Welcome, dear readers, to the tale of how three friends found magic and conquered a bit of the California coast, all thanks to the Pacific Surfliner! Armed with nothing but overpacked bags and a penchant for delicious cocktails, your three heroes rode the rails and are more than happy to take you through the chapters of their intrepid journey through sun, sand, and Surfliner.
But wait, where are our manners? Some introductions are in order…
Anna: Calm, curious, caring. Please don’t startle her!
Brittany: Bright, beautiful, big-hearted. That’s just Brittany!
Nathaniel: Chic, compassionate, clever. If you knew him, you’d want to be his friend too!
All three of us hail from Nevada, but unfortunately find ourselves divided by several hundred miles of sprawling, arid desert. Reno to Las Vegas— or, Brittany and I to Nathaniel— is more than 400 miles, so getting the three of us all together is pretty rare. We were looking forward to this trip for so long that when it finally happened, it felt like a dream come true!
And so, now that we’ve broken the ice, keep reading for a look inside our Pacific Surfliner trip. All aboard!
Chapter 1: The Arrival & The First Supper
We set out from our respective homes, ready to begin our journey. Our meeting point? Long Beach Airport. By all accounts, a lovely and laid-back little spot. Passing by iconic city lights and palm trees, we grabbed an Uber to our hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. When you reach a certain age, the threat of hanger (hunger anger, for the uninitiated) is ever-looming, and Brittany quickly found us a nearby French restaurant in downtown called “Le Petit Paris” to curb our cravings.
Now, if you don’t want to be hungry, stop reading now! This meal was far too delicious to skip over. We started out with an appetizer that made us question why bread isn’t the main course in every meal. The warm, crusty loaf arrived with a smear of rich, creamy butter, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since, to be honest! That was nothing compared to the main course, though— inspired by icons Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (and Julia Childs, of course) in the movie Julie & Julia, I knew I had to get the beef bourguignon* as soon as I spotted it on the menu. It was every bit as delicious as I thought it would be, savory and tender and cooked to perfection. 10/10, would beef bourguignon again!
*Beef bourguignon, or “beef Burgundy” in French, is a stew made with tender beef and tasty vegetables simmered in red wine. Though the recipe has been around since the Middle Ages, beef bourguignon as we know it today was first publicized in 1903 by French chef Auguste Escoffier, and made famous in 1961 with its inclusion in Julia Childs’ seminal household cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.