I am on the road again (or should I say on the track and train?) on my way to Boston to see the one and only Carrie Underwood. All together eeeeekkk! I am so excited. It is bittersweet. The last time I saw her, was nine years ago with my sister, in Burlington, Vermont at the fair there. I was suppose to see her again three years later again with my sister, but life and death had other plans.
When my friend and I found out she would be touring again, we decided we would road trip it (sort of) and go see her together. Which is what we are doing. I am coming from New York and my friend is coming from Maine and we are meeting in Boston for the Story Teller Tour.
It is much quicker to fly, only a half hour flight between JFK and Logan International (sidenote: no one ever flies out of Laguardia unless you want Ebola or an STD) but between prices, security, and the fact my makeup is on the banned contrabands list, I decided to take the train.
As a New Yorker, I am use to the train. My oldest sister lives two hours outside the city and I’ll take MetroNorth to see her usually once a month. As someone who doesn’t have a car it is an extremely easy way to travel.
It is also a very conducive way to write.
Of all the places I write, home, coffee shops, the park, the beach, it is the train where the writer zone just takes over and I can get it all out. I know you are thinking, but shoulda been a mermaid?
It is true, maybe the stress of travel, or the repetitive motion of the wheels running along the track. The general quietness, because lets face it aside from Chris Christie in the quiet car, it is generally as silent as a museum. No one is shouting and there are very few children under the age of twelve.
While I love flying, and it is cool for the birds eye view. The scenery on the train is just as amazing. It also is much more easily accessible and many times cheaper then flying.
The view this morning. It never gets old.
When I was in France, we took the train out to the country side and I adored sitting in the sky car and looking out at the country side. There they have double decker trains enclosed in glass. It was exquisite!
Apparently other writers and Amtrak agree with me about it being a great place to write. Two years ago they began a writers residency program. Writers could take a trip for free across the country, get work done, Tweet about it AND see our beautiful nation. When I heard about it I almost fainted in glee.
Alas you have to apply and it is very selective, though Amtrak if you are reading this call me!
This is the link for those interested.
http://blog.amtrak.com/general-faqs/
If you have never taken the train and want a less stressful way of traveling I highly recommend it. After all, you should try new things at least once!
I am hoping if my travel plans fall through this summer, to go see my aunt in San Francisco (one of my favorite places!) by train. The cost is as little as two hundred and some change from Penn Station to just outside San Francisco in Emeryville. Get writing done and see the country how cool is that? This guy did it. http://dereklow.co/across-the-usa-by-train-for-just-213/
Definitely something to check off the bucket list.
I just passed Stanford three more hours until Boston! Yay! And don’t worry, Bostonians, I left my Yankees gear behind.
