As some of you already know, I recently took a trip to California attend the world famous Comic Con. Well, it was a miracle that my good friend and I were admitted in the first place, as all advance ticket sales were sold out, and there were no day of the event tickets this year (or for the last few years I was told). But that's a topic for another journal entry.

I also went on this journey to have the experience of true cross-country train travel and to check out some of Los Angeles and San Diego. Until now, my longest train ride has been a single overnighter to either Chicago or Florida. To do this longer journey, I opted for a sleeper on the Southwest Chief which goes from Chicago to Los Angeles. In many ways, this was the finest train ride I've ever been on, and almost worth the small fortune Amtrak charges for one of their Roomettes.

It's a far cry from the Los Angeles Metro's Blue Line. It connects lively downtown Los Angeles with trendy Long Beach California. But in between are some of the most disadvantaged communities you'll find anywhere in America. I could try to write out the details myself, but this article in the LA Weekly online newspaper does a much better job than I ever could: [link] The author goes into much detail about what life is like in the 'hood. I can second much of what he says, because, sadly, it's a similar scene on much of SEPTA's Broad Street and Market Frankford Lines. Where I strongly disagree with him, however, is his criticism of the LA Metro. Yes, the line has had a disproportionate number of collisions with autos and pedestrians. That would not be the case if Watts and Compton had less crime and a higer regard for life in general. I also think the author does a disservice by overplaying the amount of dregs or bad behavior we see on the Blue Line. There is a good police presence on the trains for fare enforcement and safety.

More about Los Angeles, San Diego, and Comic Con soon...once I get around to writing about it, heh.