KIDS RIDE FREE
Summer is just around the corner, and Summer means big savings with the Kids Ride Free special. For each one adult, senior or handicapped fare, two kids, ages 2 to 15 will ride free Monday through Thursday! This offer is valid from June1to August 26 on the San Diegan trains (San Diego to San Luis Obispo), the San Joaquins (Bakersfield to Oakland), and the Capitols (Sacramento to San Jose), including bus transfers.

There is a wide variety of places you can take your family for a Summer outing or vacation with the Kids Ride Free special. The beautiful Yosemite Park is a prime example of a perfect family retreat. Amtrak provides roundtrip train-to-motorcoach connections to Yosemite park through the San Joaquin Valley. There are scenic tours on an open air tram available, with sights such as Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome, and El Capitan, to name a few.


If you'd like to stay longer than one day, accommodations can be arranged through VIA Adventures with a 1 month notice. Bike riding, hiking, guided tours, rock climbing and swimming are just some of the recreational activities in store for you this Summer at Yosemite. For information and overnight accommodations, call VIA Adventures at 888-PARK-BUS.

Perhaps the ambiance of romantic San Francisco is more your style. Fisherman's Wharf, China Town and Golden Gate Park are some of the major attractions. Take a ride on the historic cable cars, dine at any one of many fabulous restaurants, take in a stage play, and try the fascinating Alcatraz tour, which begins with a ferry ride from Fisherman's Wharf. With the Kids Ride Free special, you can get to San Francisco on the train-bus combination through the San Joaquin Valley and disembark at any one of four different stops in San Francisco (not valid on the Coast Starlight).

If it's a one day excursion you're interested in, choose from any one of dozens of theme parks and attractions, such as the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Hearst Castle, just to name a few. With the Kids Ride Free special, Amtrak can get you where your going and save you money and the hassle of driving. For information call 800-USA-RAIL, and have a great Summer.

California Strawberry Festival
Dipped, powdered, on a kabob or shortcake, whatever your pleasure, the 1999 California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard, will delight even the "pickiest" of patrons.

Now celebrating its 16th year, the festival will be held on May 15 and 16 from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM at Strawberry Meadows of College Park (3250 South Rose Avenue) in Oxnard. The California Strawberry Festival boasts something for everyone, including a delectable array of strawberry delicacies, top live entertainment, an award-winning Fine Arts and Crafts Show, Strawberryland for Kids, a Strawberry Short-cake Eating Contest and Tart Toss, at a remarkably low admission price.

The Festival is a tasty tribute to Oxnard's thriving industry which produces over 20 percent of the state's strawberries. Set on the grounds of beautiful College Park, visitors to the California Strawberry Festival will enjoy the eclectic showcase of Fine Arts and Crafts from more than 280 booths, featuring handcrafted jewelry, clothing, sculptures, paintings, photography, ceramics, furniture and more.

The Festival's three concert stages offer highly acclaimed musical entertainment from rock to blues, jazz to reggae, and country to folk. And for the youngest of festival goers, Strawberryland for Kids features live musical entertainment, hands-on arts and crafts, and a petting zoo.

Festival goers will also enjoy new ways to eat the juicy fruit with over 40 food booths. Dishes include strawberry shortcake, strawberry bread, strawberry pizza, strawberry kabobs, sweet potato pie with strawberries, and the ever-favorite chocolate dipped strawberry.

Enthusiasts will take on the messy but fun challenge of some wacky contests that are unique to the Festival, like the Strawberry Shortcake Eating Contest, the Strawberry Tart Toss and the Strawberry Relay Race.

So, bring your appetite and a bib and join in the fun at one of the nation's top outdoor festivals. Amtrak can take you to the Oxnard station, and complimentary shuttle service is available from the Transportation Center to the Festival site and will operate all day during the weekend long Festival from 10:00 A.M. until the close of the event at 6:30 P.M. Festival tickets, which include all on-site entertainment, are available at the gate for $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for children ages 2 to 12 (under 2 is free). For information on the Festival, call (805) 385-7578.

The Cinco De Mayo Festival is the largest Hispanic festival in the tri-county areas. The event helps foster cultural understanding and exchange among other groups within the community. Amtrak's San Diegan has daily train service to Oxnard, and local busses will connect to College Park. For information on train schedules call 800-USA-RAIL, and for further information on the festival, call (805) 385-3341.

Solvang
A World Away Right Next Door

Visit a piece of Scandanavia right here in California. Located just 35 miles north of Santa Barbara, Solvang is a remarkable tribute to the town's passion for Danish architecture, cuisine and customs. Windmills, dormer windows and thatched roofs reflect the old world charm of Danish tradition, and is a perfect spot for a weekend getaway.

Visiting Danes have described Solvang as "more like Denmark than Denmark". Lodgings are steeped in Danish ambiance and hospitality as are the shops and restaurants. Museums are a favored attraction, and you can get around town by a horse-drawn carriage ride in the summer and fall months.

There is something for everyone in Solvang. It is a shoppers paradise where antique shops abound, and no visitor can resist popping into one of the many bakeries to sample a Danish pastry. You can opt for excursions (not included) to wineries, a visit to an Indian casino, and recreational preserves, which are an easy side-trip just a short distance away in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Independent, unescorted travel packages are available through Farr Discovery Rail Tours, which includes roundtrip Pacific Class travel on Amtrak from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara with connecting motorcoach to Solvang, hotel accommodations, and a one hour carriage ride when available, or wine tasting at Country Wines Tasting Room with a complimentary gift. Prices range from $139.00 to $199.00 for two days and one night. Call 1-800-225-8728 for information and reservations.

Passengers receive special Grover greeting
The following is an excerpt published in the Times Press Recorder on February 17, by Jack Beardwood:

"Grover Beach - Few historical or collecting pursuits attract a larger number of dedicated, knowledgeable fans than railroading."

"With a pre-occupation with history, nostalgia and mechanics, trains fans spend countless hours building miniature railroads, collecting artifacts, gazing at and even hopping trains."

"Four South County men who share an affection for the romance of the Iron Horse have assumed the role of watchdogs and guides at the otherwise unmanned Grover Beach Amtrak Station."

"'It's a pleasant place to walk to,"' said Grover Beach resident Ken Grose. "'I became acquainted with some other gentlemen who are train buffs who walk also. I guess we've adopted the train station. We try to keep it clean and keep the transients out. We answer a lot of questions. We try to give people whatever information they need. We try to be good citizens, I guess."'

"Luther Boller, 88, of Arroyo Grande, was intrigued by trains to the point that he volunteered over 3,000 hours to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nev. The museum has 14 steam locomotives."

"'We spend a lot of time down there (at the Grover Beach station)," he said. "'I've been a train buff all my life. When I was a young man everyone wanted to be a railroad engineer. I wasn't able to do it until I retired."'

"After retiring from a 38-year career as a firefighter, he ran a steam locomotive and a motorized passenger car while working for the museum."

"'I enjoy talking to people at the station and I enjoy talking to the people in the group,"' said Boller, who walks his dog to the station. "'We more or less self volunteered."'

"Ed Chabrouillaud, a local school teacher, also joins the brood. "'I've always loved trains, since I was a little kid,"' he said. "'I've never given up. I like to ride them, I like to watch them. They are part of America's history.' A model railroad builder, he subscribes to magazines and contacts people over the internet about the hobby."

"Ron Stirling, a retired sound technician, is also part of the group. The quartet simply enjoys talking with people, especially about trains."

"While they like the sights and sounds and smells of watching the freights and passenger trains, they also do much of the dirty work at the station. They clean up messes, as well as keep police appraised of incidents of vandalism and people loitering at the station. 'This year, the transients have gotten the word out that this isn't the place to be,' said Grose. 'Last year we called the police about once a week. We're sort of the eyes and ears of the police department. I think that is something any citizen would do."'