Trip! *bounce*

[kangeiko]

No I still haven't finished my Multiverse fic. Shaddup.

Ahem.

Dear flist, I shall be US-bound in a little under a year's time. This makes me excited, as I have never been across the Atlantic before. I will be going to Portland, Oregon, as my dear, dear friend Anna is getting wed. This is Momentous, yes indeed.

I'm going in July. As it's going to cost me an arm and a leg (and probably £1,000), I have decided to make quick stop-over visits to various cities / places / canyons.

If anyone has any thoughts on which things I should visit either to the blissful nuptials or on my way back, please take this opportunity to squee at length. I was thinking of a stop-over of probably new york, or possibly flying in to san francisco and then getting an internal flight the rest of the way, or possibly seattle and a train.

i can spend at most a week and a half doing this, because i also have to accomplish dissertation (tm) with the rest of my holiday time.

Comments

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

I'd caution you against a train. The train system is fine in the northeast, from Washington DC up to New York, but is quite terrible out west. This is because most of the rail lines are owned by freight rail companies, and they will displace passenger trains to get their own trains out on time.

[kangeiko]

Bloody hell, that'd be a fecking nightmare! Is there a Greyhound thing that runs that route? *contemplates internal flights*

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

There is probably a bus route, if not necessarily a Greyhound. Short plane trips are also surprisingly affordable, if you want to go that route.

It's just that I took a train from El Paso, Texas to Austin, Texas, and was 3 hours late one way, and 5 hours late *leaving* the other -- I really suggest you not travel by train if you're on a schedule and not in either the northeast of the USA or in Canada.

[kangeiko]

i'm thinking that an internal flight might be the way to go, especially if:

1) i can sleep on the atlantic flight, and
2) i can get a decent stop-over in the city.

a day in san francisco or something and then a late evening plane wouldn't be bad at all.

[warhol.livejournal.com]

Ayup. Long-distance trains are laughable in the U.S., except along the Atlantic corridor. (Along the Great Lakes, between New York and Chicago, isn't too bad either.) In general, they're unreliable, infrequent, inconvenient, and slow.

Buses are more reliable and more frequent, but they're still slow.

A lot of the problem with slowness, however, is that distances are just huge, especially out west. Austin to El Paso is 600 miles, and that's just halfways across Texas.

You might just learn to do like Americans, and hire a car for a week or two. Rentals can be really cheap ($100/week shouldn't be a problem if you shop around), gasoline is a measly $3.00/gallon on the west coast, and they're really convenient. And in America, you don't even have to know how to drive! It's more convenient than a Greyhound, where you're always at the mercy of the schedule. Bus stations inevitably are located in grimy parts of town, so then you have to take a taxi (or worse, public transportation) to your destination..... so you might not end up paying too much more for a rental.

As far as a route goes, it might not be too silly to fly into Los Angeles, and then work your way northish: Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Oregon, Washington.

[kangeiko]

As far as a route goes, it might not be too silly to fly into Los Angeles, and then work your way northish: Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Oregon, Washington.

That makes sense.

Depending on finances / time, I may attempt just that.