A journey along the coast of California
This beautiful American train ride is consistently captivating

California's Pacific Coast Highway is the road trip of dreams, but there's a "smarter, more sustainable way" to travel along America's sunniest shoreline, said Mike MacEacheran in The Times. The Coast Starlight is a double-decker train that has been running between Los Angeles and Seattle for half a century. Sitting in its observation car with a cold beer in hand, you'll feel more relaxed than you would on the highway. You'll also see more of the passing scenery – the blue wild rye grass, the whaleback islands, the beaches "besieged by herons".
For those making the full 1,337-mile, 35-hour journey, there are "swanky roomettes and doubles", with "bench seats turned bunks and in-room showers". But I opted for the one-day trip from LA's "monumental" Union Station to Sacramento, in northern California. The views were "cinematic". First, the Los Angeles of La La Land, and then the "drama" of the California Coastal National Monument (as seen in numerous films including Point Break), followed by views of the Channel Islands National Park (which brought to mind the 1960s surf flick The Endless Summer). Next came the winelands of Paso Robles (which had a cameo in Sideways), and the dramatic oil fields of Monterey County, with their "seesawing" pumpjacks. San Francisco passed by in the evening – but before that, in "Barbie-pink light", I saw the chaparral town of Salinas, where John Steinbeck grew up (and where there is a museum called the National Steinbeck Centre).
I didn't spot breaching humpbacks or fin whales, as some passengers do – but I did enjoy the sight of the magnificent old leviathans at Sacramento's railroad museum, including the Gov. Stanford, the steam engine said to have formed the blueprint for Dumbo's circus train. And I liked Sacramento's old town, which grew up during the California gold rush in the mid-19th century, and "remains as rootin' and tootin' as an episode of Bonanza".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
See amtrak.com for further information.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more