Friends, I'm writing this evening from Union Station in Los Angeles, where I'm waiting—in comfortable seats, which are plentiful—to board the Sunset Limited for New Orleans. The train departs at 10 p.m., which I appreciate. It gave me the opportunity to tire myself out all day so that I might sleep better tonight. We'll see.
The day in LA was moderately uneventful. I walked a lot (10 miles according to my phone). I went to Koreatown and had all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. It's normally a delicacy I reserve for sharing with high school friends in Annandale, but I wanted to eat as much protein today as I could, given I'll be on the train with not-so-great nutrition prospects for roughly 48 hours starting tonight. While in Koreatown, I also saw this gorgeous Denny’s:
Then I walked the Broadway Walk of Stars (meh) and stopped at Trader Joe's for some train snacks.
(I learned some lessons from my leg on the California Zephyr. Mainly: Buy peanut, not almond butter; bring fruits and veggies; keep added sugar low. So I'm bringing oranges, baby carrots, peanut butter and wheat bread, and no-sugar-added wheat cereal. It won't be fun, but it should be fine.)
After that, I went back downtown and spent a while in Grand Park watching the fountain. I got a quick dinner near the station at Phillipe the Original, which I gather is regionally famous for their French dip sandwich.
(Longtime readers will remember the "Italian Beef" from Chicago. This was substantially less wet than the Italian Beef was, even though it was nominally "double dipped." Not a value judgement—my LA turkey dip was just as good as the Chicago Italian beef—just an observation.)
When my train boards, I'll be on for about two days. We're scheduled to arrive in New Orleans around 9 p.m. local time. Hopefully the scenery is nice!
I think I'll be able to post an update tomorrow. If not, you'll almost certainly hear from me after I check into my NOLA hotel in two days.
–JBG
Jake’s on a Train, Day 11
Two days on a train! I can barely stand two hours in a car😉. I hope you found the second (and third and fourth) le Carre books to keep you company. Loved the Denny’s photo. Looks like it might have been a bank. I agree it is beautiful. So, the best star you could find was Pee-Wee Herman? Meh indeed! Hope your train ride presents you with some interesting scenery or fellow passengers. Stay well. 💗