Taking the train

Like many children, my son loves trains.

This past weekend, we bought the weekend passes on Metrolink, took the train down to the San Clemente Pier and had brunch, got on and came back in time for a nap.  It's $10 for a weekend pass per adult.  The pass is good for one day either Saturday or Sunday.  A little enjoy for our son riding the train and a whole lot less hassle trying to drive the 5 and park.

This coming weekend, we're thinking about heading down to San Juan Capistrano and hitting the petting zoo and brunch, they're within walking distance of the SJC Metrolink stop.

I haven't researched the other stops, but the Santa Ana doesn't have much near it.  The Orange stop is a two block (old small city block) walk to Chapman circle in Old Towne.

Oceanside supposedly is a stop near their old downtown area with shops and cafes.

Heading north, not sure what's available in walking distance until LA Union Station and the the metro-line runs to Expo park, etc.  The Amtrak, being much expensive will run all the way down to San Deigo where a bus will take you straight to the zoo or Sea World.

Anybody else seasons weekend train riders to activities? 

The only Metrolink trip we took was to Fullerton to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

The kids were younger so they thought it was fun... but as it got dark after we ate, they thought the train back was not going to arrive.

I wanted to take it down to San Diego but the Mrs. prefers to have our own transportation available just in case (of what... I have no idea).

How much are kids? What is the age cutoff?

I've taken my daughter on the Metrolink a few times and she loves it.  We've always done the round trip to San Juan Capistrano.  We've visited the mission a couple times where she really enjoyed watching the koi in the fountains.  There is also an Art Fair on the second Saturday of most months (http://www.sjcartfair.org/) and after you pass through the booths, you'll see a neighborhood park/playground that is also fun.

Children 5 and under are free with an adult  (up to 3 children)http://www.metrolinktrains.com/ticketspricing/page/title/discounts

Up through age 5 ride free with an adult.  Age 6-17 is $7.50 I think.

nosuchreality said:

Up through age 5 ride free with an adult.  Age 6-17 is $7.50 I think.

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That's not bad. $10 one way or round-trip? The little train around the spectrum costs $12 for me and my two boys and $10 round-trip with the boys free would be swell.

We took Amtrak to Santa Barbara and it sucked. Taking the train has its advantages but Amtrak lived up to their bad reputation. The snack bar we planned to eat dinner from ran out of food. Twice. One sassy lady employee was extremely rude. She was eavesdropping on a private conversation between Mr. SoCal and I. She started butting in and mouthing off to me (I was telling Mr. SoCal about what I found out at the snack bar.) Telling me what I should be saying and thinking, and how I should be "positive like her" which was pretty ironic considering how bitchy she was. I paid to upgrade our tickets for what I was under the impression were reserved seats. Nope. They overbook the train. We stood from Irvine to about 75% of the way to Santa Barbara. So, what did I pay extra for, then?? The kids were getting knocked around due to the movement. Suitcases rolling away. Not fun. They kicked one elderly couple off the train in the middle of nowhere. That was so sad and terrifying. It was evening. It looked like a pretty desolate area. We overheard the elderly man was unhappy about something. Instead of trying to get it resolved, they reserve their right to boot you if you speak up about something and they don't want to deal with you. He was in a wheelchair and got so stressed out from the incident that he had a heart attack right in front of us! 911 had to come. That held up the train. One person we traveled with had to repurchase their return-trip ticket because of some fault with the ticket printer. Amtrak refused to refund the difference. Some stations are like homeless shelters. Got to be careful. Santa Barbara, especially.

Edit: When I say they ran out of food, what I mean is they didn't have any to start with. Not that they ran short for that train ride. They ran out the day before. Didn't bother to restock at all for that day's passengers.

paperboyNC said:

nosuchreality said:

Up through age 5 ride free with an adult.  Age 6-17 is $7.50 I think.

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That's not bad. $10 one way or round-trip? The little train around the spectrum costs $12 for me and my two boys and $10 round-trip with the boys free would be swell.

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That would be $10 ride and get on and off as much as you want for the day.  Go from Irvine to LA Union and back for $10.  Get off, and get on later and go to the San Clemente pier and back.

Sorry to hear about the SB Amtrak run SoCal, was this recent?

nosuchreality said:

Sorry to hear about the SB Amtrak run SoCal, was this recent?

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Last Feb.

Kind of disturbing how they can just kick you off for minor offenses or 'cause they don't like your face. I don't know if it's that way for Metrolink too?? I'd love to know. The sassy lady also insinuated she could boot us if I kept talking about the snack bar situation. Really? I'm not allowed to talk to my own husband! They are extremely defensive! The train captain or whatever you call him was actually really friendly. He gave us seats up in his quarters when he saw we were still standing and my little boy got slammed into the side of the train. But he saw her sass me and did nothing. And yeah, sorry. My bad. Admittedly, I am not a ray of sunshine when my little son is crying because he's hungry, has missed dinner due to the remiss snack bar person, and can't eat until after bedtime. It does frazzle me. I'm sure I didn't seem thrilled. Now I know to always, always bring food. Even though they have a snack car and say you can purchase this, that & the other, doesn't matter. Many thanks to the stranger who gave us her cookies to keep his hunger at bay. I always say don't take candy for a stranger but sometimes you just have to.  One of the benefits is the other passengers seem to be very friendly and look out for each other. But after the 911 incident, we all gave each other that "look" like we're going to pipe down with our complaints. They are crazy! Seriously, who does that?

Anyone have any recent experiences with taking the kids on a train ride? We recently did the short Irvine to SJC ride and visited the mission. Grandma and the kids enjoyed the short outing.

Any other ideas for a short outing on the train?

zovall said:

Anyone have any recent experiences with taking the kids on a train ride? We recently did the short Irvine to SJC ride and visited the mission. Grandma and the kids enjoyed the short outing.

Any other ideas for a short outing on the train?

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We took the kids to the beach by the San Clemente Pier.

I took Metrolink from Irvine to Union Station, then the subway to Universal Citywalk. Great fun and zero traffic hassle. If you have a Prius, it's cheaper to drive, but anything other than a hybrid the train is about the same cost to travel up to LA.

Be sure to try the iFly at Citywalk when you're there.

Does it stop in Del Mar?  That train station right next to the beach is real nice.

Last weekend we took Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner from Irvine to Santa Fe Depot a.k.a. Union Station in San Diego.

It is considered the most scenic of their routes.

We upgraded to Business Class again. Their service still sucks. However, we chose Amtrak to avoid looking at tail lights for five hours on the way home.