To most it sounds pretty crazy, to take a nearly 3,000 mile trip in order to be 1,500 miles further away then you started. But then again most people don't have 59 days off [estimated] Not to mention most people are not accustomed to my current lifestyle spent solely on the road.  Below my planned route to visit a friend and former house mate from Santa Cruz.  [I lived in Santa Cruz 4 yrs ago this May]

Below what a normal person would have done, by taking a plane and flying from Arizona to North Dakota.... But as it has already been established over the last few years in this blog I am not exactly normal!  Most of you by now must be thinking that taking a train or a bus must be less expensive then flying. [otherwise why would I take 60hrs and almost 1,500 more miles then needed, to get where I was going]  Unfortunately to compound my seemingly mad behavior a bus or a train was more expensive to travel by then a plane in my circumstance.  I'm sure with proper planning. That is more then 4 days notice before booking a ticket, prices may have been the same.

For those that did see the Greyhound trip. [below] My bus ride from South Padre Island, TX.  The start of my 59 days off [estimated] To my first stop visiting my mom for Thanksgiving. Setting the next path to be taken, my train ride to the snow.

Roughly 3,788 miles of road and rail to get me from Texas to North Dakota.  With a stop over in AZ to visit my mom for Thanksgiving before spending Christmas in the snowy geographical center of the United States [East to west...not north to south]  I could not think of any other means more appropriate then buses and trains for a gypsy like myself.  Even though I would not recommend a bus ride to anyone, the train however I feel is a form of transportation that more should take advantage of.

The best thing about taking a train is the dignity in which you travel.  The seats in regular class make first  class airline seats look like high school bleachers.  Tremendous room. Leg rests that extend up from the seat to the end of your calves. Foot rests extending out from the seat in front.  Plugs to charge your computer or whatever else you may wish.  An observation car to have a drink. [Right]

Or just sit with friends and family and take in the sights as you steam past them. [Left]  Even a dinning car that serves full on meals [not "meal" boxes of candies and chips like on the planes].

After making this trip I realized how much we sacrifice for "convenience".  By that I mean time, for a belief in taking a path of least resistance.  This may just be me or the influence of all the Euro's I hang out with... but my destination is just a part of my trip.  I do not like having the stress of getting somewhere rushing though all the sites before catching my plane back a week later, only to go back to work the next day.  If given that option or the option to stay at home relaxing with ice cream while watching movies, I would stay at home.
When taking the train I was relaxed from the very start. No amazingly long lines to get your ticket from the counter on a train.  No long feverishly nervous wait in a security check.  No hoping I put on a good pair of socks for the flight. Nor is there a worry if you have the right size bottles of liquid in an approved travel bag.  I did not have to take of my shoes, or out my laptop.  I did not have to walk through a metal detector or full body scanner only to go to a secondary screening with a pat down, and magic wand between my legs.  I simply got my ticket. Boarded my train. Sat back...and enjoyed my freedom to move/travel around.
To Be Continued......