Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, had it right, she refused to fly on airplanes. I’m in her camp now. I spent five hours yesterday trying to catch a flight to Trail Mix Southern Command, but my flight was canceled with no explanation and no options offered for getting there. At least I got a full refund.
Airlines these days handle passengers as they do baggage. What’s next? Bar codes around our necks and we just lay down on conveyer belts.
That’s it. I’m done. Back to cars, boats and trains.
Hitting the road soon for my next trip to Orlando. Some 14 hours it’ll take, but I suspect a halfway stop in Florence, SC, will be better than mooing along with the airport herds.
boss, too bad you couldn’t take Amtrak:
The Auto Train transports you and your car (or your van, motorcycle, SUV, small boat, jet-ski or other recreational vehicle) nonstop from the Washington, DC area to sunny Florida, just outside of Orlando. This IS the best way to drive I-95. And remember, you can pack your car as if it were your suitcase.
Save hundreds of miles of Driving, Gasoline and Wear and Tear on Your Car
Leave the worries of long-distance driving behind. Onboard the Auto Train, you’ll enjoy a stress-free journey by rail, skipping the traffic congestion on I-95. Put your feet up. Read a book. Take in the scenery. While you and your family travel in comfort, your vehicle rides along in an enclosed auto carrier. And now, our auto carriers offer even greater capacity to better accommodate your SUV or van. Discover the Magic of Auto Train
oh for the glory days of train travel: interesting folk in the bar car, leisurely dinners over wine in the dining car, comfy sleeper compartment, wapo & coffee in the morning…. no waiting in airline lines, no backed up interstate traffic…. ahhh the good days of life in the slow lane.
Published on Apr 3, 2016
Auto Train to Florida 2016
EastPenn Travel Guide
My right wing Republican very good friend has a kid who goes to school in Florida. He used the auto train to get the kid and his car and stuff down there and uses it sometimes when he goes down to visit, getting a sleeping compartment – he says he just loves it. Can take more than a bag and a carry on and gets to FL relaxed and rested. Sounds like a great option to me. It’s a 4 hour drive to pick it up in DC but probably worth it for a lengthy visit. Otherwise it’s a $70 flight to Orlando, rent a car, ….
The auto train is right here. Of course you have to fight the traffic on the Beltway and 95 south.
https://youtu.be/SXj27KiwsA0
Now there’s something for the coal miners to do. Instead of banging on walls in the dark, they can bang on steel in the sunshine while building a real national railroad.
Craig, just think of the train as your contribution to the environment. Not perfect, but at least it isn’t more jet fuel sprayed into the air.
every time i’ve considered the auto train, the cost was outrageous to me, especially for a sleeping compartment
“…the cost was outrageous to me, especially for a sleeping compartment”
but craig, did you consider the fuel, eating and accommodation expenses (to say nothing of the value of your time and sanity) you would incur otherwise?
think of the comparative entertainment value. what would a meal, movie, taxi rides, and room cost for two in d.c.
so what airline?
American, KGC — i have noticed that since they bought US Air they’re really overextended at national airport, too many flights, not enough staff. Yesterday they had two employees trying to handle over a hundred people in line who had cancelled flights. Luckily I could just go home, but many were stranded. I never check a bag when I go to Orlando. Last time I did it took almost an hour to slog through that line.
WTF. Doesn’t the passenger bill of rights cover stuff like this? How can they cancel for no reason and make you feel relieved you got all your money back.
I would have gone full on crazy at the airport.
Is Tampa a viable alternative during peak leisure travel periods to Orlando?
auto train is $914 roundtrip for a sleeper. out of my price range
KGC, that’s the beauty for them of having so few staff. You have to stand in line to yell at them.
well Flatus i don’t think so, have heard many horror stories lately about I-4 traffic meltdowns between Tampa and Orlando.
getting beyond my personal gripes, don’t forget, our $51 million House election is today
I really have a feeling that something is very hinky about railway fares. I would love to see an analysis of actual expenses to run when various tax, right of way, numbers transported and incentives are removed in comparison to air fare.
I know there was a major giveaway to freight trains back when freeways became US favored form of travel, but it still feels out of whack.
All the fares are weird. It costs $200 plus to fly from SF to Santa Rosa –a 19 minute flight more than to fly to Phoenix
Good general Economist article on the subject
Why Don’t Americans Ride Trains
Quora article on Amtrak
Why is Amtrak service more expensive
and the march to automation goes on, re: Amazon purchase of Whole Foods: “Amazon is considering extending the cost-cutting effort with the no-checkout technology it’s developing at its Seattle convenience store, “AmazonGo,” according to the person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. The technology lets people pay with smartphones without seeing a cashier or going to a checkout kiosk, which would help Amazon differentiate itself in the brick-and-mortar setting and reduce labor costs.”
Duluth Trading .Mr. Cracker is a big fan… is defying retail trends and opening lots of brick and mortar stores
In terms of Ga 6 He should win she’s a loser but the goopers have wiped a bunch of people off the voting rolls so who knows
Her claim to fame is she ripped off women with breast cancer charming
I quit flying in 77
I do not miss it
florence sc is mighty close to Ohlfardt Central Control Center
Craig… that sucks. We try to fly (we don’t fly very much lately) on Southwest as much as possible. Never had a problem with them.
KGC… Rick swears by Duluth Trading also. So far only online purchasing…. but if they ever put a store in NH… we’ll be there.
When we go to the Catskills we take 95 to Richmond and then switch left to the one which goes north thru the mountains…..have a portable CB for listening to the Jabber, and a well stocked iPod for any music required…….and of course, a cassette player for listening to old Sturgeone tapes…..
“The Other” doesn’t much relish that last option, but the dog seems to enjoy her masters voice.
before iPhones and such, that CB was a nice tool.
once I decided to hit Dallas around 2-3 am……not realizing that that is when all the big trucks are doing the same thing….so there I was, a 72 Caprice towing an 18′ Prowler absolutely surrounded by huge trucks all going 80-90 mph. I could hear them talking about me on the CB…….words like “suicide” and such kept popping up.
But a steady hand and nerves of steel carried the day.
But, again, that steady hand and its mate sported 18 very white knuckles…..
not only that BB, it takes 17 hours for what is about a 14 hour drive. How is that possible?
Sturg, the CB is a great idea, gonna look into that
Sturgeone
I once made a similar trip over the Grapevine from Los Angeles to the Central Valley in a TR 4. When you aren’t as tall as their wheels, terror becomes a resident state of being. lol
Train too many stops……we looked into it for a run to Detroit and it was crazy how long it would take.
Poobah,
Just looked at the auto train fares. Yow. It might make sense if you were going to stay for a couple weeks or more and would need to rent a car otherwise. @ $500 one way seems a bit pricey for a sleeping compartment plus the @$200 each way for the car. Obviously the r/t fares are cheaper, but still. My friend doesn’t have the budget constraints most of us piece workers have.
That Amazon no checkout technology is coming quickly – Sam’s Club has an app that allows it. Scan the stuff and show your phone to the guy at the door when you leave. (Not sure how they put the yellow marker stripe on a virtual receipt though – but I haven’t used that app – so far self checkout is as far out there as I’ve ventured).
I predict that Ossoff will lose by less than a point. (I hate to say it, but that’s my guess).
wow, for a thousand bucks probably could travel cross the whole of Europe with their rail pass system. pays to be subsidized as a public good. btw, how does Canada rail compare?
pogo, you’re right that it might make sense if one will be staying for the season considering car rental costs.
The one I have is like a big walkie-talkie plugs into cig lighter and strong magnetic antenna clamps on top….very handy, and always amusing stuff from the (ahem) Knights of the Road.
Sturg, an Amtrak engineer i once met answered my question about that, said Amtrak has to lease the tracks from the freight companies that own them, and they make sure their trains take priority, meaning long delays for passenger trains
In our world trains are worse, it takes over 8 hrs to get from KC to St Louis a 3 1/2 hr drive and less than an hour flight.
So Craig, who was the offending airline?
Delta or United?
Mrs Jack is a frequent flyer and she has learned not all airlines are equal. Delta is on her “not ever, I’ll walk first” list and United is a close second.
She now flys Southwest mostly, almost got enough miles to get a companion pass for me last year. With them she never gets stuck over night trying to find a flight to replace the canceled one.
Jack
sturg, was just looking at one of those on amazon — my question is how do you connect the car top attenna to the device? wasn’t clear to me
it was American whsky, but my beef is not just the airlines, the airports have gotten so overcrowded and inefficient. wanted to get a hamburger last night but there were no available tables (thanks to the people who just park at them with their laptops) and didn’t want to eat it off my lap
Cord from antenna to the unit has to pass thru the open window, then close window on the cord,,,, doesn’t seem to hurt it any
The one I have is over 40 yrs old
Sturg, this CB discussion really takes me back. As a kid we had a neighbor who was a bigtime ham radio operator who set me up with really powerful unit. I’d stay up late nights talking to the truck drivers on I-4, such funny people. My handle was Alleycat, my sign off was “May the Lord take a liking to you.”
I wrote the above post early this morning and didn’t post it, I see Craig has answered my question.
Yep American is right in there with the other 2, I think they purposely create flights that they plan to cancel if they can’t fill them up. I’m certain Delta does, don’t take their late flight on a Sunday.
Jack
Red Sovine
I’m gonna get a CB and troll you there, too.
Once we found out that if we pulled the car up to the wall behind this club’s bandstand, the CB would come over the band’s P-A…..
and a merry time was had by all—except the band—and the owners—
A lot of the airports are getting dated, 911 security demands have a lot to do with that.
Our airport is a good example security put half the airport and most of the bathrooms outside the secure area. Inside security there are a total of 3 stalls and 3 urinals in the mens bathroom for somewhere around 900 passengers. I’m surprised some enterprising vendor hasn’t started stocking depends in his inventory Yet there is a big debate going on right now about building a modern terminal, One that Southwest and other airlines have said they will foot the bill. There are a lot of people opposed, amazing
Jack
whsky: “I think they purposely create flights that they plan to cancel if they can’t fill them up.”
i’ve been convinced of that for a long time.
A lot of the stimulus money that went ” for faster passenger rail” really went to improve the movement of freight rail traffic and by making freight rail more efficient it speeded up the passenger times.
Jack
I doubt peak summer travel and the giant storm across half the eastern seaboard had anything to so with it.
Best airline ever Piedmont now long absorbed and gone
Time for that high speed elevated train down the interstates in these rural parts of the US of AA. I’ll book the wine car, please. I remember the tv show ‘The Jetsons’ where humans had flying cars…what a fantasy, we have flying buses instead and life sure is getting cheap and crowded. We are viewed more as chattel than human by the airlines.
I have taken the #1 Chief on Amtrak…more romantic than convenient and quite stinky by the end of the line. Amtrak trains do not run on time and there is a lot of waiting.
How-to steal an election.
Ah, thanks for posting that article about the GOP exposing my (and everyone else’s) voter data, BW.
bink, no doubt weather was a factor, though they never said that. But what I see is that the industry is running such overloaded schedules that the domino effect of one late or canceled flight worse than it once was. That’s their business and they can have it, but I’ve wasted my last 5 hours in an uncomfortable airport for no reason.
FEC is also investigating kushner…from the article —
Shortly after the election Forbes interview Jared Kushner who was happy to gush about the data-mining and voter targeting operation that he had helped setup with Cambridge Analytica.
The RNC Deep Root, kushner and mercer Cambridge Analytica together on a cloud…and if joined by the ruskies? We have crime.
Sturg, what is your opinion of this unit? And I’m told a Wilson antenna is best to go with it:
I have no technical knowlege of CB radios and the like, but that one appears to have what it needs…..I only have the one I have because my dad was a Gadget Freak…….
too hot to fly in Phoenix
it has been triple digits here in NM, but eprof can tell you about hot!
In case
Unleashed
I lost my love of the skies last time i flew when i was literally molested by a TSA agent. I’m not talking a back-of-the-hand glance- this was a full and prolonged fondling. Honestly, it would have qualified as a sexual assault under any other circumstance. Not cool, TSA.
The problem with the weather excuse is that it is not like they didn’t have any warning. This system has been marching across the US for the last week. Also, they occur every few weeks so they have plenty of data to create their computer models with. What they don’t have is economic incentive, canceling because of weather costs them nothing. What ya gonna do next time ? take the train? lol.
Jack
thanks Sturg, it’s ordered, and a rooftop antenna. Road trip!
Once you’re in the air, planes are great. Unfortunately, they land at airports.
Craig,, If you plan to use this thing while you are driving, I think it is a mistake to buy a handheld unit–especially if you’re a novice user. It takes two hands and two eyes to change settings on the radio–settings like, “Go to channel 9, Good Buddy”
One of the highly rated thirty buck fixed mount radios will be cheaper to operate and less hazardous. You can mount it anywhere you want with sticky Velcro. The antenna you ordered will work–run through the door jamb rather than the window–less of a crimp means less crush to the coax which is sensitive to such things. Enjoy
Flatus
19Q2581
Greetings from the HOT desert. First, thx everyone for the positive comments on yesterday’s post. Always a pleasure to show my ignorance. Yes, it is hot here. 97 at breakfast time with xpected temps to reach 115-118 and warmer in some concrete spots like the PHX airport. Craig, why do you need a sleeper car? You will be sitting in your car for 14 hours if you drive so why not sit in a train seat for the 17 hours? Look out the window and watch the scenery. For you easterners stay dry and for you westerners stay cool.
Don Cheetolone
flatus thanks for the advice makes sense canceled order continuing investigation.
Prof, I and many of the other kids, used to take trains from wherever we lived (my case was Cleveland) to Philly after school vacations. It was always exciting when classmates would join-up on-board, like the late Jim Boyd,who would get on at Pittsburgh. The last thing we thought about were sleeping cars
You know who didn’t have tiny hands, apparently? Wallace Simpson. 🙂
Airlines stink and American started smelling well before the US Air merger. I’m surprised they can function at all. Their favorite trick seemed to be selling me a seat on a direct flight & re-booking me on a flight with a connection…which I always refused because I was going to lose HOURS of my life…and I paid for a direct flight.
The last trip I NEVER took, started with over 8 hours at the airport, only to be told to come back the next day. It was a 2-day trip, so I didn’t go at all.
I had to fight for a refund. Shortly after that, some sort of law was passed. Still, I didn’t get my accommodations & ground transportation to/from the airport and other prepaid things at my destination re-imbursed. They can go suck it.
Safe travels!
The much-maligned United States Postal Service has a 94.7% on-time arrival rate for first class postage. Just sayin’
CJ, USPS is always my first choice for items that must get there on time at a reasonable cost.
I am also a fan of the US Postal Service. In fact, I am headed there with a package right now.
and another thing. As we get bigger the seats got smaller, plus, you have to pay extra for a seat assignment unless you are prepared to sit in the back row in the middle.
EProf, but it’s a dry heat, right? Right. BS you say? It’s a hot heat at 115. I had the “pleasure” of Vegas at 105 and it was hot. “It” may have been dry but I on the other hand was drenched. Even the hookers looked miserable.
LOL – I just got an email from American Express. Thought it was from American Eagle for a minute, all this talk about AA…
craig, airline travel was quite different prior to deregulation. were you at wh when ted & jimmy helped usher in the mess we have today? talk about unintended, unexpected, inconvenient consequences….
excerpt from wiki on dereg:
…..airline deregulation began in the USA in 1978. It was, and still is, a part of a sweeping experiment to ultimately reduce ticket prices and entry controls holding sway over new airline hopefuls. Airline deregulation had begun with initiatives by economist Alfred E. Kahn in the Nixon administration, carried through the Ford administration and finally, at the behest of Ted Kennedy, signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.
Globally, state supported airlines are still relatively common, maintaining control over ticket prices and route entry, but many countries have since deregulated their own domestic airline markets. A similar but less laissez-faire approach has been taken by the European Union, Australia, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Ireland and select South and Central American nations.
more on that discussion about the wh press briefs (maybe we should refer to them as thongs)
the atlantic:
The White House Press Briefing Is Slowly Dying
The daily appearance by the press secretary has become rarer, and moved off camera. Asked for an explanation, Steve Bannon said, “Sean got fatter.”
talk about pots and kettles! very round pots and kettles. the audacity of bannon, not the best model nor attractive human specimen of physical fitness, saying “Sean got fatter”!!!
Can’t comment on pre deregulation air travel. All I know is that over the past 20 years service and room have declined. The rise of hubs has reduced direct flights, increased the number of legs, transfers, flight times and layovers. If busses and trains followed airline routing a trip from NYC to Chicago would go through DC and Houston.
Yes, Pogo it’s a dry heat. 115 at 1 pm with humidity at 8 percent. But, it’s a dry heat in the oven, too. No steam but cooking temperatures abound. Starting now I watch the dew point statistics. When it gets up to 55 percent (water in the air) I know the monsoon rains are around and they help in the late afternoons. For me, the biggest problem with the heat here isn’t necessarily the day time temps. It’s the overnights. It doesn’t cool off much. The a/c has to run day and night and you can never open the windows. But, it’s still better than ice and snow and shoveling it for two to three months. Don’t know much about Las Vegas temps and what the critters do when it gets hot like right now. You remember the old ad, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Words to live by — Lol!
red states hold 18 (including the top 8) of the 20 highest rates of death by firearm. One is purple – New Mexico at #9, and one is Blue – Nevada. The highest is Alaska, where it’s damned hard to find another person, let alone shoot one. Nearly one in every 5,000 Alaskans dies from gunshots. Louisiana, from whence Rep scalice hails, at #2, has a slightly better rate – so, he’s been safer in D.C.
Thank heavens that repug/nra laws are mostly just killing repug/nra voters.
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/death-by-gun-top-20-states-with-highest-rates/21/
But, it’s still better than ice and snow and shoveling it for two to three months.
eProf… not me. If my only choice is to roast in hell or shovel snow… I’ll shovel snow any day of the week. I hate heat… I hate humidity… and I hate air conditioning. I did do Vegas in October a few years back… still too frickin’ hot… 🙂
I had the right to remaim silent….but I didn’t have the ability.
—Unknown Comic, quoting Ron White
Hottest I ever was….that was in Las Cruces in August. Finally found a tree down by the river and walking into the shade was like turning on an airconditioner……
One summer out in the Dakotas it must have been about 110F, or maybe more. I was near done in and getting faint and wobbley, so I plunged into a cattle tank – I’d say about 8′ in diameter and full of biting waterboatmen. Damn! That water near scalded me. Only got bitten on one finger.
Fortunately, I soon got some cold well water out of the windmill pump next to the tank, and was able to cool off inside and out. I had to put my shirt on the pump gizmos, cuz they were blazing hot from the sun. A hundred centuries later that 56F water finally started to trickle out. Then it gushed. That was probably a close one.
Oh, btw, happy summer solstice. Go drink, dance, commune with elves or whatever you do to celebrate. Me, wine.
NEW THREAD Georgia on our minds