Through windows on a train

"Are you listening to my announcements. I don't just make them to hear myself," the conductor lady said to a passenger on my first Amtrak train ride. "We are stopped here waiting for a train to go by because we don't want another collision."

WELL THANK GOODNESS!! .... I said to myself in my seat.   

It was a very early Monday morning. My alarm clock went off at 4:45 a.m. to have enough time to get ready before I had to board my train to Santa Ana, California — the nearest stop to Whittier Law School located in Costa Mesa. 

First I must say that the train is way more comfortable than flying. The seats are bigger, there is more foot space (even a foot rest!) and bigger windows. From San Diego to Oceanside I had a view of the ocean. We were literally on top of the ocean. The other parts were...well...desert.

And the most interesting people get on the train. As much as I wanted to sleep, I couldn't. 

On the second stop, a 16-year-old sat next to me with his buddy across the aisle. The first thing I heard him say was, "I stopped drinking because I was drunk for three months." He currently attends AA meetings. The rest of their conversations intertwined with some "For sure Dude" comments. (a popular phrase in california....) 

On my way back to San Diego, the people behind me (who had just met on the train) were talking about their troubled days hazed behind the effects of drugs. She's been clean for a couple months. He said he's done crystal meth once or twice, but if he had to do anything he'd do coke. He bought her a Bloody Mary and himself a beer. They parted ways in San Diego. 

My interviews at the law school went well. I roasted a little in the sun while waiting for my taxi to take me back to the Santa Ana Transportation Center. And the cab driver kind of made me car sick. I swear he crossed four lanes in under five feet, and took the on-ramp like we were on a roller coaster. 

I'm eager to make more trips like this — especially by train.