From locals taking a quick getaway, to students heading home up and down the coast in their exodus from San Luis Obispo, AAA reports there are 45 million people expected on the roads this Memorial Day holiday, driving more than 50 miles from their home.
“All aboard!” shouted conductor “Frank” at high noon Friday when the Pacific Surfliner from SLO to San Diego departed, packed for the long weekend.
“You should choose business every time it’s a packed train because you get a reserved seat every time, so whenever it gets packed, they’ll overbook the train, and you have to stand for like the first hour,” Cal Poly student Judah Alvaro told KSBY News reporter Jessica Roe.
Other students said the best parts of a trip on the Amtrak line are the peace and quiet, the view, and, if they have to log on to their computers for schoolwork, the free Wi-Fi.
“Not having the stress of driving, or having someone pick you up, it’s really convenient, and I mean, the views on the train are just gorgeous,” said Ian Netherland from the San Diego area.
Netherland said that this school year alone, he has ridden the train back and forth eight times. He is a big fan. His friend Duncan Frumess had previously only taken the train at night.
“This is my first time going in the daytime, so I’m excited to see all the views he’s talking about,” Frumess said.
Also aboard this train was a pair of local railway legends, Frank and Angelina Gallegos.
“Well, our dad worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad, so he worked these lines here,” said Angelina. Their daughter saw them off at the station and explained that during the years they worked in the railway industry, they physically lived in an old-fashioned boxcar up on the hills above Cal Poly.
KSBY kept an eye on the roads and the airport, and by the time we published this article late Friday evening, there were no major delays to report, just the typical slowdowns on Highway 101 near Los Osos Valley Road (LOVR), and in the Pismo Beach area.
We published another related article, which provides ideas and links for local one-tank-of-gas getaways, which you can find at THIS LINK - in a story titled “STAYCATIONS”.
If you have a story idea you would like to send to KSBY News reporter Jessica Roe, you can reach her directly via email at jessica.roe@ksby.com.
