Here we are in the dining car having lunch. The food was OK...nothing compared to the cruise ship...but it was included with the cost of the accommodations (if you get a sleeping room you are considered "first class", thus all your meals are free.) From when we woke up till about 4 pm the view was not that great...mostly small towns our grafitti of large towns. Towards the evening the train hit the coast and it was pretty. We arrived at LA Union Station at 10:30 and found our car waiting for us. We drove back to San Diego and collapsed. We knew that this would be a tiring vacation since we were bringing along the boys, but we also knew it would be really fun to go on a bus, boat and train (plus I found a really good deal on the cruise since it was "Transitioning" to the Alaska market for the summer). Kudos goes to Dawna for putting up with such a "boys" vacation!