For various and sundry reasons I am taking a 12 1/2 hour train ride today from Essex Junction, VT to Washington, DC, on Amtrak train 55 The Vermonter.
I may be insane for doing this (even the guy in the station who checked my ticket was taken aback, “Oh geez, you’re going all the way to the end!”), and there’s a good chance by the time we hit New Haven that I’ll be ready to jump out and walk the rest of the way home. But for now, all is well.
But think of all the positives!
> far cheaper than flying
> I’ve done so much travel the past few days by airplane and car that having a mode of transport where I can sleep when I want, not have to pay attention to where I’m going, have food available, and go right to bed when I get home is incredibly appealing
> gorgeous scenery, at least so far into the Vermont portion of the journey
> comfy seat with power plugs
> free WiFi (hopefully as we load passengers through the trip the signal doesn’t degrade too much) I’m just going to ignore that we just had an extended outage less than an hour into the trip with very few passengers on the train, as that ‘fact’ doesn’t fit my positive and joyful narrative
> mine is the last stop, so no risk of sleeping past my station
I’m pretty sure the coffee is pretty grim on board, but I prepared for that. I got one before I left at my usual place in Burlington, Maglianero, and have brought my AeroPress set up with me, so I’ll be all set.
