Songs About Trains

[plumtreeblossom]

So, it turns out I've won a pair of round-trip tickets on Amtrak to anywhere in the continental US, usable anytime between now and December 16, 2007. I was entered automatically in the sweepstakes when I bought an Amtrak ticket to Rochester in December, and I didn't even know it. When the first notification came I assumed it wasn't legit, but upon calling Amtrak, it's a genuine win. I've never been the type to win sweepstakes or drawings, so this is a lovely surprise. I've discovered over these past few Christmases how much I enjoy train travel.

beowabbit naturally has dibs on the companion ticket. But where to go? Wabbit pointed out that it would be a waste to use it for New York, when for almost nothing you can get there on Fung Wah (with a nice crackling fire in the back for keeping warm). A co-worker said "Take it as far as you can go! Go to Seattle or California!" Well, sure I like train travel, but I wouldn't want to be on one for four days each way. I'd probably put the one-way travel lid at 12 hours or so.

But within that range, I wonder where might be fun to go? DC might make a nice Autumn trip, and we could go nuts in The Smithsonian. Or Niagara Falls, NY (we could cross over to the Canadian side on our own).

Some not-too-far places that I've yet to visit as an adult:

Baltimore
Philadelphia (was there at age 3, which doesn't count)
Atlantic City, NJ (Boardwalk! Frozen Custard!)
Long Island
Saratoga Springs, NY (heard it's gorgeous, good hiking)
Williamsburg, VA (was there at age 8 but remember little)

Wabbit is having a crummy day due to phone-gone-missing, so I'm sure he's in no mood to think about travel today. But no decision needs to be made any time soon anyway. Just fun to start thinking about.

Here's where Amtrak goes in the general Northeast area. Any suggestions or inspired ideas?

Comments

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

a) Don't bother with Long Island. You'd take Amtrak into the city and then have to pay again for LIRR out onto the Island. It's logistically equivalent to Manhattan for these purposes.

b) Chicago? I've heard that that's the outer edge for reasonable train travel from this neck of the woods.

c) I've gotten to Annapolis on Amtrak and the ride was fabulous. I'd certainly recommend it as far south as DC.

d) I'm afraid I have to echo your thoughts on train travel out West. On the one hand, the train ride from Portland to San Francisco was a lot of fun. On the other, being six hours behind schedule due to delays from freight trains having track priority sucked amazingly. Stick to the Greater Northeast, where it's not so much of a problem.

[epilimnion.livejournal.com]

I've taken the train to DC, and it's actually quite nice, especially if you can travel business class. The station in DC is also really nice architecturally and has lots of places to eat. Philly is interesting, what little I saw of it when I visited a college friend. I took the bus, and from that experience I would recommend the train.

Speaking of trains, did I see you on the E-train this morning? Or was my sleep-deprived brain playing tricks on me?

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Well, I second the motion for cross-country, especially for the more scenic runs. If you want to stay in the northeast though, I recommend the lakeshore limited to Chicago, and not at night or you'll miss the view.

[docorion.livejournal.com]

I, too, would go cross-country, had I won these. But that said:

O, Canada!

Go to Montreal! Sneer at the Francophones! Eat way better French food than you can get in most of America!

(Which mostly I say because I've never been to Canada, and it sounds like fun).

come here! come here!

[heatherp8.livejournal.com]

Amtrak also comes to Florida, dear heart!
come here!

[noire.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on winning those! Awesome!

I lived in DC for years, and if you choose to go there I'll give you all the restaurant/museum info (because there's way more than Smithsonian.) It is a great tourist destination, but having lived there for years I see the downsides as well. Baltimore really isn't worth a weekend get away IMO--it does have a few charming neighborhoods, but they're good for an hour or so.

Williamsburg is Really Fun. If it weren't for my suggestion below, I would say Williamburg for sure. It's got the cool living history and the buildings are fascinating, and you can see people actually doing the work/crafts of the era. In the evening there are candle light tours of the State House and the Governor's Mansion. Eat under the grape arbor at Chownings Tavern and then go inside for the "gambols" in the evening, where people sing and there are period games to play. Had a delightful evening there! And for white table cloth dining there is Sally Lun's and the Kings Arms tavern. (All the food is excellent and delicious, but Colonial American. Chownings is where I first discovered apple pie with cheddar cheese.) And if that's not enough (and really, there is plenty to do and see and eat) there is a huge outlet place very nearby and also Roanoke (I believe there are buses/groups to both of those that you could pick up from your hotel.)

But I would say Philadelphia! Yeah, strange call I know. I never even thought about Philly except as a stop on Amtrak between Boston and DC (I've done the ride many times) and a few years ago I was hosted by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Association for a weekend program. And it was GRAND. The restaurants are MAGNIFICENT. I was totally blown away by the food (and I will happily give you a list of recommendations there.) The Art Institute has one of the best collections of Impressionists in the US along with a really stunning modern collection.

And there's a pretty, quaint colonial section of the city, very different from Boston of the same era.

I'm actually hoping to get back there one of these days soonish.

Anyway, there couldn't have been any one better to win that prize! Have a great time.

[mistergoat.livejournal.com]

Go to Delaware. it fucking rocks. Whooooo!

[deceptiverose.livejournal.com]

DC is beautiful in the fall. Over Thanksgiving Erik and I went down and we had a great time. We did mostly free things and it was really nice. The National Zoo was beautiful and it was great to see all the monuments at night!

Whatever you do though, have fun!

[dabunny.livejournal.com]

If you can time it to catch the cherry blossoms, I'd go with DC.
Alternately, Niagra Falls is a nice visit if you haven't been there before.

[strangeanimal.livejournal.com]

I vote DC, it's very walkable and public transitable, and tons of stuff to do.

[beowabbit]

So glad you mentioned this post to me! It was in a clump of about four that I missed.

So possibilities that sound particularly good include DC, Richmond or Wilmington, Philadelphia, and Chicago. If Richmond or Wilmington or maybe DC, there’s an outside chance my sister bcat1 and her husband spacechicken could meet us. If Chicago, there’s an outside chance that my parents (who are tragically LiveJournal Luddites) could meet us.

Philly is close enough that it would be a comfortable drive, but of course if we take the train then we can both read and rest and gaze out the window; it causes accidents when I do that while I’m driving.

I wonder if they count Alaska as “continental US”.

(It’s a shame the tickets are restricted to continental US, or we could take the train to go visit sionnagh. :-)