My trip to Washington yesterday was interesting and fruitful. You’ll understand if I don’t talk about it at this point.
But I will talk about how much I hate traveling. It’s not the going other places and meeting new people thing I don’t like. It’s the going to the airport and dealing with security and airlines and all the rest that’s such a pain. Getting up very early because you have to be there so far in advance of your flight, worrying about traffic, dealing with the indignities and uncertainties of being searched, brusque security guards giving you disapproving looks because you don’t instinctively know what exactly you’re supposed to do, sitting around forever in the gate area waiting for your flight to board, listening to the intimate conversations of complete strangers on their cell phones, sitting cramped against a stranger for the length of the flight, waiting forever for the people at the front of the plane to gather their belongings and get off. And then you multiply that by two when you’re taking two flights in one day.
On the bright side I was able to come home and see my wife and daughter and sleep in my own bed and be reminded why I do all this.
So, what did I miss?
Technorati Tags:
(1) First words to greet the Pope on his arrival: “Cold, eh?”
(2) Steinbrenner’s personnel philosophy: “Reload!”
(3) Finally!
(4) I ksaw it coming!
(5) AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
Glad nothing important happened.
Personally, if I were going along the Eastern seaboard, I’d take the train.
Ah yes, the train: Costs as much as flying, takes as long as driving.
I’d love to take it too, but if I had, I would have had to stay overnight.
The roundtrip on my airfare was $190 on JetBlue. Add in $70 for cabs and you get $260. My flight departed Boston at 9 am and arrived in DC at 10:40. My return left Dulles at 6:30 and arrived at Logan at 7:40.
Meanwhile, Amtrak would cost $2765 roundtrip, not including cabs between the station and my destination, and would take 9 hours each way.
I think that since Philly and BWI are relatively close, the costs and time involved may indeed be cheaper and faster, but as distance expands the disparities do as well.
I mistyped. It was supposed to be $275 roundtrip. But that $376 is almost twice what I paid for airfare and still a lot longer than flying.
And my final destination wasn’t downtown anyway, creating more expense and hassle.
Accidentally overhearing snippets of other people’s conversations is part of being out in any public place. Take it as comic relief!
Glad to hear your trip was “interesting and fruitful”