13th Sep 2003
Cross Country, Somehow
So I’m pretty excited about going to New York for the month of October. I’m renting a room in Queens, right near the East River in Hunter’s Point. I was thinking today that I better get my flights all sorted out.
But then, I thought “well, why don’t I just drive there?” I could pack more, I could take my bike … I could take my main Linux box and monitor (this is, after all, a working trip)
And then the practical stuff kicked in. It’s an extra 3 or 4 days each way. I’d be solo. I’d run up a big hotel and gas bill, and I have a ton of frequent flyer miles I really should use. Heck, I went to the market today and got enough miles to get across the Bay!
My leaning at the moment is that I am just going to fly. I do harbor some romantic, idealistic notion about driving across the country. Coming back in early November, not knowing how the weather will be … ehhh I’m going to punt on this.
I do want to drive across the country though. I just don’t want to do it in a solo blur of “gotta keep driving, on a schedule, don’t want to rack up a hotel bill”.
I did check out Amtrak for a moment. To get a sleeper room across the country was something like $1500. I put my dropped jaw back in place and nixed that right quick. We once took the train from the SF Bay Area (Martinez) to Seattle. It was a great trip. 20 hours. Had our own little room with a pull-down bed and a shower. Dined in the upstairs restaurant as we rolled along. ’twas cool. But cross-country, $1500 and several days … nah. not this trip.
I will do the drive, hopefully next year. My notion is to do as much of Route 66 as possible. I want to take some time, get a lot of photos, be with my family, and have a sense that I’m seeing the country, as opposed to dashing across.
