rstevens ([info]rstevens) wrote,
@ 2009-06-23 10:42:00
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Trak/Trek/Truck
San Diego Comic-Con is in a month. Dumbrella will be there as always, right near and hovering slightly above the other webcomics folks.

I seriously, utterly, totally do not feel like flying. I hate the stress, the timing, the scowling, the x-rays. (on the last flight I took, they x-rayed my laptop so hard the flash drive cooked)

So! When faced by certain irradiation, one does what one must do as an American. One takes a land-based adventure! My current debate is between the flexibility of a solo road trip and the brainlessness of taking the train.

I love driving and have road tripped to SD twice before. Plusses: my own timetable, a quiet room every night, rest stops, last minute merchandise and book carrying power. Minuses: less safe, can't read a book while moving.

Amtrak calls to me for some strange reason. Plusses: no thinking, safer, can walk around the train all day, can read and use my 3G card, moves while sleeping. (And well, it's good enough for Joe Biden.) Minuses: on a schedule, possible delays, sharing tiny bathrooms and having no escape from sweaty humans.

I've never ridden Amtrak. My first extended train ride was the Eurostar from London to Paris, which reduced me to tears of mechanized joy. I'd love to hear about your experiences on trains and photos if possible!

Yes, I know flying is faster and cheaper. I never take a break and go anywhere, though. This is my treat and vacation before the hell of a big con.

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[info]absinthetic
2009-06-23 02:46 pm UTC (link)
I think you can get a 15-day unlimited pass on Amtrak for, like, $400. That way you won't be stuck with having specific trains to catch, you can chill out in BFE, Kansas for an extra couple hours if the mood strikes you. :)

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[info]gcmarx
2009-06-23 02:50 pm UTC (link)
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=am2Copy&pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Simple_Copy_Page&cid=1081442673945

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[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 02:51 pm UTC (link)
I'm definitely getting the pass! The scheduling is so I can get a little cabin for the lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng part of the trip.

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[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 02:52 pm UTC (link)
I've been obsessed with these rail passes for almost ten years now. Such a great cheat code!

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[info]alicebentley
2009-06-23 02:52 pm UTC (link)
I rode Amtrak from Seattle to Chicago last year and the trip was great - lovely scenery as the train follows a lot of waterways. Some folks riding along complained that it was bumpier than they remembered, but it seemed fine to me.

If you decide to drive, what are your chances of finding convivial driving partners? I loved a lot of my long road trips when I was younger.

I'll be at ComiCon too - probably just across the aisle from you at the Studio Foglio booth - but I'll be flying down from Seattle.

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[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 03:03 pm UTC (link)
Sweet. Chi-Sea is on my list of routes to try some day. If I drove, this one is solo just to see if I could do it.

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[info]roninspoon
2009-06-23 02:54 pm UTC (link)
I love riding the train. It's a great way to travel. Unfortunately, Amtrak isn't really riding a train. It's more like riding a train, then riding a bus, then waiting for a day or so when either one is cromulently off schedule.

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[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 03:01 pm UTC (link)
I hear you about the buses. That's why I'm picking a very specific route and checking all the on-time performances of my train.

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Books?
[info]komejo
2009-06-23 03:00 pm UTC (link)
I am willing to bet that your local library has books on tape / CDs for the long car rides.

You should drive to Montreal or Toronto and take ViaRail to Vancouver. From there you could rent a car and drive down the Pacific coast highway.

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Re: Books?
[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 03:02 pm UTC (link)
Jeepers, that sounds pleasant! Maybe next time- this one is cutting it a bit close already. But I've got 5 gigs of podcast squirreled away for this one.

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[info]settern
2009-06-23 03:02 pm UTC (link)
There is nothing better than a long train ride across the US. Just know that if you go, I am going to be super-jealous.

(which is why you need to take lots of pictures. but seriously, go. you won't regret it.)

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[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 03:06 pm UTC (link)
Buddy, I will have three cameras and two 3G cards for this very reason.

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[info]k2orbust
2009-06-23 03:04 pm UTC (link)
I took Amtrak from San Francisco to New York a few years ago and it was a lovely, relaxing trip. The seats are roomy compared to planes or buses, and I spent hours just watching the mountainous West go by.

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[info]no_talent_hack
2009-06-23 03:08 pm UTC (link)
When i was 15 i braved the 19-hour ride from trenton to chicago with my best friend. i almost killed him when he wouldn't stop singing purple rain.

That aside, it was pretty awesome--pennsylvania seemed to last half of the trip, but it really shaped my view of traveling in general--gave me an appreciation for watching scenery go by.

(Though for the love of god definitely get at least a roomette--those seats are not conducive to slumber)

Train travel has all the best qualities of a road trip but with a slightly anachronistic feel to it, and cross-country flights seem to be pretty much over before you really get settled.

And it gives an excuse to wear a monocle and a waistcoat.

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[info]tee_moss
2009-06-23 03:13 pm UTC (link)
The train is rad. I've only ridden it across Oregon though, which is about as quaint and scenic as it gets. It was sure a lot better than the half dozen times I've ridden Greyhound across country for conventions.
Gods help you if your driver gets lost on the way to the LA greyhound terminal.

Just be careful, the highway patrol will revoke your user icon if you travel by train across country. :/

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[info]lunarworks
2009-06-23 03:16 pm UTC (link)
My Mom lives somewhat near you guys, so I take the Amtrak down there once or twice a year.

It's a fairly enjoyable ride. Just one word of advice, though: Bring food and drink. A few times I've been on they've run out. (If you've been running a passenger rail service for decades, how hard is it to anticipate how much food you need to stock in the snack car?)

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[info]floha
2009-06-23 03:35 pm UTC (link)
I love the train but here Amtrak is *never* on time, so it's impossible to take the train if you are trying to adhere to a schedule. I have to take an extra day off at the end of my trip to account for Amtrak being late. Once they cancelled the trip because the train was having mechanical difficulties and were content to leave me and my wedding dress sitting in a train station over night. I oh hell no'd it until they chartered a Greyhound to take me and all the other passengers home.

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[info]taffer
2009-06-23 03:43 pm UTC (link)
You guys should rent an RV, do a Real road trip!

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[info]rstevens
2009-06-23 04:30 pm UTC (link)
You Guys = Just Me this time around.

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[info]taffer
2009-06-23 06:20 pm UTC (link)
Hmm, that makes the RV quite a bit less appealing. Dang.

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[info]craftacular
2009-06-23 03:55 pm UTC (link)
Have ridden the train all over the U.S.

I love it. One thing I would absolutely do for overnight trips is schedule a lay over somewhere. Get a hotel and relax. A sleeping birth would be cool, too.

Falling asleep to the gentle sway of the train, seeing interesting parts of the country, train booze, the people, good great wonderful times.

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[info]dulcimeoww
2009-06-23 03:59 pm UTC (link)
I've always wanted to take the train to a con. Something about it just calls to me... probably it is that I have done enough cons by now to know that as much as I love driving, starting the weekend having spent anything longer than about four hours in the car is just too draining. Although we have no trains in Cincinnati, so I am stuck driving. The last time I flew to a con, I had a massive panic attack on the way home that resulted in time spent sobbing in a security office, under escort from airport employees.

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[info]l0qii
2009-06-23 04:31 pm UTC (link)
Train is definitely the way to go. You can move and do stuff at the same time. Just don't ride in the swine flu car.

Given more time, I still think a cross-country tour event is the best option.

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[info]woxel1
2009-06-23 05:03 pm UTC (link)
I took Amtrak out of Los Angeles and the only other person in my compartment was Wil Wheaton, so I recommend trains!

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[info]ionan
2009-06-23 05:37 pm UTC (link)
I also put my vote in for train. I've taken it from Seattle to Portland and also to Vancouver, BC and both trips were extremely pleasant. Trains are definitely an elegant mode of transportation for a more civilized age.

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[info]ithinkin3d
2009-06-23 07:38 pm UTC (link)
Took it last summer to get home from school: Norman, OK --> Fort Worth, TX --> Chicago, IL --> Indianapolis, IN. Favorite parts: passing by all the best graffiti everywhere, seeing people camped out to wave at the trains, spacious recliner seats. Least favorite parts: expensive, small-portioned food, extensively unshowered state. These are problems that can be solved by this 15-day pass, though.

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[info]homodachi
2009-06-23 07:49 pm UTC (link)
[info]slithytove rode Amtrak cross-country back in 2002 and posted about it (part 1, part 2).

He also wrote this on delays: "We got left on sidings while freight trains rumbled by a lot. I think that accounted for most of the 4 hour delay. It seems that throughout much of the West, Amtrak does not own its own rail, but uses the Union Pacific. My guess is that because of Amtrak's chronic financial problems, they are paying UP as little as possible, which means that UP's freight trains usually have the right of way."

...soooo you might want to leave a little room for unexpected delays in your planning.

The decision of train vs car would be a tough call for me: I love the train but I looooove a good road trip too. (And with the inevitable ascent of gas prices, the Great American Road Trip might become just a story that my parents tell.) It sounds like you're mostly decided though! Good luck!

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[info]happymrlocust
2009-06-23 08:32 pm UTC (link)
Although I have not ridden Amtrak and the longest theoretical journey I could take is in the order of 10 hours (what with being English and all), if the price is right, I'd go for Train over Car for a solo long journey any day. You can just sit back, relax and not worry. I can't imagine you'd be very fresh for ComicCon after driving all that way.

If I could take a train to the US, I'd take that option. But I can't, cos there's all that bloody water in the way.

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[info]garyt
2009-06-23 08:50 pm UTC (link)
If your first/only experience with long-haul train travel was Eurostar, you're likely to be reduced to the bad kind of tears by Amtrak. American trains << European or Japanese trains. And our "high speed" Acela is just pathetic compared to shinkansen, TGV, E*, etc.

That said, if you don't mind a schedule that often verges on science fiction (I frequently see Amtrak trains delayed 6 - 10 hours out of NY Penn ... although this is often comparable to the delays on a Newark-Boston flight), the "not having to pay attention to live" aspects have a certain appeal.

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[info]brianarn
2009-06-23 09:20 pm UTC (link)
If you find yourself stopping through Albuquerque, NM at any point in the trip, I'd be happy to buy ya a meal. :D

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[info]xiann
2009-06-23 11:21 pm UTC (link)
I took a 6 or 7 hour train trip from DC to the mountains of West Virginia a few months ago and loved it. Did you know they have a bar on those things? We drank several beers and met all kinds of humanity. We laughed a lot.

I took some pics but mostly out the train window rather than of the train. You can see some on my twitpic page here (scroll down): http://twitpic.com/photos/xiann

The seats are roomy and I was able to sleep more comfortably then I normally would on a train. Ticketing and such is sooo much faster and less trouble than on a plane. And when you arrive in a city, you're actually *there*, not miles away at an airport.

I've never taken a long train trip like that, but I understand that getting a sleeping car is much more expensive, but if they have them available you can upgrade for much less. If you have a sleeping car, you can enjoy some privacy and even stretch out.

There was a guy on the train with us who was going all the way from NYC to Portland, Oregon on Amtrak without a sleeper car, and upgrading on the nights they were available. We saw him early on the trip so we're not sure how that worked out. We were joking he must be on the no-fly list :)

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[info]monkeycomic
2009-06-24 12:42 am UTC (link)
I went from NY to California and back again in '91. Started out 17 but returned 70. That's coach for you. But the views were fabulous and some of the people on there were classics.

Bring your own food if you can, because the club car runs out of the good stuff on the first day.

I very nearly had a photo of a woman from our car on the toilet...but...eh.... The bathroom doors don't lock too well. Remember that. It may make the future less awkward.

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[info]bola_de_fuego
2009-06-24 03:41 am UTC (link)
As long as you leave yourself pleeeenty of time to get where you need to be before you actually need to be there, you should be okay...

My only experience with Amtrak is riding round trip Austin-St. Louis about 12 years ago. I remember we were delayed on the trip up, but not too bad... I definitely remember the way back. My sister and I, in our young teens at the time, got back a full 12 hours later than scheduled, which meant an extra overnight period on the train. Additionally, the person who booked the tickets had done so in a manner that theoretically would have allowed us to have a sleeping car at night and regular seats during the day. Guess who got to play cards all day in the sleeping car and still had to deal with lots of weirdos all night while trying to rest? Oh, and to echo something someone else said, I know our train ran out of snacks at some point as well.

I won't ever ride Amtrak again -- I'm just too anxious for that crap. But if that kind of uncertainty truly doesn't bother you, you might like it, I guess. It may have improved in the past dozen years, too, but I wouldn't count on it. ;)

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[info]psychoanbu
2009-06-25 01:23 am UTC (link)
The EuroStar from Waterloo station to Paris and back was a wonderful experience, but far nicer was the GRE to Edinburgh. Might not have been as fast, but considerably more scenic ^_^

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[info]tonybreed
2009-06-25 04:18 am UTC (link)
All the various routes of Amtrak have the finer and lesser qualities. I'm partial to the Acela, which is like a little slice of Eurocomfort in the US. I took a train from New York to South Carolina years ago, and that was odd: they assign seats based on destination, so as you walk to the cafe car, you can watch the changing demographics of the passengers for various destinations.

Seattle to Vancouver is also a nice one — good views.

The train that goes through Iowa to Chicago is almost always late on its return from California. I suppose it's no big thing if you get on the train in California and it arrives in Chicago 20 hours late, but if you are waiting for that train in Iowa, well, the delay is a problem.

Hey, if you need entertainment in Chicago while you travel, I am at your disposal.

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