After the New Orleans attack, travelers are on a renewed alert over the holiday season

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -  In one of the busiest travel times of the year, and with a recent deadly attack in New Orleans, passengers on the Amtrak coming through the Central Coast were on a renewed alert.

Kelly Konopelski came in from Simi Valley. Her plan was to "just keep your eyes out when you are getting on and off and keep an eye on your stuff."

One passenger said he was excited for his trip and didn't want to be overly worried. "I think it's important to be situationally aware." said Alex Morgan. "I really think it's also equally important to enjoy yourself and to enjoy your life. And if you live in the shadow of what could happen, you won't do that."

Many people did say they made a quick check to make sure they were comfortable with their surroundings. "You kind of want to kind of feel that around you when you don't feel that, when you feel an absence of it. Yeah. You might make a note of it."

For those in a group like Natalie Mekhdjian, "we're actually chaperoning seven teens." Some solid advice was discussed before they headed out. "They know to stay together, you know, to be in touch with us."

Along with her Janet Waters said, "I just told them to be careful, but, you know, they're with a group. They're really good families, real grounded."

One of the travelers said when she got on board one of the signs of safety that she saw was the presence of police.

"We went down below where the food was, there was a policeman down there in uniform and the conductor and it me feel at ease right away. And then when I talked to the gal working, she said, it made her feel safe so yeah, it's great," said Waters.

One passenger had been on stops from Seattle to San Diego and then down into Mexico without any problems or concerns.

Allison Ames said, "everybody was nice. Got around, got things done, without speaking Spanish very well."

Airports have also been very busy and a place where anxiety can take over.  On the Central Coast there's been no serious problems, even with the high volumes.