Zen-like calm

[ebonlock]

So after days of agonizing over the whole trip home thing I believe I've come to a conclusion that will bring me peace and my family happiness. I will take the train cross-country, spend about 5 days at home, then schlep back the same
way. I've checked the Amtrak site and can do this for under $1500. Expensive? Yes, certainly, but I can afford to do it and this will in effect be three vacations in one. A nice quiet, peaceful train ride out, time with the fam, then another peaceful trip back. I can even fit in a day to decompress post-trip before returning to work. I have enough time to do this (barely) and enough money if I don't mind going slightly into credit card debt again.

This does, however, put me on an even tighter schedule regarding moving. The problem right now is pinning my current roommate down to a time she's going to be moving. In the best of all worlds I'd be giving 30 days notice July 1 and be totally moved by August 1. Hopefully this will work with my soon to be roommate as well. I also believe I can get most of the moving done myself, leaving just a desk, computer, t.v., t.v. stand, futon and bed to be moved by the large men with the big truck. That shouldn't come to much more than $200,
if that, which is quite affordable. It also saves my poor friends from having to lug lots of stuff too, an added benefit *G*

And that, I believe, is that. Now if I can just get everything to work out
the way I've planned...

Crunches: 65
Organization: high

Comments

[aelfsciene.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you figured out a way to do your trip home--I hope the train is a lot of fun!

There should be no problems with me giving notice on July 1st, but I'll check with Fire again--he's had plenty of warning, but I don't know if he's actually moving at the same time, or not.

I'm planning to do the same thing, re: moving--pack and move all my boxes of books and stuff (I think much of the anime crap will still be here, but that'll just be extra motivation to sell it quickly after the move; it's the unpacked and scattered other stuff that I'm more worried about, now), and leave just the furniture (the desk from hell, bed, 5 bookcases and dresser) for movers.

I can't wait to start looking at places

Trains

[murdoch.livejournal.com]

I've always loved the train, and used to ride Amtrak a lot... I used to go from Chicago to Albany as a kid, and Chicago to Los Angeles when I was in college. We always went coach, which wasn't too bad except that sleeping on the seats can be a challenge. My parents usually get an economy sleeper these days. Also, the west-of-Chicago trains are generally newer and nicer, and I mostly spend all of my time reading in the observation car and occasionally talking to interesting people.

Re: Trains

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

I adore train travel, to the point that the travel part becomes a part of the vacation as well. I'm doing the economy sleeper thing from Sacramento to Chicago and then vice versa for the retun. Two days is just more than I can stand to sleep in a seat and do without a shower *G* With the reservation I'm looking at now I'll be able to follow a slightly different route through the country than I did on the way out here originally, and then go up through the northwest (Portland actually) on my return trip. I may even have enough time to sightsee while up there before I catch my next train. That will be incredibly cool.