I stood on the platform at the Amtrak Station to take the train photos. If I ever visit this place again, I think I should bring along a zoom lens! Since this trip was taken, I have upgraded camera equipment and now have a zoom lens so I'll have to come back here again sometime since this is a busy spot with lots of traffic! I met up with a few railfans from the area, one of which told me that hardly anything was running through Tehachapi due to trackwork, so the better choice was definitely coming to Barstow. I also met a railfan from England who was visiting as well. I eventually left after getting the last photos of the equipment set up outside. I ate at a Del Taco restaurant after getting some cash out of the ATM. The food was OK, their crinkle-cut french fries were very good!
   After leaving the restaurant, I started driving back to Orange County and made it to just past Victorville with no problems. By the time I got to the town of Hesperia (all of this by the way was on I-15) I encountered gridlock on the freeway that lasted some 25 MILES!!! After this trip, I will NEVER complain about traffic in Buffalo again! I didn’t have the camera handy at the time, but as the interstate climbed over the top of Cajon Pass, I could see the huge horseshoe curve the road takes and at the bottom of the hill. At the end of the curve a few miles down the road, you could STILL see gridlock. After the entrance to I-215, the traffic finally cleared up! Traffic was busy but manageable for the rest of the way. I called another cousin of mine who lives just outside Hollywood and was given directions by her to drive over to her apartment. So I drove there from Barstow and she gave me a quick night tour of Hollywood! We stopped by a restaurant called "Fat Burger", and the food was excellent! I then drove back to my Aunt’s house, deliriously tired, and so ends today!