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MyspaceOver the Thanksgiving holiday my partner and I chose an often overlooked conveyance: We took the train to my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.
While enjoying our complimentary wine and newspaper along the California coast we spotted whales. Inland we were treated to views of canyons, mountains and prairies, much of this landscape inaccessible by car. We saw horses and cattle as well as a flock of several thousand Canadian geese who paralleled our train.
Shannon Miller
We read and relaxed without having to worry about traffic or gas prices. When we got tired of the scenery we slept on the bunk beds in our own private “roomette.” At meal time we ate with real knives and forks at a table with a tablecloth and real flowers.
Compare that to taking off your shoes and emptying your pockets and your luggage in front of strangers. Being patted down after waiting in long lines and wedged into a plane seat. Then given a toy set of plastic utensils to help you shove down the packaged meals - if you are lucky enough to get a meal on your flight.
Yes, train travel takes a longer: It was a 44-hour trip each way. But is worth the time if you want to enjoy civility en route to your destination. And because I received an outrageous amount of rewards miles just for applying for the Amtrak credit card, our entire round trip including the roomette, meals, and hot showers was absolutely free. Something to consider as you plan your next vacation.
Shannon Miller is a tax accountant living in Santa Barbara. In her free time she is the Chair of Health Care for All - California, a nonprofit dedicated to achieving universal health care for everyone in California. She hasn't owned a car since 1998.
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Comments
It was a train trip from Santa Barbara to Chicago that cured my fear of flying. Trains always seem to go through the worst possible areas of each community they pass through (after all, who wants to live near the tracks?). And, while Amtrak owns the trains, they don't own the tracks, which are a real crap shoot. a few miles of smooth welded rail may be followed by a day or more on tracks that were last maintained when Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett were still best friends. And my experience with Amtrak food (horribly overpriced) makes airline food appealing in comparison.
winddancer1562 (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2011 at 6:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Either way, everyone finds a negitive in traveling, be it by car, plane or rail. I'm staying home and communicating with relatives through the same system I have for the last Eleven years; email.
Gas, food, comfort, I have them all from home and if the weatherman holds true? This winter will be murder (artic cold, heavy snow fall in the Northern States, higher elevations).
Though the article does show at least one person who had a great experience riding the rails and is a good promotion for Amtrak.
dou4now (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2011 at 7:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If I ever have 88 hours for travel to and from St. Louis by train vs. the 13-16 hours total round trip time by plane(including driving to SBA early enough for the flight), I'll find somewhere else to go other than St Louis. And yes, I've flow there a bunch of times in the past couple of years...
The bottom lines is that our U.S. trains are THE MOST EFFICIENT way to move freight and the LEAST EFFICIENT way to move people.
italiansurg (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2011 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The good news is that the US train system can be improved to the glory it once had; the bad news is that if we don't we are gonna wish we had when we had the chance.
Ken_Volok (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2011 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
right. even if I agreed that it made sense I'd still admit it ain't gonna' happen, I don't and it won't
italiansurg (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2011 at 7:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)