This lagoon is on the south side of the City of Santa Barbara.

   

   

At least someone was excited to see the Holland America train roll by.  Below right, the Santa Barbara Station.

   

   

   

Jack and Charlotte Shaw at Santa Barbara.  Below right, Ray Burns checking out Carl Morrison's GPS.  The McKinley Explorer cars were spotted on the Amtrak service track one quarter mile south of the station.  The locomotive was moved to Goleta.

   

A southbound  hotshot Union Pacific train approaches.

   

   

Most of the TrainWeb group left immediately on the next southbound Surfliner.  My guest and I wandered over to Santa Barbara Bewing Company and further up State Street for shopping and museum visitation.  While waiting for our southbound Surfliner, we spotted this unusually decorated van.

   

The McKinley Explorer cars were to remain in Santa Barbara for several days and continue their journey north the following Thursday.  Jack Shaw invited all of us to continue the journey to northern California with them.  I returned to Santa Barbara three days later to go to Oakland.  Unfortunately, there was some uncertinty regarding the McKinley Explorer cars clearance through tunnels.  Other TrainWeb personnel booked hotel rooms and spent the night in Santa Barbara and the McKinley Explorer cars left town on the following day.  I had accepted a special inivtation to the Long Beach Grand Prix car race.  The McKinley Explorer cars joined their 2 sister cars in Seattle for their ocean barge journey to Alaska for their May 16, 2003 introduction into revenue service on the Alaska Railroad.