Having given up my car, I hit the rails---
to see how far I could go.
For $8.75 I got all the way to San Jose. The ride on Caltrain took an hour and a half on this train from the San Francisco terminal.
The route went down the Peninsula, alongside the El Camino Real, the most pleasant trip down the Peninsula I ever had. In the past I drove and had to deal with long red lights and monotonous store fronts.
On this trip, I had a backyard view of many building material supply companies, homes, underpasses, train stations and culverts. I saw lots of people bringing bicycles on the train. One fellow, on the other hand, took his small bike out of a storage locker at a station.
In San Jose, the train pulled into Diridon Station, named after a Santa Clara County supervisor. Originally called the Cahill Depot and built in 1935, it was the locale of the opening scene in the Hitchcock thriller "Marnie", according to Wikipedia.
Here's are pictures of Diridon Station, including a close-up of the mural in the waiting room.
* * *
Read my blog-novel on my other blog.
For $8.75 I got all the way to San Jose. The ride on Caltrain took an hour and a half on this train from the San Francisco terminal.
The route went down the Peninsula, alongside the El Camino Real, the most pleasant trip down the Peninsula I ever had. In the past I drove and had to deal with long red lights and monotonous store fronts.
On this trip, I had a backyard view of many building material supply companies, homes, underpasses, train stations and culverts. I saw lots of people bringing bicycles on the train. One fellow, on the other hand, took his small bike out of a storage locker at a station.
In San Jose, the train pulled into Diridon Station, named after a Santa Clara County supervisor. Originally called the Cahill Depot and built in 1935, it was the locale of the opening scene in the Hitchcock thriller "Marnie", according to Wikipedia.
Here's are pictures of Diridon Station, including a close-up of the mural in the waiting room.
Diridon is a transportation hub, making connections to lots of other places. Happily, I found out about the DASH shuttle, a free service running a loop around the downtown every weekday from 0630 to 1930. It dropped me near the San Jose Museum of Art and places to eat. I chose to eat at The Loft, where I had a Cobb Salad and a glass of wine. Happy Hour starts at 3, so I'll have to keep it in mind next time I'm down that way.
The museum had an exhibit of local Mexican artists, which had caught my attention while surfing the Net. I did enjoy the exhibit, but also the museum itself. I liked its size: small, with only two floors and a basement. After paying the entrance fee ($8) and stepping past the counter, I was already in the exhibit. Larger museums have larger staging areas for all the crowds they expect. This was pleasant change.
About 1500, I started checking the time and decided to head home. I caught the DASH where it had dropped me off and it got me to the station in time for the 1544 train.
Read my blog-novel on my other blog.
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