Solo trip to Santa Barbara, California

Accessibility: picture of a beach, cliffs and the ocean taken from  a

moving train.

On Tuesday I woke up bright and early so that I could board Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner to Santa Barbara. I had never taken an Amtrak train in the States -let alone by myself. I will discuss how accessible it was at the end of my post. For now, I want to focus on the trip itself. The train was extremely comfortable and one of the conductors told me which side to sit on to get the best views.

In the two and a half hour journey from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara we went through mountains and a gorgeous shoreline. The sea was roaring and some of the passengers got to see whales as they were migrating -I didn't, because... blindness. However, I certainly appreciated the beautiful scenery!

Accessibility: street lined with trees

and buildings in the Spanish-style

architecture.

I arrived to Santa Barbara at 9:30AM. Since I was just spending a half day there and didn't really want to take any public transit, I decided I would just visit the things that were within walking distance. Right away, as I left the station, I noticed how the atmosphere in Santa Barbara was very different from San Luis Obispo. The Spanish-style architecture was prominent in all of Santa Barbara's white-washed buildings with their red tile roofs. It almost felt like I had stepped into a beach-side holiday town (which it kind of is...). Santa Barbara felt a lot more diverse. As I was walking through town I heard many more different languages and many non-American English accents. Obviously it is closer to Los Angeles and a more famous city than San Luis Obispo, so that shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Accessibility: white-washed building with

red tile roof. There is a small bell

tower on the left.

El Presidio Real, Santa Barbara.

The first thing I did when I arrived was visit El Presidio Real, which was about a 20 minute walk from the Amtrak station. Also known as The Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara, the structure was built in the late 1700s by the Spanish colonists. At the time it served as a military base. Today, it houses a museum, an active archeological site and a park.

By this point, I needed a break so I stopped at Handlebar Coffee Roasters across the street for a snack. I had their iced vanilla mocha with almond milk. It tasted really good and I appreciated that it wasn't overly sweet. The place was buzzing with activity, from students working on their laptops to business people just stopping in for a quick snack before heading back to work. I spent the rest of my afternoon wondering the streets.

Accessibility: sunset over the ocean.

The sky is painted with clods in 

blues, grays and oranges.

My train back to San Luis Obispo was leaving at 5:30 PM and I arrived at the train station at around 4:30 in order to get checked in and ready. The train going back was really full, but I still got to have a seat and the views were wonderful, now with a sunset over the ocean.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed with Amtrak's accessibility service. When I booked my tickets online, I couldn't find the box to indicate that I am visually impaired and will need help getting on and off the train. So, after I finished my online reservation, I called their customer service line and let them know that I was blind and would need assistance navigating the station, getting on the train, etc. The gentleman on the phone was super helpful and assured me that there shouldn't be a problem that, as soon as they scanned my ticket, they would see that there was a request for assistance and would help me right away.

When I arrived to the station in San Luis Obispo in the morning and asked for help at the check-in counter, the gentleman manning the counter didn't really know what I was talking about and told me that a conductor would help me once the train pulled up. Again, the conductor had no idea what I was talking about but helped me to a seat anyways. I was told someone would help me off the train in Santa Barbara -they did not. In the morning I had my husband to help me find the right car, so it was Ok. I have enough vision that I can get off the train by myself and sort of find my way around by myself, especially since these stations aren't very big.

In the afternoon, however, I was by myself, so I really wanted help getting on the train. I went to the check-in counter again and explained what had happened in the morning and that I was traveling alone and would need help finding my car, etc. When the lady at the check-in desk looked at my reservation, she said that it did say I was visually impaired, but it didn't say anything about me needing assistance. Bless her heart, she changed my ticket right then and there so that I would get the assistance I needed. Sure enough, when the train pulled up to the station, one of the people working the check-in desk came to find me and escorted me to the train. From there, a conductor helped me to a seat. She came to find me a couple of minutes before we arrived to San Luis Obispo and, once at the station, she helped me find my husband.

Was this a fluke and Amtrak has in fact great accessibility services? I don't know. I can tell you that once the need for assistance was added to my ticket they were great. However, it should not be so difficult to add the need for assistance as you are booking your ticket and, if you are having a conversation with a customer service rep, they should definitely fix it for you and make sure that it is done right from the get go. Had I been totally blind or had I needed the ramp to get off the train, I would have probably missed my stop in Santa Barbara. Once the issue was fixed, on my way home, the service was excellent. I was in a downstairs car where it was just an old lady and myself, whereas the rest of the train was packed. The conductor checked in with me a couple of times and made sure I got to where I had to go once we arrived to my destination. I would probably need to try it again before I make a decision on whether Amtrak is good with accessibility or not.

Have you ever been to Santa Barbara? What was your impression of it? Have you ever traveled with Amtrak or any other train with assistance? How was your experience?

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