Train Ride

Driving cross-country roughing 24 weeks pregnant with two small children didn't hold a lot of appeal. The small one is a nightmare in hotels, so even the option of stopping for the night once or twice was actually even less appealing than driving the whole thing straight-through.

Flying was like $1,000. And flying with two small children sucks too. Flying pretty much just sucks. I hate the security ridiculousness. I don't think it makes us safer. I think it makes sane people crazy. Also, once you drive to the airport, wait, fly, wait, claim baggage, drive to the final location ... it's not that much faster. You've paid up the wazoo and you don't even have the luxury on having your own vehicle. No thank you.

So, there's Amtrak. I've never considered this option before. The price for our three tickets is about the same as one airline ticket. The time is comparable to driving (because of station stops to pick up/drop off passengers), but I'm not stuck behind the wheel and trying desperately to stay awake. The seats are bigger. We can get up and walk to the train cars. Legend has it that there is a lounge car and a dining car. I've read pretty good reviews of parents traveling with small children on Amtrak - bring your own food and entertainment. It doesn't seem that intimidating. The station is about 30 minutes from our home and the final station is about an hour from my mom's home - more convenient than the airports. So, we'll see how this goes.

Of course, the DS is missing (has been since we moved). I'm sure it's just misplaced, but we sure as heck cannot find it! I'll need to get another one of those if it doesn't turn up - that'll buy me several hours of entertainment for the kids.