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June 28, 2008

Because terroists don't ride Amtrak.

Just got back from Boston. This time, we took the train. The train starts in Cleveland, stops at Rensselaer and then on to Boston's South Station. It's a mere 15 hours. How does this compare the new, safer, TSA-guarded 2 hour ride in the sky? 15 vs. 2. Seems like it'd be a no brainer, but the train wins hands down.

•the Amtrak staff doesn't conduct a strip search and peek down your pants,
•they haven't outlawed liquids,
•no seat belts needed,
•no shitty coffee served on board,
•they don't have bacterial incubation chambers that quarantine you from the outside air,
•they provide nice scenery,
•we could fit the entire family across the width of two seats to watch DVDs,
•we were equipped with a 110V outlet per seat,
•we could walk around during the entire ride,
•Frankie and I had a fancy breakfast in the dining car one morning,
•we could stretch out to enjoy a feast we packed for the long ride,

... and we even were able to enjoy a pilgrimage to the shrine of Padre Pio in Rensselaer on the way home.

Rensselear
Entrance to the Shrine

Padre Pio in Rensselaer
The saint himself. We are not worthy.


I think my hair is growing back.
Hooray Amtrak.

9 comments:

Not Important said...

I imagine that Padre Pio would have been pretty hip with Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" song.

delmer said...

I took the train from Windsor to Toronto years and years ago. It was a great time, but just 6 hours (I think).

Was it any less expensive to take the train?

Dave said...

Not cheap enough to compete with flying ($500 for 3 round trip v. about $1200+ flying). Still fun though. And, we saw Padre Pio.

Betty said...

Your post has me checking out Amtrak for possible future travel. I'm not sure it will work out, but it could be a nice option. Thanks for mentioning it.

Dave said...

Hey Betty, Definitely worth checking out. Especially since flying has become very unpleasant.

amy turn sharp said...

looks so cool. I really wanna take a train with the kiddos! So jealous!

Anonymous said...

ONE benefit for the airplane...

At least there is an airport in Columbus.

Hmmm...That's about 640 miles via IR-90. 15 hours, that's an average speed of only about 42 MPH, meaning the train is competitive with driving except that it can be a lot more pleasant. But by air it isn't really two hours. If you get a non-stop, it's still at least four hours of travel time because of all that horsing around at the airports. And that's assuming everything goes *well*!

Dave said...

Good points Rideman. Now that the thrill's worn off, the biggest down side was the 2 hour (+ a little for safety) trip to and from Cleveland. Not an insignificant addition to the trip when you're tired.

Airports and air travel suck bad these days, so it was a pleasant change, but don't always have the extra time to add to a trip.

Anonymous said...

At the moment, it's cheaper for me and Amanda to drive to my parents' - it'll probably be 9-10 h (500 miles) but it's cheaper than flying (to at least $10/gal).

Where do you park in Cleveland?