Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Los Angeles

Los Angeles – Amtrak Train to Tucson

[I originally posted this in July 2018 about a trip in January 2018, but I’ve reposted it to fix the broken image links]

My initial plan for this trip was to explore the United States for a month, being reliant on Amtrak to transport me around. I intended on going to around eight cities and would spend a couple of days in each of them. That partly happened, although there were some problems with closed routes.

So, I settled on going from Los Angeles to Tucson, from Tucson to El Paso, from El Paso to San Antonio and then flying from San Antonio to New Orleans. I then had another series of cities after that to visit, but I used plane and bus to get to them. This masterful plan was dented when Amtrak mailed me two weeks before my trip to tell me the train from El Paso to San Antonio was cancelled and they were providing no alternatives. Fortunately, Greyhound buses filled in the gap….

So, the first part of my journey was from Union Station in Los Angeles, California to Tucson Station in Arizona.

I’d been to Union Station on numerous previous occasions and taken many photographs. So this time, I limited myself to just taking a photograph of the tower since it was a warm and pleasant evening.

The departures screen in the main departures hall.

On my previous Amtrak trips I’ve just waited in the departures hall until the train is called. I felt that something seemed different about this trip though, and so I went to the customer services desk to ask if there was anything else that I needed to do. It turned out that this was a good decision of mine.

The man at the customer services desk was particularly helpful and explained that I needed to go and queue up to get a ticket. Instead of giving me directions, he decided to close the desk and escort me to where I needed to be, another helpful touch.

I then spent around thirty minutes in a queue to get a ticket, but that meant I could choose whether I got a window or aisle seat. The Americans (or at least they all seemed American) in the queue was conversational which made for a more entertaining wait. I went for a window seat so that I could look out of the window at California and Arizona, although I forgot it got dark at night and this was primarily a night train….

This was my view for most of the journey…. (not the same hill obviously, but different ones).

Around twenty minutes before departure time there was a call for passengers, so I went to wait on the platform. I hope Dylan and Leon get to see these trains soon, as they are large and slightly clunky, but I think they’re rather beautiful.

Moving the train towards the end of the track is apparently a more complex procedure than it might at first appear.

Ready to board. It looks a bit of a crowd, but the boarding was organised so that individuals could wait outside their carriage. A staff member then welcomed us individually and guided us towards our seat.

It’s hard to give an indication of seat size, but the leg space is substantial and far in excess of that I’ve experienced in any other country. Even if the person in front reclines, it makes absolutely no difference to the comfort of the person behind them.

When I was in the departures hall at Union Station a young guy came up to me and asked if he could borrow my charger. The railway station has a reputation for hawkers and people begging, and I was a little suspicious. I told him that I didn’t have the right adaptor for the plugs there, but I could charge it on my laptop, which I did. This didn’t seem risky as I currently had his phone and he had nothing of mine. All was well, he thanked me and that was that.

Anyway, it transpired that I was seated next to him on the train, which seemed rather a coincidence (the seating was allocated, so he didn’t just sit there). He was a pleasant and helpful guy, and he asked again on the train if I could charge his phone. Which I did, and that’s what is in the photo above.

The guy gave me a can of Pepsi for my help, and so I then agreed to charge his e-cigarette thing. Which promptly leaked. But he was happy 🙂

Getting nearer to Tucson in the early morning.

The train didn’t go that quickly if I’m being honest, but it was relaxing and comfortable. There were cabins on board for those who wanted them, although they’ve quite a bit more money.

Safely arrived in Tucson. The ticket cost around £28 and I thought that this was perfectly good value for money. I was slightly disappointed that there was no wi-fi on the train, but I understand that they’re actively trying to work on this across the network.

Overall, this was a very acceptable way of being transported from one city to another. The train was quiet on boards, there were plenty of toilets and numerous guards were available for any passenger who needed help. I was marginally disappointed I couldn’t get the train from Tucson to El Paso as it had been cancelled, but we arrived into Tucson on time. One final thing, I like that the guards go down the train waking any customer up who is still asleep before their stop, it’s a reassuring service….

August 13, 2025
Los Angeles – McDonald’s (Pasadena)

[I originally posted this in July 2018 about a visit in January 2018 and I’ve reposted it to fix the broken image links]

The photo above isn’t mine, I took it from Google Maps. This McDonald’s intrigued me though as it the first walk-thru outlet of theirs that I’ve been to. That is they have a drive-thru counter and also a walk-thru counter where customers have to order outside. There are no inside counters at all, which struck me as novel.

The actual reason I went in McDonald’s wasn’t to get food, it was to escape the rain. Pasadena decided to flood when I visited and I had another fifteen minutes walk to get to the hotel.

Although all of the orders were taken outside, there was a relatively small inside dining area.

There’s the sum total of my purchases, a 99 cent unlimited soft drinks cup. Bargain. I stayed quite a while but the rain didn’t really dissipate.

August 13, 2025
Los Angeles – Stout Burgers and Beers (Santa Monica)

[I originally posted this in July 2018 about a visit in January 2018, but I reposted it to fix the broken image links]

This combination of a beer and burger microbrewery sounded intriguing, and since it was too hot in the sun of Santa Monica, it seemed a rather good idea. Stout have five restaurants throughout the country, of which three are in the wider Los Angeles area.

Feeling rather brave, I also decided to dine outside in what felt a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. The interior was though quite minimalist, with lots of brick and wood being visible.

The extensive drinks menu which was well balanced between the different types of beer.

There was a choice of six different stouts and I’d have been disappointed with anything less given the restaurant’s name. This is the Vanilla Cash stout, with tastes of vanilla and coffee. It’s a nitro beer, so it has a smooth texture and a beautifully smooth flavour. The taste of vanilla lingered and it complemented the burger well.

The Mr. America burger, with aged cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and relish. The burger was served well done but it was still juicy and full of flavour.

Overall, this was a relatively expensive dining option, but the service was friendly, efficient and personable. The quality of the food was high and I liked how the menu gave pairing suggestions between the burgers and the beer that was available.

August 13, 2025
Los Angeles – Blaze Pizza (Pasadena)

[I originally posted this in July 2018 about a visit in January 2018, I’ve reposted it to fix some broken image links]

Just after I arrived in Pasadena it started to rain. The roads started flooding with the quantity of rain, so it seemed that an early lunch would be a rather good idea. This pizza restaurant, which is part of a national chain, seemed well reviewed and was on the way to my hotel. This restaurant is their outlet on East Colorado Boulevard, which is also on the historic route 66.

Firstly, the service was quite ridiculous insomuch as it was near perfect. There’s often talk from restaurants in the UK how they want their staff to engage with customers, to build up a rapport, to be conversational and welcoming. It rarely happens. Here, they had it down to a fine art.

I took a leaflet by the door to get an understanding of the different pizza options available. The process is similar to Subway, that you walk down a line and select the pizza and other items that you want, before paying at the end. I mentioned to the first staff member that it was my first visit, and she proceeded to offer a comprehensive introduction to how the process worked.

Then, after she had introduced herself and the concept, she then introduced me to the other staff members along the line. She was conversational and friendly, it is hard to imagine a friendlier introduction to a restaurant, but it never felt over the top or forced.

There’s an open and slightly industrial feel to the whole restaurant, which soon got much busier. The pizzas are cooked in just a few minutes and customers go and collect them from the counter.

Unlimited Dr. Pepper, a side salad and a pizza, all of which were at the temperature I expected, were neatly presented and tasted of an excellent quality. The pizza base was thin and crispy, the toppings were evenly spread and there was a depth of taste to both the pizza and the salad.

I think that covers most eventualities.

This was my first visit to a Blaze Pizza outlet and I discovered later on that Pasadena was the home of the chain, which might explain the near perfect customer service. It’s a shame that I don’t live closer (it’s hard to justify popping over to Pasadena for lunch) as I’d have this as my go to fast service restaurant….

August 13, 2025
Flights – London Heathrow to Los Angeles (American Airlines)

[I originally posted this in July 2018 about a flight in January 2018, but I’ve reposted it to fix the broken image links]

For a little bit of variety in January 2018, I decided to use American Airlines to get to the United States from London rather than British Airways. They’re still part of Oneworld and I think that there’s some sort of revenue share on the flights, so it wasn’t total disloyalty to British Airways….

American Airlines depart from Terminal 3 at Heathrow and the transfer process from Terminal 5 was easy with numerous airport staff available to help. The welcome desk at American Airlines was exactly that, enormously welcoming and friendly. The staff member asked if I was taking an ex-EU flight (meaning Europe rather than European Union, it’s often a cheaper way to travel, my ticket was from Ireland) which I said I was, before she added that it was becoming increasingly common.

The aircraft felt modern with the economy cabin being clean and well presented. The IFE screen was of a reasonable size given the cabin and I particularly liked the easy to access power to ensure my devices were kept nice and charged. The selection of films and television seemed quite wide ranging with some modern films being available.

It’s not rare now on airlines, but this was the first time that I’ve encountered this on my flights. It was news being fed to the aircraft whilst we were in the air, so I heard about the resignation of a Cabinet Minister.

I was going to America, so I had to have a Dr. Pepper. By “had to have”, I meant that I consider it to be a national drink of the United States, although I suspect most Americans would pick something else.

The main meal of mashed potato on minced meat (that’s not its official name) didn’t look very pretty, but it tasted better than it looked. There was some salad, which seemed superfluous to me, as well as a pleasant cherry crumble cake. The roll tasted American, so it was rather sweet.

There was ice cream handed out during the flight.

I liked the packaging, it looked exciting 🙂

Inside the box was a fajita pepper wrap on one side, and a lemon sponge cake on the other side. Served alongside another Dr. Pepper, it was a perfectly acceptable breakfast.

I liked the entire flight, indeed more than I expected. The service was polite, efficient and fast throughout. I had an aisle seat in a bank of only two seats, which although at the back of the cabin didn’t cause me any problems with noise or disturbances.

There were sufficient washrooms for the number of customers and the environment seemed clean and comfortable. British Airways seem to have had real problems recently keeping their aircraft clean, and American seemed to be more on top of that issue. It all adds to making the flight a little more pleasant.

August 13, 2025
Flights – Los Angeles to Boston Logan (American Airlines)

I’ll start this post by commenting that I’ve written to American Airlines (not that the customer service staff can really do anything with my message), as the crew member said that they appreciate all feedback (which is the sort of mistruth that is often said). It was a frustrating flight, as nearly everything was excellent. The lounge exceeded my expectations, the airport staff and cabin crew were friendly and efficient, the entertainment system was decent, the snacks were fine, the service was quiet as it was a night flight, the aircraft was clean and we arrived on time.

However, the problem is the recline on the seats, or at least, it’s a problem for me. Once thought of as the preserve of the budget carriers such as easyJet and Ryanair in Europe and Allegiant in the US, decent airlines are now scrapping the damn things, or at least offering customers the choice of rows where seats can’t recline. They cause seemingly endless arguments on flights and with the limited seat pitch and space between seats, they intrude far too heavily into the person behind. British Airways have started to scrap reclining seats in some of their short-haul flights and Delta have started to cut back how far the seats recline.

The compromise of having several rows which have no recline seems to me to be an excellent one. No system is perfect in meeting the needs of every passenger, but that will mean that the majority of seat recliners get their seat recline, and the majority of those who don’t like seats reclining also get their way. I’m very pleased that at least British Airways has seen sense on this issue.

The screen, which was bright and had an excellent range of different films and television programmes. One clever innovation is that you can also watch these films and programmes from your phone should you wish, which is probably a pre-cursor to the screens being removed in the future.

The business class seats that I wasn’t in….

The coach seats that I was seated in, which were actually otherwise entirely acceptable in their unreclined state.

The crew came round and offered a free drink, with snacks of pretzels and biscuits. I opted for my usual Dr. Pepper, with the crew serving everyone efficiently. I was surprised that they served with the cabin in darkness, but they didn’t seem to experience any issues.

Arriving into Boston, the pilot mentioned that those sitting on the right hand side would be a good view of the city, and fortunately, I was sitting on the right hand side by the window.

So, in short, the flight was excellent, but the airline’s overly generous recline policy means that I won’t likely be flying with them again in short-haul. Which means I’ll be back to Allegiant.

May 8, 2019
Amtrak Pacific Surfliner (San Juan Capistrano to Los Angeles)

Not many photographs of this train journey unfortunately……

So, the time arrived to leave the delightful Alexis and Jose in San Juan Capistrano to go back to Los Angeles and then back to Boston. The train arrived on time and was a double decker Pacific Surfliner, Dylan would have been very pleased with the size of the train as well as the loud ringing and general noise.

The train was only moderately busy, so it was easy to get a seat. The staff were their usual very friendly selves and everything was clean and comfortable. The wi-fi didn’t work the other day on my trip here, but fortunately it was functioning well today. I had thought that the train went to northern California, but it actually stopped at Los Angeles, so everyone got off and at the time expected.

The journey is a simple one, lasting under 90 minutes, with the usual spacious seats and also the option of the cafe bar on the train for those who want it. The on-line tracking of trains on the Amtrak web-site also works well, so I could see the train coming towards San Juan Capistrano.

May 8, 2019
Megabus (Las Vegas to Los Angeles)

The bus was ready around thirty minutes before departure time, although we couldn’t board for around another fifteen minutes. The temperature in Las Vegas by this time was hot, so at least there was a canopy to stand under. The process seemed a bit long-winded to board with the driver telling everyone they couldn’t sit in some of the downstairs seats, but nearly everyone was heading upstairs anyway.

However, on arrival upstairs, a problem emerged. The bus was like a sauna, which was helpfully noted by the driver when she passed through the coach to count everyone. However, despite some complaints, the driver said that the policy was that the coach drivers were banned from idling by the company. I’m not sure why Megabus have come with this solution, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable for the fifteen minutes or so we were waiting.

Yet again, like my last Megabus trip, there was someone trying to pay on boarding. There was some discussion about this before the passenger gave up and said they’d try and book on the next bus, although that was around seven hours away.

The inside of the coach. Megabus are very proud that they have their own entertainment system for passengers, they e-mailed me twice about it and it was also on the booking e-mail. However, the wi-fi on the coach didn’t work, which was most inconvenient, which of course meant that the entertainment system also failed. I was less concerned about this than I had no access to e-mails or anything else during the five hour journey.

I thought that the lack of wi-fi would be solved by the bus’s stop during the journey. This has always been a McDonald’s, which is very convenient as it allows for not just the purchase of food, but also the use of the restaurant’s wi-fi. However, since my last trip on this journey Megabus has moved to Love’s, a petrol station which charges customers for wi-fi. They had food at the Chester’s Chicken which is part of Love’s, but this didn’t have wi-fi no doubt as Love’s policy to charge for everything they can. In irritation I refused to buy anything and was pleased I had snacks and drinks from Walmart….. The state of the toilets in Love’s was also unsatisfactory, so hopefully Megabus will move to somewhere rather more suitable again in the future.

Oh, and the bus driver counted everyone and realised someone was missing. She ended up running inside to find the passenger and it transpired they’d decided to stay in the petrol station and not continue with the journey. It didn’t occur to them to perhaps tell the driver that, but I have to give credit for the driver noticing, they don’t usually count everyone.

Photos from the journey, which went through some marvellous scenery. It wasn’t of course quite as impressive as the Grand Canyon scenery from the previous day, but nonetheless, the wide expanses provided excellent views which passed the time given the complete lack of wi-fi.

The driver was always friendly and the quality of her driving was excellent, the journey was smooth and we also arrived a few minutes early. This normally wouldn’t make much difference, but on this occasion it allowed me to catch the Pacific Surfliner to San Juan Capistrano. Given that my ticket also only cost $1 the value for money was of course excellent.

And one more comment, just for Dylan, this means that I’m in California!!!!!

May 4, 2019
United States – Los Angeles to Las Vegas – Megabus

Earlier this week I booked a trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on Megabus which cost the grand sum of $1 for the journey, which takes just under six hours. It’s a trip I’ve taken a few times, and the photos in this post are from when I did the journey in January 2017.

The journey starts at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza behind Union Station in Los Angeles and ends at the South Strip Transfer Terminal in Las Vegas. The coaches on this route are clean, modern, have power and are at an appropriate nicely chilled temperature. There is also wi-fi, although this inevitably starts to cut out in the more desert areas.

Unfortunately the Megabus service in the UK is a distant second best to the service offered by the west coast US Megabus service. The staff operate a system where passengers can get there early and pick up a card with a number on it, which is the boarding order. This is an excellent idea as it means the passengers can go and find somewhere else to sit or get food rather than feeling the need to hover by the bus. There’s also the option on the web-site of buying a premium seat to board early (those passengers get a different card), but I didn’t feel the need to board that early.

I do much prefer train journeys to bus journeys, but this is a glorious little bus trip, through the scenery of the California and Nevada deserts and mountains. For $1 it is of course exceptional value for money and it’s always a delight to arrive into Las Vegas.

February 26, 2019