My wife and I just combined a recent Leap Day gift with the need to save Amtrak points before the next deadline. Rail travel options are generally limited in the western United States, but Seattle (and Edmonds) has a relatively large selection. (For a slice of local railroad history, see the previous article, “Three Bridges to the South, Three Tunnels to the East.”) His five years on Amtrak as a national park volunteer, Having done a lot of personal travel, I got to ride the Coast His Starlight. It's far south of San Jose (so I know the “road” to that destination!). I rode the Empire Builder east to ski Whitefish and beyond Glacier Park to the turnaround point in Havre, Montana. More exotic destinations were Isaac Walton's two winter trips to Whistle Stop in Essex, Montana, where he stayed in his log.
I've taken the local Cascade Railroad several times south to Portland and north to Vancouver several times. All of this rail travel has been stopped for over three years due to the coronavirus, so we've been enjoying rail travel too late. While air travel can sometimes be necessary, actually riding the train is generally a pleasant pleasure.
Due to time constraints, it is necessary to take vacations that are short in time and distance. North to Bellingham. East to Leavenworth/Wenatchee? Well, when I was pretty young and Amtrak was a customer, I had a friend and I park our bikes in a mostly empty aisle and drive to Washington's often underrated “ I made a return trip to my second city. ” — Tacoma — For a drive around the peninsula. Although I'm no longer on the bike, my current schedule lends itself to a less active vacation from the Edmonds Amtrak station. The 517 train departs south at 11 a.m. and arrives at Tacoma Dome Station at 12:55 p.m. The return 518 Cascade train departs at 4:47 p.m. and returns at 6:27 p.m. That is, this period is after sunset. . The round trip fare for both senior buses was only $50.40.
We could have taken a taxi or rideshare to visit more remote parts of Tacoma, such as the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, but it was a cold, rainy day. Additionally, a notable option has emerged to take the Link streetcar's shorter route to Tacoma's Union Station stop. (Years ago, Amtrak's station moved from its vintage building (now the Washington State Museum of History) to the newly built Tacoma Dome station, perhaps by discontinuing the scenic route. (I think it had something to do with the later unfortunate choice to save travel time to Portland.) Having gone around the peninsula and just past the Narrows Bridge, I really lost out. Anyway, I had no intention of going any further south on this trip.
We could have visited the State History Museum, which has a huge model train layout, or the nearby Glass Museum, but we chose the Tacoma Art Museum, or TAM, instead. It is much larger and perhaps bolder than the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, and includes quite a few Chihuly glass pieces. Although most of the works were contemporary and abstract, works by Impressionists, including Morisot and Degas, were displayed on a surprisingly small scale. His 90 minutes we spent inside was worth his $15 for senior admission. There is also a gift shop and cafe. Amtrak trains have dining cars, but we decided to check out Tim's Kitchen in Tacoma. This is definitely a place that “gets chicken done right.”
It turns out the destination is worth it, but what about the journey itself? Well, for me, especially when accompanied by the familiar constant bumps and frequent long-long-short-long horn warning sounds It was enough to re-experience the passing scenery. Unfortunately, with modern seamless rails, the “clicking” sound has disappeared.
I have always said that train travel, along with its natural scenery, “reveals the underside'' of America, a developed country. Other than the shoreline between Edmonds and the Seattle Canal and a few glimpses of the Duwamish and Puyallup rivers, it's not the most scenic of Amtrak's sections. Nevertheless, industrial truck lots, abandoned cars, homeless encampments, and widespread graffiti are still visible, including scattered intermediate stations, sports stadiums, racetracks, and many stately vintage homes. I'll pull. Don't forget that the overall novelty of this way of traveling will support your journey and give you special views of the mountains and sunsets when you return to Edmonds at the right time of year.
— Written by Kevin O'Keefe
Author Kevin O'Keefe lives in Edmonds
