The San Juan Capistrano 'The Vintage' Restaurant, where our Wine and Train Meetup group meets once a week.

The Pedestrian Walk that crosses the RR tracks in downtown San Juan Capistrano.

We enjoyed chatting with Martin, son of the owners, who helped his brother, James, serve us food and drinks all day.

Crossing the San Dieguito River, just south of the Fairgrounds.

The open vestibule is a great place to photograph the tracks trailing behind us as we pass the Torrey Pines Reserve south of the Sorrento Valley Station.

It is hard to believe that this scene is inside the city limits of  San Diego. California.  Once the train reaches the summit above Sorrento Valley Station, it is in Rose Canyon Open Space until it gets back to parallel to I-5, then it becomes urban again until the San Diego Santa Fe Station.

The Santa Fe Depot has the original tiles and name on the tower.

Two cruise ships were in the nearby port.  They both left during the time we were in town.

John told us that we could detrain immediately, or stay onboard while the Surfliner (above) unhooked our car and pulled down past a switch then came back on the adjacent track to head back north on the next run.  Since we were in town for 4 hours, there was no rush to detrain.

During the time before we detrained, I took a few interior photos of the Silver Splendor.

Not having been outside since we boarded in Fullerton, I wondered how the weather was.  John has a convenient inside/outside thermometer so we could find out the temperature (right).

In case you wondered how close to the Station the Silver Splendor is  tied up, this is a photo from the vestibule of the station.

Ready to enjoy 4 hours in San Diego before our return land cruise.

Walk through the station to the east and outside the door you will see the Trolley Station (below).  There you can purchase a daypass from the machine for $2.50 and embark on your San Diego Adventures.  We decided to take the San Ysidro/Tijuana Blue Line to the border and back, a 56 minute ride each way.  Upon our return, we got off at the Civic Center and had supper before walking back to the Silver Splendor.

At the America Plaza Transit Center, signs (right) show where to board either the Orange or Blue line to travel south or north.  Also, there are large signs with the complete route map nearby, or pick up a trolley schedule in the Amtrak Station.  This website gives the same route guide if you want to print it ahead of time:  

In San Ysidro, I noticed the San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad sign.  I'll have to see where that route runs.

The light from the setting sun in the west seemed even better than 4 hrs earlier, so I took more photos of the Silver Splendor.

The Surfliner that would take the Silver Splendor back to Los Angeles was nearby and the crew was ready to hook us up.

To contact the LA Rail group, which the Silver Splendor  is a part of, use this website or phone number, which is conveniently placed on the door so those who see the car out and about, can reserve a future ride.

I took some additional photos as we walked around the car to board on the station side.  As you can see, with the Silver Splendor as the last car heading north, we were an unusual looking consist with the locomotive neither at the lead nor at the rear.

Sue spotted this interesting reflection in the Silver Splendor's window of a Surfliner locomotive on the adjacent track.

Back onboard, Sue and I found a table in the Dome so we could watch our departure from the San Diego Amtrak Station.

At each end of the car are two 2-place tables so you can look forward, just like the windshield of a car, or to the side for an excellent view or the trip.

We ascended Rose Canyon and crossed under Hwy. 101 at South Del Mar.

Powerhouse, now a civic center and park, Del Mar, CA.

Del Mar practice Racetrack, infield lake, and grandstand.

Solana Beach overpass south of the station and switch for tracks 1 and 2.

Placemat and candle on the Vista Dome table, ready for dessert.

This was the first trip where Heidi had used the battery operated candles.

I experimented with some timed exposures.  This photo looks like we had a Ghost for a waiter.

Heidi, Martin, and James detrained at San Juan Capistrano, to head home in San Clemente.  John stayed onboard to see all the guests off in Fullerton and LA, and to tie up the Silver Splendor in LA.

I love the way the lighted railings along the staircase to the Vista Dome look at night ... "Stairway to a Train Lover's Heaven -- A Vista Dome".