Lisa left from Oregon last night, and plans to collect me from Sacramento this afternoon, after which we will drive to Marysville and spend the night. My usual hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, was charging more than I felt comfortable paying, so we're in a Comfort Inn Suites that is much less conveniently located. I'll have to think on whether the inconvenience is worth saving $30 on the room rate.
Tomorrow we have Thanksgiving Lunch with my grandfather, mother, sister, nephew, and spouses. Then Lisa and I have to get moving up to Dunsmuir, where we'll be staying at the Railroad Park Resort, a hotel constructed from old railroad cabooses. If you've ever driving I-5, you've probably seen this hotel, located just south of Dunsmuir.
On Saturday, we drive further north, where Lisa is to deposit me on the southbound Coast Starlight at Eugene. Train 11, scheduled for a 5:10 departure. The Starlight's time-keeping has improved considerably lately. It actually left Eugene on time a few days ago. Yesterday it was over an hour late, though. Of course, the train rarely runs late when you need it to do so.
We made the travel plans late, so there were no sleeping compartments left, and because I already had a Sacramento-Fremont ticket on the Capitol, I'll have to change trains in Sacramento at 6 AM (assuming the train is on time). I may ask the conductor of the Starlight whether I can stay on board until Oakland, given that I do have tickets that cover the entire route. I hope he says yes, because if so, I'll be able to get breakfast on the Starlight, which, even after the latest round of budget cuts, has better dining car service than the snack car on the Capitol.
I am not taking my computer with me on this trip. Besides, almost none of the places I'm going this weekend has internet service. I expect to be back home sometime mid-to-late Sunday, depending on the train schedules. This will be, as I recall, the longest continuous gap in my LJ entries since I started keeping it.
