We woke up at 4:30am on August 12th and jumped on the MAX train for Union Station in Portland. We arrived at Union Station 45 minutes before the departure time of our train to Eugene. So it was too early to go inside the station..
We went to Eugene for the first time by way of Amtrak, Cascade 503. The train ride was 2 hours and very comfortable, because it was quiet in the car, no traffic jams and we could enjoy breakfast on the train. Also from the train we could see a beautiful view of the Portland landscape. I think this was the best way to go to Eugene.
In Eugene, we picked up our rental car and headed to Terwilliger hot springs (also known as the Cougar hot springs) in Willamette national forest, Oregon. This hot spring is east of Eugene. Cougar hot spring is only an hours drive from Eugene and easy to get there. On the way to the hot springs we could see a lot of mountains, forest and rivers. After we arrived and parked our car, we headed to the hot springs which took a 10 minutes walk. This hot springs are made up of 5 pools of rocks and 100% natural hot springs water. When we got there, people were already there and in the water around 15 people to be exact. Seems they were enjoying themselves. Some people wore bathing suits and some didn't, but that's their choice. Cougar hot springs and traditional Japanese hot springs are very different from my opinion. At the same time, we were able to get the same kind of refreshing feeling. We were very happy with Cougar hot springs.
After that, we went back to Eugene Amtrak Station and we waited the our train bound for Los Angelas or the Coast Starlight #11. This train runs from Washington to California within 35 hours. This train was very comfortable, it has bedrooms and roomette (which is a room much smaller than a bed room). It also has coach class, lounge, a dinning car and even has showeres. We boarded the train from Eugene Orgon to Emeryville Oakland which took 15 hours. We took a roomette room with 2 beds. The price was around $450 dollars, this included 2 meals. I found it to be a good deal since we could save time from Oregon to California and receive 2 meals each.
Normally, the Amtrak trains are late or delayed. As seen in the picture above the Amtrak was on time, we're so lucky! On the train, we were able to eat breakfast and dinner with another couple at the same table. This was a very good experience for us. Compared to taking a flight, we were able to see beautiful scenery, relax and have a good sleep. Even though the train took longer than a flight, I prefer taking the train.
