I've been on a train that goes by the name Coast Starlight and it took me to Seattle.
Yes a train.
Unfortunately traveling by rail has become more of a curiosity and novelty in todays fast paced modern, oh so wonderful world.
Tell a person you're taking the train and you almost have to remind them of what a train is and that it is possible to use them for personal transportation. Some won't believe you and suggest that only animals, lumber, and nuclear waste can take the train.
For them there is the plane.
Well I'm sick of planes — being crammed, shoulder to shoulder, in long pressurized tubes with stale air being forced into my lungs. No room to move except when the old lady next to me has to use the bathroom, for the third time.
And why is it that I can't get a full bottle of water on a plane? There's plenty of Coke, beer, tomato juice (well not really, the best a plane's galley can ever muster is Bloody Mary Cocktail Mix — which tastes more like marinara sauce than juice) but damn if they will give you an entire bottle of water.
Ask for water, the substance of life, and the stewardess just smirks and hands you the 4oz. sample bottle that a group of airline industry suits deemed appropriate as the required portion of water required during flight.
Then there is always the thought that this aircraft might make breaking news. Before every flight I can forsee the fiery end as the wings snap off, oxygen masks drop, and the captain tries, oh how he tries, to both calm the passengers and fight the control stick to regain lift with no wings:
'Boong, Uh, ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking, Uh, we have been asked to, uh readjust our altitude a little, today we'll be fliying at an altitude of 125ft. … if you feel your head going numb it might be a good time to take a little nap. So, uh, sit tight and enjoy the ride, the flight attendants will be around shortly to serve life jackets. Boong doong.'
Back on land, train travel comes with none of these problems or concerns, especially when riding in style aboard the Coast Starlight. I have more to expound on the matter of train travel but this entry is already too long and I must get on with this vacation.
However, before I leave just one word of caution about rail travel, the one chink in the planes vs. trains armor, make sure you have time to travel. Trains are notoriously late and the problem has plagued the industry for years — for instance, we pulled into Seattle four hours behind schedule.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
Only four hours late, Greg? Count your blessings!
It's a sad thing, I think, that trains in this country hover just above Greyhound (which hovers just above hitchhiking, perhaps). I'm sure the auto industry lobby has nothing to do with that... no siree... nothing at all.
I've always wanted to ride a train, but never had the opportunity. I'm always late, so it may just be a matter of time. Sounds like it was made especially for me.
As I'm sure you know, in some places in the world rail travel is actually quite common. And I'm not just talking about Europe and Japan. For instance, in Chicago (where I lived for three years) thousands of commuters take the Metra in from the far flung suburbs every day. I'm not talking about the electric "L" trains that are really just above ground subways, but real honest to goodness deisel locomotive, comfortable, quiet, trains. It beats the heck out of fighting through fifty miles of Interstate gridlock. Of course in LA the option is not available. One of the drawbacks of living ten miles from Disneyland.
Of course long distance train travel like LA to Seattle is a bit of a different story, I once checked on train fare from New York to Orlando, to only did it take about 24 hours longer than the plane to get there, it was also considerable more expensive!!
You pretty much sum up any persons' given experience on an airline. Makes you wonder why we take such grief. Personally, I have never ridden (is that a word, anyway?) a train, ever. In terms of safety, I should certainly consider it. But since I rarely travel outside of my Miami bubble, the chances are slim to none. Leaning more towards the none. Enjoy Greg!
Yay for Seattle. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Some of you have _never_ ridden a train? Yow! I take the bus or tram for anything local that is not reasonably walkable, and I take the train for anything out of town. I'll use a plane if I have to, mainly if there's big water to cross. I won't buy a car.
Try the train. The time you might gain in outracing the train in your car could be wasted in time spent clutching he wheel, worrying, not relaxing, not reading, not writing, not working, not doing whatever you might do with that time if you weren't at the wheel.
Of course, our trains are never four hours late. Usually, they aren't even four minutes late.