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Taking the Train to San Diego

I’ve always wanted to ride the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train somewhere. I heard the views are gorgeous. In September, I was coordinating a friend’s wedding and I decided to take the train to San Diego and I loved it!

 

I don’t travel alone very often since I’ve had Charlie as my travel buddy for over 13 years. Since we’ve been traveling a lot, Charlie couldn’t take off work at Ninong’s so I ventured to San Diego alone.

So for those of you that are interested in taking the train to San Diego it’s a really easy process! Simply go to the Amtrak website and plan your fare. Savings tip: if you book in advance (2 days or more) you can redeem a AAA discount for your ticket. 

Chatsworth Station

I left from the Chatsworth train station (party of the Ventura County Line) and it took me a mere 50 minutes to get to Downtown LA. It takes way longer than that in traffic! Once we got to DTLA there’s a bit of a wait so that they can switch attendants and assist new passengers with boarding. Once everyone boarded we were on our way to San Diego!

Short Stop and Union Station in Downtown LA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole trip (from Chatsworth to San Diego) has many convenient stops. There is a stop at Burbank Airport, Downtown LA, Anaheim (Honda Center, Angels Stadium, Disneyland), San Clemente Pier, and so much more. I’m really excited to take the train to these other stops!

All in all the trip was great! The Amtrak has outlets in every row, free wifi (mind you it’s spotty), and food /drink. I basically worked on iPad and watched YouTube all the way to San Diego. :

So I know what your waiting for, my tips for next time:
1. From Downtown LA to San Diego sit on the left side of the train so you have the ocean view. Sit on the opposite side on the way back.
2. The sooner you know you’re going to be taking the train to travel book your ticket. It generally doesn’t change in price so just take advantage of discounts (AAA, student, senior, military, etc.)
3. I’ve taken the train to Disneyland too! It’s awesome! The trains drop you off at the ARTIC station in Anaheim and you can take a bus or quick Lyft/Uber ride to the park.
4. You can also take the Metrolink Train for a cheaper fare. The Amtrak and Metrolink trains run on the same track, just make sure you use their trip planners to make sure their schedule works for you. Weekend and weekday schedules are different and the Amtrak and Metrolink Train rails run/stop in different cities. For example Metrolink Trains don’t currently go all the way to San Diego (only to Oceanside). The Ventura County Line doesn’t run on the weekends so Amtrak is the only option Sat-Sun.
5. The later the train the more delayed. Try to get onto an early train so you experience minimal delays. You can follow the Pacific Surfliner on Twitter or call their toll free number for the latest updates.

xoxo,

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Working Remotely While Traveling

Hello from the Pacific Surfliner! I’m on my way to Los Angeles (Chatsworth Station) after an amazing turn around trip to San Diego. As much as I want to say it was planned that my topic would be about working remotely today, it was just random as I didn’t know until about a week ago that I was going to be traveling this weekend.



As an entrepreneur work never stops. You try to create boundaries like clocking in at 9 am and leaving at 5 pm every day. You try to have a work/life balance. But let’s be real, work never stops. People depend on you, you make the wheels turn. So when you stop your business stops. At least in the small business sector.

My mom and dad were both small business owners when I was growing up. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree right? 😊 When I was a kid I always used to get mad at my mom when she worked while we were on vacation. I would always say, “Vacations aren’t meant for working! If this is what it’s like having my own business then I want a regular job!” HAHA! I crack up every time I think about those yearly vacations. I said it every.single.time. She used to carry around this black leather planner. She had it with her every where she went. Now I understand why – it had her LIFE in it. But as a kid I grew to resent that planner. Every time I saw it while we were on vacation I knew that it meant she was planning on working while we were out of town.

Now that I’m a business woman I understand. Heck, there was one time I brought my iPad to Disneyland because I knew I needed to work. I know, sad right? But the truth is that you can’t truly cut yourself off. You need to be somewhat available. Your business is a part of you, and if you’re like me, then you put EVERYTHING you have in your business. Not just your money, but your time and energy. You are what makes your business special. You are what sets you apart from the competition.

The truth is, if you have to work then you have to work. It’s your reality as an entrepreneur. And some day, hopefully your business will be in a place where you can drop everything in an instant and everything will be fine. But for most of us, that’s not the case. But don’t worry, there’s good news!

Working remotely is the easiest it has ever been. Heck, I’m on a train going from San Diego to the San Fernando Valley as we speak and I’m working. How awesome is that?! It’s so easy to have a constant data connection, and with laptops and mobile devices it’s so easy to stay connected. Plus, most travel vehicles give you the chance to charge devices if needed. On top of that you can easily communicate with your time with apps like FaceTime, Skype, and Google Hangouts. You can easily create, update, and share documents with Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud. The apps I personally use to stay connected to my team is Apple Mail, Dropbox, Google Hangouts, Evernote, and Todoist.


Honestly, I think it’s just all about finding balance. Why travel for fun if all you’re going to do is work the whole time? My suggestion is to work in the morning or evening when you’re back in your hotel/vacation rental and you have some down time between excursions. Try and stay present while you’re out and about with family and friends so you can enjoy the sights, sounds, and the company. Make memories! And lastly, it’s all about preparation. Before you leave try to get as prepared as possible weeks or months in advance so everything is spelled out for you and your team. Create a schedule of things that need to get done while you’re away. Delegate as many things as you can so that you can keep your work at a minimum.

Cheers to more travel!

Xoxo,

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Using Evernote for Travel Planning

The video explains itself 🙂

When I went to Vegas for Las Vegas Market our schedule was completely full so I decided to use Evernote to make sure we didn’t skip a beat. It was the best thing EVAAARRRR!

So, when we were leaving for Australia and the Philippines a couple weeks later I knew it would be really helpful to use Evernote so we had everything at our finger tips.

In this video, I show you how I use Evernote to plan for my trips. If you use Evernote for travel planning, I’d love to hear your tips!

xoxo,

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