We left San Diego and the hotel earlier than planned as the weather was atrocious and they were experiencing their worst storm for 3 years - but they need the rain as they are currently experiencing a drought.
We arrived at the Amtrak station just before 9am and changed our tickets for the 0925 train instead of the 1042 - it was a really comfortable trip upstairs in business class and not expensive at just over £30 each for a 2.5 hour trip to Los Angeles - a similar trip to Manchester would have cost loads unless you had a special advance, inflexible ticket.
At LA even though we went the wrong way initially in our endeavours to find the bus stops, the flybus was a really quick and easy way to get to the airport $7 each and the buses go every 30 minutes.
Our airport check in was equally flawless - the only downside was a delayed departure but the time was made up due to very strong tail winds and we landed in the UK just after 1 pm. The AA business class was excellent - we were on a new 777 with wifi and nice large bathrooms you could swing a small cat in.

Final thoughts:
The holiday was an excellent emersion into one animal- the grey whale. Birds and other wildlife were not excluded and we got to see a lot when either we or the whales were taking a rest.
Having a real expert in Mark Carwardine was worth it's weight in gold and his wildlife lectures and focus on improving our photography added just the right balance to the holiday. The group we were with made it go from very good to great - lots of really nice people who you could learn and laugh with!
The food was fresh and balanced albeit the arrival of refried beans at most meals became a standing joke. John was very well catered for and was always given a special no tomatoes meal.
The showers were great and because we shared water and were very quick we had one daily as did Malcolm and Debbie. Amazingly 24+ people and 4 loos didn't cause any problems and due to the trek most got used to using plastic potties for the nightly need.
The cabins were warm and comfortable - I suggested a dustpan for each on the feedback cards so we could sweep out the sand which accumulated because of where we were walking - John tried manfully to sweep with the mat on a daily basis!
(Today's photo is of the fulfillment of some peoples dreams - not only to touch a whale but to kiss a whale - Tom, a lawyer, achieved his ambition - it's amazing what some lawyers will do or want to do!)