On Friday, March 12 of this year, I was one smart cookie. It was my first day of Spring Break and I decided to take the opportunity to head back home to Alabama for a few days. Since my Freshmen year of college, I have always opted to get home via airplane and a flight from Greensboro to Birmingham typically requires a connection in... Ugh. Atlanta.
Because Atlanta is the world's busiest airport, it's no secret that there are usually delays there, and when you want nothing more than to get home to your bed, your family and your dog, it can resemble uncannily, with its winding trams and endless concourses, the bowels of hell.
ANYWAY. Let's get back to when a few Fridays ago, I was quite the genius. Like any wise traveler, I woke-up a few hours before my flight to check the Delta website to make sure that everything was on time. Imagine my great surprise when I found that my flight had already been delayed three hours due to foul weather in ATLANTA! Boy, was I livid. However, I then noticed something nice. Did you know that when your travel plans get mucked-up by stuff you can't help like faulty engines or the weather, Delta allows you to switch flights for no extra charge? Aren't they great?
So, I looked for potential flight swaps. Wouldn't you know that they ALL conveniently stopped in Atlanta... but then, hark! My eyes fell upon something different - a means of getting to Birmingham with a short lay-over in Memphis, Tennessee. Needless to say that quicker than grass through a goose, I signed-up for that Memphis flight, which inevitably left Greensboro on time and got me home to the big ol' salty 'ham only 10 minutes after the time my original flight was supposed to arrive.
Yes. I felt quite intelligent in my ability to avert Atlanta -- so intelligent that I've felt the urge to re-tell the story to you today.
Okay. So, you're probably chastising me as a bragadocious wench right about now. Well, go ahead. But you should know that my reason for telling you this airplane story is not entirely for ego related reasons. I wanted to tell you this little anecdote in order to promote another mode of transportation --
a mode of transportation wherein, if you wanted to travel from Greensboro to Birmingham, there would be no connecting flight and no waiting around the terminal for hours. The mode of travel to which I am referring is, of course... the train.
I hope you will allow me to wax poetic for a few moments on the brilliance of the locomotive. YES, I know that it can sometimes take a little longer than the plane, it can cost a little more than driving your car, and quite frankly, the loud snoring and fart smells can be somewhat off-putting, but the train is the BEST way to travel -- that is, if you really want to get somewhere.
When you're sitting on a the train, you're moving - headed toward a destination. I'm sorry, but when did traveling mean sitting around an airport terminal or gas station? Hmmm? Trains are great for their sheer efficiency.
They also offer a nice amount of space for your feet and the ability to really recline... and when your ass hurts, you're not confined to your seat due to turbulence. You can get up and walk around or hang out in the lounge car.
Then, there's the food. It might not be gourmet cuisine and you might have to pay for it, but if you want to sit down and have a meal on the train, by-golly YOU CAN! Do they serve food on planes anymore? Uhhhh... negative.
Finally, the best part of traveling by train...
... the view! Instead of looking at clouds or the ocean or little green lumps of land, you can really see and enjoy woods and urban landscapes as they zoom past. The windows are big and there's no obligation to hold onto a steering wheel. I can't think of anything more relaxing than to watch the world speed by.
A friend of mine and I took Amtrak's Southern Crescent (which runs from New Orleans to New York City) from Greensboro to Penn Station and I can honestly say it helped me to clear my mind. Spec-tac-u-lar.
On the return trip, we dined with a fellow who explained that Amtrak is trying to expand and improve their service to be more like Europe or Japan. To that I say: YOU GO! I blog in support of more and better trains!
However, in all of this travel yak, I have come to a most definite conclusion. Unless you have a buddy to travel with, all of it is extremely dull. You've got to have somebody with you -- a companion to swap stories with. If I'd had a pal during all of my many Atlanta lay-overs, maybe I wouldn't despise flying so much.
Ciao for now.
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