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Now I know why no one rides Amtrak
May. 22nd, 2004 06:13 pmI thought it might be nice to take Amtrak back to California for the summer break, then up to British Columbia to see friends, then back to Burlington to start school again. I like trains. Someone else drives, you have a sleeper car to stay in, they feed you, it's very relaxing.
Nope.
When I browsed the Amtrak site online, I discovered that the trip to California (or from BC to NC) will take three days. The trip up the coast from CA to BC will take two. Total cost of the triangular trip (IL, where I'm starting from, to CA to BC to NC): $2000.
Ugh!
Hmm. It will cost $1000 (approximately) to drive that distance. It's worth it to me to pay about that much, or even a little more, to take the train, not have to drive, relax and enjoy the adventure. I wondered if a live person, at a real Amtrak office, would know of a special offer or a pass deal. So I drove to Greensboro (20 miles) and hit the Amtrak office there.
I go in the office, which is populated solely by an older guy sitting out front in a wheelchair. I can hear a discussion taking place in the back office. I yell "Hello?"
After two or three minutes, a guy in a tie comes out of the men's restroom. I say, "I need to plan a long trip, please."
He nods and goes back in the restroom.
Four long minutes later, he re-emerges, goes behind the counter, and begins to try to plan my route. He's able to tell me that I'll be nearest to the Amtrak station in Galesburg, Illinois on August 1. (I'm doing a distance bike ride in Iowa during the last week of July.) That's good to know. But he can't give me a reservation on a train that will get me and my baggage (and bicycle) to San Jose on the same day, unless I route through Los Angeles and take an extra day. Nor are there any deals. The ticket cost is $660. No ifs, ands, buts, or deals. And that's just the first leg.
Nor was he particularly helpful. I'm guessing he was not on commission.
There was a time, in my impetuous youth, when I would have told him exactly what his attitude cost him (and Amtrak) and exactly where he'd erred. In detail. With examples. And a garrotte.
I did not do that. I smiled, thanked him, mentally consigned Amtrak to its inevitable fate, and left.
Hmm, perhaps it could be said that I am mellowing-- not unlike my father's friend Matt Kelch, who reputedly got himself excused from the air force by riding a motorcycle across the bar of the officer's club in Okinawa.
Okay... back to the subject.... time to surf Travelocity. Right now, my break looks like this:
July 23-31: Long out of state bike ride with buddies
August 1-3 Move into studio apartment
August 4-6 Drive to CA
August 6-13 CA
August 14-17 Drive to BC
August 20-23 Drive to NC
Yech. This is just bad. Too much driving, not enough buddy time. Hmm, given that it will cost roughly $1000 to drive all that way, I wonder how much it would cost to fly there and rent a car while I'm there, then fly to BC and rent a car (or convince someone to come get me), then fly back to Raleigh or someplace similar.... plus ship a bike, presumably from IA to BC. Hmm.
Anybody got any good ideas? More practically, anyone know of a car I could borrow for a couple of weeks in CA?
Nope.
When I browsed the Amtrak site online, I discovered that the trip to California (or from BC to NC) will take three days. The trip up the coast from CA to BC will take two. Total cost of the triangular trip (IL, where I'm starting from, to CA to BC to NC): $2000.
Ugh!
Hmm. It will cost $1000 (approximately) to drive that distance. It's worth it to me to pay about that much, or even a little more, to take the train, not have to drive, relax and enjoy the adventure. I wondered if a live person, at a real Amtrak office, would know of a special offer or a pass deal. So I drove to Greensboro (20 miles) and hit the Amtrak office there.
I go in the office, which is populated solely by an older guy sitting out front in a wheelchair. I can hear a discussion taking place in the back office. I yell "Hello?"
After two or three minutes, a guy in a tie comes out of the men's restroom. I say, "I need to plan a long trip, please."
He nods and goes back in the restroom.
Four long minutes later, he re-emerges, goes behind the counter, and begins to try to plan my route. He's able to tell me that I'll be nearest to the Amtrak station in Galesburg, Illinois on August 1. (I'm doing a distance bike ride in Iowa during the last week of July.) That's good to know. But he can't give me a reservation on a train that will get me and my baggage (and bicycle) to San Jose on the same day, unless I route through Los Angeles and take an extra day. Nor are there any deals. The ticket cost is $660. No ifs, ands, buts, or deals. And that's just the first leg.
Nor was he particularly helpful. I'm guessing he was not on commission.
There was a time, in my impetuous youth, when I would have told him exactly what his attitude cost him (and Amtrak) and exactly where he'd erred. In detail. With examples. And a garrotte.
I did not do that. I smiled, thanked him, mentally consigned Amtrak to its inevitable fate, and left.
Hmm, perhaps it could be said that I am mellowing-- not unlike my father's friend Matt Kelch, who reputedly got himself excused from the air force by riding a motorcycle across the bar of the officer's club in Okinawa.
Okay... back to the subject.... time to surf Travelocity. Right now, my break looks like this:
July 23-31: Long out of state bike ride with buddies
August 1-3 Move into studio apartment
August 4-6 Drive to CA
August 6-13 CA
August 14-17 Drive to BC
August 20-23 Drive to NC
Yech. This is just bad. Too much driving, not enough buddy time. Hmm, given that it will cost roughly $1000 to drive all that way, I wonder how much it would cost to fly there and rent a car while I'm there, then fly to BC and rent a car (or convince someone to come get me), then fly back to Raleigh or someplace similar.... plus ship a bike, presumably from IA to BC. Hmm.
Anybody got any good ideas? More practically, anyone know of a car I could borrow for a couple of weeks in CA?
