceiling.
It was late, so we Ubered to the Hotel Indigo and fell asleep for 10 hours.
Even though our room was on the 13th floor, our stay in LA was lucky because 13 is our favorite number.
Our train to Riverside was scheduled to leave at 4:55 that day, so we had a delicious menu breakfast paid for by the hotel and set off to explore nearby LA Live.
LA Live is a sports, entertainment, and dining complex adjacent to Crypto.com Arena (home of the LA Lakers and LA Kings), the BMO Stadium (LAFC soccer), and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
We wandered through LA Live, gawking and photographing until the GRAMMY Museum opened.
The Museum makes its guests interactively into writers, producers, mixing engineers, singers, and listeners.
There was an entire room dedicated to the Grateful Dead.
The Merry Pranksters, Dr. Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey, and Owsley Stanley were prominently displayed.
After a couple of hours in the museum, we set out to walk around downtown LA.
We saw the LA Diamond District, murals, skyscrapers, a dog on a giant couch, a cat on a hitchhiker, and a pretty little park in the middle of the city.
In a parking lot was painted a meditation maze, which Paula and I walked, high-fiving as we came adjacent to each other.
Our necks began to hurt from looking up at skyscrapers, so we returned to LA Live and drank Margaritas at Sol Agave.
Another walk brought us to Sonoritas Prime Tacos, which served as lunch.
We walked back to the Indigo, claimed our baggage, Ubered to the LA King Street Train Station, and walked the 1/4 mile to our track.
We averaged 15,000 steps per day on this 11-day vacation.
Couch seats on the train to Riverside were very comfortable on the one and a half hour trip to Riverside.
Our dear friends and neighbors picked us up and drove us home.
They asked about the trip, and we talked their ears off.
If you enjoyed this 5-part Amtrak vacation adventure, contact our agent
Eric Teeman at Avoya Travel
816-744-1405
eric.teeman@avoyanetwork.com
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