On AMTRAK train leave Anaheim at 8:07 or Union Station, Los Angeles at 10:15 a.m.  See Simi Valley and Fillmore, orange groves and green houses, reaching the Pacific coast at Oxnard. As the train hugs the shore we see the most magnificent vistas west through Santa Barbara. Turning north at Gaviota past Vandenberg Space Station fields of strawberries and miles of new vines are all around us on the way to Pismo Beach. On arrival in San Luis Obispo around 3:43 the waiting taxi takes you on a short tour of the town and then to La Cuesta Inn for overnight stay.
Overnight at La Cuesta Inn or similar hotel.

---- DINNING ON THE TRAIN -----
THE DINNING CAR & CAFE LOUNGE CAR ON COAST STARLIGHT
 The Dinning Car offers a truly unique restaurant style dinning experience to both Sleeping Car and Coach passengers. Enjoy regional wines and regionally inspired dishes prepared by our talented chefs, all the while enjoying a level of service you'd expect of a fine restaurant. In addition to the Dinning Car, all passengers are invited to relax, socialize and dine in the Cafe Lounge Car. The Lounge Car offers extended hours and a more casual environment where you can satisfy your appetite with sandwiches, snacks, beer, cocktails, wine, and an assortment of sodas and juices.

Day 2: (B,L) San Luis Obispo / Hearst Castle/ Monterey. 148 miles tour and then 154 miles by train and  bus.                                              

After continental breakfast The Wine Wrangler (tour company) takes you about 45 minutes west to the coast and then on Highway One to San Simeon. *Tour No. 1 of Hearst Castle built by Julia Morgan during the 1920s and 1930s for the art collection of world famous newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. This 2 hour tour is ideal for first time visitors with an easy walk, a total of about 150 steps. Enjoy a picnic lunch and stop for shopping or visit a winery. Back to San Luis Obispo for the Coast Starlight train at 3:43. The train chugs up Cuesta Grade and then drops down to the horse ranches of Templeton and green pastures and vineyards of Paso Robles .At Camp Roberts we enter Monterey County and along the Salinas River oil fields give way to the Valley, one of the richest agricultural areas in California. Riding through one of the largest vineyards we come upon miles of broccoli, lettuce, flowers and berries. Around 6:36 you reach Salinas where John Steinbeck chronicled the transformation of Monterey county from the days of depression to the wealthier times. Salinas Taxi waits for your arrival and takes you to Bay Park Hotel, Monterey.

Check in at Bay Park Hotel. Relax at this full service hotel.

Day 3: (B) (D) Monterey Peninsula Tour - then to San Francisco. 154 miles by motor coach.

Have breakfast and spend the morning at the hotel. Between noon and one meet the tour motor coach from San Francisco. Spend the rest of the day in historic Monterey, Cannery Row, Pacific Grove looking at golf courses, mansions and scenic vistas. See the Pacific crashing on the rocks and swirling around on the 17 Mile Drive, where the Lone Cypress stands guard. Brush with luxury at the resorts of Pebble Beach. Time in Carmel by the Sea for shopping & browsing. After five we go east through Fort Ord and Castroville to Highway 101 as the artichoke and strawberry fields and green houses give way turning north along the San Andreas fault line through Gilroy and Morgan Hill. The urban sprawl emerges as we enter San Jose. The pace quickens and slows with the traffic driving through the Silicon Valley then past San Francisco International Airport arriving at your hotel in the City around 7:30 p.m.

Notes:  Picnic lunch on the second day and breakfast on second and third day are included in the tour price. It is best to have lunch on the first day on the train. With so much to enjoy in Monterey you can spend an extra day and night at Bay Park Hotel coming to San Francisco on the 4^th day.