Pacific Surfliner
So you’re kicking back on the beach one hot, flat, summer day.
Watching the dolphins jump and the pelicans wind surf.
All of a sudden a train comes flying by. Everybody turns to look. Some folks even get
up and wave. We all wonder what’s going on inside that train. And we all want to be
friendly to the people in there, whoever they are.
Why? I don’t know.
There’s only one way to find out. And it’s pretty cheap.
So we hopped on the afternoon train to San Luis.
Lived here my whole life and have never done it.
It was a perfect afternoon, and we would be on train for the sunset.
We flew past all our favorite haunts, a little too quickly…
Naples.
Dos Pueblos Ranch Beach, aka, paradise.
Quick glimpses of special places.
Quick glances at folks enjoying the solitude of the last hour of a summer day.
They usually waved.
For a minute, I wanted to be on that beach, enjoying the moment….
But flying along, from beach to beach was pretty dang cool.
There goes Randy Cone’s old place.
One of the best parties ever was held there.
Now some Hollywood types own it.
The captain lays dormant.
These are posted in the order they were taken up the coast;
And about this time, the lady in front of me gave a sideways glance to see who this nut
was constantly taking pictures out the window!
That used to be an arch.
We have a Jeff Campbell painting of this spot hanging on the wall.
ReFuFio as some say.
Where L.A. camps.
Awesome spot with way too many people living in close proximity and
sharing too few toilets.
At least one viewer thinks this is his secret spot. Sorry dude.
This is a spot we need to re-investigate…
You don’t see this from the highway.
Here’s what we assume is part of the dismantled oil refinery at Mariposa Reina.
Which in spanish means “butterfly queen”.
Fittingly, there are some “odd” rumors about the beaches in this area….
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
We never knew the Gaviota pier was so happening!
Look at all them people on there.
Into the forbidden zone…
We will not mention any names during this stretch.
That came out good.
What a photogenic spot.
About this time, the wind turned offhsore, hard.
Still, not much of a wave to blow back on.
Now this is more like a campsite….
This is the Surfing Cowboy Ranch. 2 miles of coast between Hollister and Bixby ranches.
So busy snapping photos, we forgot about the
complimentary bottle of twist off vino!
Check out this point. See the boats?
If you crash your boat, you just leave it there I guess…
Government Point.
The wall of fog, hanging and waiting.
Jalama. Packed.
And then we entered the wall..
Vandenberg boat house. Reserved for Navy big wigs.
Pretty cool spot, eh?
This is a spooky looking place.
Nice beach, away from it all.
Sand dunes.
Now these photos could get me in even more trouble than the Ranch photos.
Vandenberg AFB.
And just before Point Sal, we turn inland.
Into the always lovely, Guadalupe.
Big steel wheels.
And just after sunset, we reach our destination,
San Luis Obispo.
Still not sure why we all wave at the train.
But it sure makes you feel good when you’re on it!
So if you’ve lived here a while and you’ve never taken the train ride north. Do it.
It’s a beautiful ride.
But instead of taking pictures the whole time, sit back and enjoy the view,
and some of that cheap wine.
