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28 October 2008

Chugga chugga chugga chugga Choo Choo? Will you meet me at the station→[More:] with a quarter or three… Where do you think would be a good place to be for the election results?
Trying to figure out if i can vote and go, i realized i can't leave for anywhere until late on Halloween, so there are few places i could make it for Halloween night, but maybe i could just go somewhere, since it's been far too long. i'd be armed with a camera, maybe a moleskine or two, and a little scratch, and i've never ridden the rails besides metros.
Maybe i could finally meet some of you and put it all together as a little documentary or comic. i'd have travel time to write, draw and even read books (*gasp*).
Do they have outlets on those things, or dare i dream even wifi?

i'm thinking more of east or south, even north, as too far west isn't really an option (unless i waited and tried to get left coasted so i could take up scody on museum hijinks) so i am wondering: DC? Baltimore? Atlanta? New Orleans? Kansas City? Pittsburgh? New Hampshire? Poplar Bluff?
i'm thinking New York City is out as it's just too damn expensive and i don't know of anyone i really want to crash with there, as far as i know, but upstate?
If a train goes there, i'll consider it.
i could stretch it out to over a week, maybe two at a stretch if it works out right.
Which path has the thickest mecha density?

Maybe it's worth trying to find a video camera for the occasion? i'm not sure how long a video my camera can take but it's well over three minutes. i figure i can store stuff on the web along the way.

post by: ethylene at: 17:26 | 10 comments

And do i cut my hair before i leave, along the way, or even at a destination?
i can't think there's a haircut worth traveling for as i'm more likely to whack it with garden shears, but i could damage it with things along the way before the final snickety snip.

posted by ethylene 28 October | 17:37

Yes outlets, almost certainly no wifi. Amtrak has recently made multi-route trips a little harder to schedule, it seems like to me. Would you be boarding in Chicago?

posted by box 28 October | 17:42

No, Indiana.
My external hard drive just went poops on me. Apparently it got knocked over.
i am not ready to be freaked out about it.
Oh, man.

posted by ethylene 28 October | 17:49

*phew*
Ok, ok, it's seemingly fine.
Ohmigod, i started to get that cold tingly back of the head dread, but it just snapped back, seems to be fine.
Did not need that. Not at all.

SO, you've traveled by train, box? What's it like? Recommendations?

posted by ethylene 28 October | 18:03

In the spring, I rode a train from Little Rock to Chicago, then one from Chicago to upstate NY.

It's a lot like Greyhound travel, though significantly more pleasant. But there are almost as many cigarette breaks. The seats are pretty comfy, and the train's pretty roomy. You'll see some neat graffiti, and some neat scenes of post-industrial devastation. Expect to arrive late. The food isn't very good, and Amtrak's idea of imported beer includes Sam Adams, Heineken and Corona. If I was doing it again, I'd strongly consider paying extra for a roomette, I believe they call 'em, but I'd also probably spend most of my time in the lounge and/or observation cars. What else would you like to know?

(These AskMe questions might make for interesting reading.)

posted by box 28 October | 18:20

i'm not worried about smoking. Thanks for the links, it's good to figure out what i can and can't take. i liked how jessamyn called you "box the librarian" in that podcast. sounds like a challenge.
i don't relish repeating what i remember of bus travel. It varied from okay to potentially disgusting from what i remember.
Did you stop along the way? Can you disembark and catch a later train if you take time somewhere if there isn't a layover or switch, and how long are layovers?
i'm gonna look it up, don't worry.
About how much did it cost to Chicago? And the other? Was the food reasonable? Are there other options? How are the bathrooms? Can i get pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs from the trolley lady?

posted by ethylene 28 October | 18:39

If not this soon, i'll probably put it off until after the seasonal migrations. Even if record numbers don't travel this year, i don't want to be trapped with the obligatory Thanksgiving attendees. No one ever seems too happy about it.
But i did get all excited about getting to take off for a bit, with a project even.

posted by ethylene 28 October | 18:47

It would suck to head south and not get to meet the BeePs.

posted by ethylene 28 October | 19:01

Yeah, we stopped quite a bit--usually only long enough for folks to get on or off, sometimes longer when a freight was passing through or whatnot. I don't think that disembarking/catching a later train is possible on paper, but once you get into the grips of the Amtrak system, things seem pretty laid-back, and so maybe they'd be cool with it. If memory serves, it was a little over three hundred bucks for the whole trip.

The bathrooms are very pleasant at the beginning of the trip, somewhat less so by the end of it. The food was reasonably cheap, but I wouldn't call it reasonably healthy or reasonably delicious. Snack-type stuff for almost the whole day, meal-type stuff at mealtimes.

(How far are you from Portage, IN, eth? There's a tattoo artist there I like.)

posted by box 28 October | 19:04

Nope. Nice work, though.
i was checking random places, Atlanta was about $200. DC and Baltimore range from $60 to $100. Boston and Charlotte go from $150 to $200. All seems pretty doable depending on how much the price varies.
i like the idea of finally getting to a museum, maybe blowing one night in half decent lodgings. (i should see if anyone has discounts.) Besides a few people i know i'd have to get hold of beforehand to catch them, i like slipping into town and just saying hi.
i guess i could rent a car at some point but i doubt gas will stay low after the election. i've mentioned having to drop trip after trip here, i'd be nice to take a trip with a little mecha agenda to go with it, but then i could wait for next year, maybe the Lunar New Year, and then people will have more warning and time to figure out what's going on. Maybe even get to catch some non continentals visiting.

posted by ethylene 28 October | 19:33

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