Tracking Salinas

I enjoyed the “Steinbeck Country” (Sept. 6) story, especially since my wife and I spent our early years together around Monterey and the Salinas Valley.

By far the most picturesque way to visit Steinbeck’s Salinas is aboard Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. It departs Los Angeles Union Station every morning, with a dinner-time arrival at Salinas’ depot, about a block from the Steinbeck Center.

From its Pacific Parlour Car dome, I enjoyed wine and hors d’oeuvres while the train traced a lonely path along the Pacific Coast, over the mountains and down the Salinas Valley. I saw the unspoiled California that Steinbeck loved.

TOM SAVIO

Pasadena