Riding the Rails, SoCal Style

The long and winding tracks...

For years, I've wanted to ride the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from LA to San Diego, but there's never been a reason. With three kids, strollers, car seats, luggage, frequent snack and potty breaks, weird schedules, etc., it seemed as though taking my well-stocked Suburban (our family "train") was a better choice. Now that the girls are older (ages 8 to 12), our traveling has changed to include other options.

For example, Raf has been wanting/needing some time alone to surf, sit on the waves and not talk (a rare thing in our household). When we discussed taking our kids to San Diego for Thanksgiving, it made perfect sense for him to go a day ahead with his truck and get some well-deserved surfing in.

"And," I mentioned casually, "the girls and I can take the train down and meet you..."

Waiting for our train

This turned out to be much, much easier than I expected. For one thing, with a AAA discount, the fares were super reasonable - I bought the e-tickets online for about $100 for the four of us (as I understood it - and I could be wrong - I had to buy an adult ticket for my oldest child because you can only purchase 2 child fares with 1 adult). This is about the same price as a tank and a half of gas for my Suburban, so I felt like it was a great deal. I printed out our ticket and tucked it in my purse with my wallet and was good to go. 

The train station in Ventura County was super clean, with lots of safe, free parking (but no restrooms). Our train was running about 10 minutes behind, but it was a beautiful, sunny morning on a holiday week, so everyone at the platform was in pretty decent spirits. When the train arrived, the conductor greeted us cheerfully and directed us to a 4-seater area right at the top of the stairs. The next time I go, I'll be sure to grab a seat on the EAST/NORTH side of the train in Ventura County because, after the train links up to the other cars at Union Station, it goes BACKWARDS out of L.A. and then you'll wind up on the WEST side (make sense?). 

And then, my friends, you'll have a perfect view of the gorgeous beach real estate of South Orange County, including my favorite beach town of all time: San Clemente. Surfers, swimmers, beachcombers, families BBQ-ing and picnicking under the pier-adjacent palapas... It was the next best thing to being right there on the beach... 

And all without the stress of traffic and driving. I read my Kindle, laughed with the girls, and just stared out the window. I drive so much, I'd all but forgotten the simple joys of just watching the world go by as a passenger.

I lived in Italy as a teenager and train travel is a way of life there. But in our car-obsessed society, I found a joy in traveling on the Pacific Surfliner that reminded me of the glee of riding on "California Soaring" at Disney's California Adventure. It celebrates the beauty and scenery of our state.  Truly, there is no place like home, and the Pacific Surfliner is the train equivalent of Dorothy's sparkling ruby slippers.

My girls crowding the window to take pictures of surfers at Trestles.

A Raging Time in San Dimas

A few weeks ago, my aunt and I planned to take my kids to Disneyland after school let out; because she works there, we can usually get in free, a definite plus (though I would gladly pay for a Disney day).

My kids were looking forward to it and talking about it and counting down the days... until my aunt called and said that she'd had to have an emergency dental surgery and would have to reschedule our outing. After a few tears were shed, I knew I had to come up with a Plan B.

And so I took the girls to Raging Waters in San Dimas, CA, on Wednesday during the first official week of summer. I thought it would be crowded and hot, but I just braced myself and decided to suck it up.

I'm so glad I did; the park wasn't crowded at all and the weather was perfect (in the 80s). Compared to Disneyland's Park Hopper prices, it was also relatively inexpensive to spend a day at Raging Waters: $36.99 for general admission and $22.99 for junior admission (48" and under; I didn't ask whether or not this is offensive to little people, but I'm assuming they mean kids).

There are two picnic areas with cooler storage at Raging Water; however, I found that even the meal we got at the burger joint right inside the park was reasonable for an amusement park, with kids' meals hovering around $7 for a cheeseburger, fries (or apples) and a drink. There were "healthy" options, too, like chicken sandwiches and a caesar salad, and a pizza place and ice cream shops on the lower level.

Perhaps due to the temperate weather, there weren't a lot of people. In fact, most rides had little or no wait. My kids (ages 8 and 9) rode the Vortex and Dark Hole several times while my 5-year-old and I tooled around the lazy river on inner tubes (called the Amazon Adventure) and floated in the Wave Cove. The only wait we had was for Thunder Rapids, which simulates a whitewater rafting journey down a twisty luge-like slide - for about 30 minutes, my kids and I stood in dripping swimsuits in a shady line. Still, that was our only wait all day, so we were fine with it (except that my 8-year-old thought it was way too short of a ride!).

The only drawbacks were the general lack of cleanliness in the bathrooms and changing areas, though I saw people cleaning these areas constantly... I suppose it's just the nature of a wet theme park to have gross bathrooms.

A HUGE plus, though, were the lifeguards. The website touted the park's 250 lifeguards and I had thought, Yeah, right! But there were lifeguard stands EVERYWHERE, probably every 10 yards at most attractions and the guards were very serious about watching guests and blowing their whistles at anyone who was outside the lines or being unruly. As a mom with three kids there, I felt very safe and secure; I knew that not only would my kids be watched (by me or a guard) but that teens wouldn't be allowed to be too rowdy near us. (God, I sound old just writing that, but you mamas know what I mean.)

In all, it was a very fun day and we left right as the park was closing. I know it will be much, much busier as the summer heats up, but if we lived closer I may have paid for season passes (2 for $99, and you could apply the cost of the day's admission, too).

The best part? As we were leaving, I got a text from my aunt saying that it was good we had rescheduled Disneyland... turns out that California Adventure had been closed several times this week due to FULL CAPACITY crowds. Thank you, Raging Waters, for saving the day!