We found some breakfast in the station while we killed a few hours. The station is in a really lousy part of town, so we didn't feel like walking. But the station itself is very nice. It's been restored to its original splendor.
We left L.A. on the Starlight on time. We had lunch in the parlor car, which was very nice. It's available only to first class passengers. The food is similar to the dining car, but the atmosphere is nicer. In the afternoon we attended a complimentary wine tasting there.
The early part of the trip is right along the coast.
One of the most fun things on this part of the Starlight is going up the Cuesta Grade north of San Luis Obispo. It's a double horseshoe curve. We can see both ends of the train as we curve around the hills. The train climbs over 1,000 feet in 11 miles.
The trestle we cross at Stenner Creek was built on the East Coast and shipped around Cape Horn to be assembled. Who knows why.
After climbing up the grade, we descended to the central valley. As usual, it's acres and acres of crops.
We had a beautiful sunset in the evening.
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