Part Two: From the Valley to the Bay

Having arrived at the new, attractive Bakersfield Train Station right on time, we soon left on the "San Joaquins," headed for our eventual destination of San Francisco.

The cars on our train were just about brand new, and we chose to sit at a café-style table, with double seats on either side, and access to an electrical outlet. Since we were traveling with a laptop and a cd player, this came in handy. Dining choices included snacks and sandwiches from a snack bar or a full meal in a dining car. I found the food on this line to be quite good and to include some items that I haven't found on other lines. A cheese filled giant pretzel was especially yummy and the barbecued sandwiches were also very good.

The train left on time, and proceeded through California's Central Valley, stopping at the many small towns in this agricultural region. Many of these towns had very attractive train stations, either newly built or beautifully restored, and fitting in with the region's architectural style. At the Merced stop, a traveler could transfer to an Amtrak shuttle to be taken to Yosemite National Park, a very enjoyable, and environmentally sensitive, way to get to the park.

After about a seven-hour train ride, we arrived on time at the Emeryville Station. Since trains do not go into San Francisco, we again took an Amtrak Freeway bus for the ten-minute ride to our destination, the City of restaurants, historic trolley cars and an always-enjoyable ambience.

We had sought out reasonably priced accommodations in this very expensive city, and were booked at the Pickwick Hotel. As a former resident of San Francisco, I knew that the location of this hotel had been a rather seedy area, but I also knew that downtown San Francisco was undergoing a lot of change, so we took a chance.

The Pickwick turned out to be a lovingly restored hotel, part of the Grand Heritage Hotels system, with a coffee maker, iron, hair dryer and other amenities in the room. There is currently a small café that serves breakfast and lunch, and plans to open a full service restaurant in the hotel. We were very pleased with the service, and would recommend this hotel. If you go, get your reservations online, as we did. The price we paid was significantly lower (by more than half) than the listed price. The neighborhood, too, has been greatly spiffed up over the last few years, and although there is valet parking available at the hotel, don't worry about renting a car, since San Francisco is truly a walking town.

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