It’s Not Just a Train Trip, It’s
a State of Mind
The trip is well-run, but it’s not slick. You feel taken care of, but not handled. That’s because underneath the expert organization and the four-color brochures, this is essentially a family affair. Todd Clark, the trip’s creator, is a hands-on guy who oversees, troubleshoots and schmoozes nonstop. He also helps serve meals and bus tables. In the galley is Donnalee. Mario, Donnalee’s father, is also onboard and pitches in where needed. The seven-member crew who work to keep coffee pots full, snacks available, garbage collected, and questions answered, all friends of Todd, are not so much employees as they are foamers enjoying a free trip in exchange for light duties.
When the train pulls into Oakland’s Jack London Square a few minutes after 10 p.m. (we are a little more than an hour late, which, in Coast Starlight terms, is very much on time), I am in no hurry to debark. I don’t want to break the spell woven by these long lovely hours in limbo, a day spent traveling 478.5 rail miles (by foamer account) the way people used to travel when the railroad was king.
The crew takes care of the luggage as Todd hustles us on to waiting busses for a quick trip to Woodfin Suites in Emeryville. There we will stay the night in comfortable, spacious accommodations, breakfast included, until, with great eagerness, as if we were embarking on an entirely new adventure, we board the train the next morning for the journey back to L.A.