So this was my first real train adventure. And there were some good points and some bad points.
First, the good points.
I took the business class train both way - Acela - through Amtrak. The train was new, clean, and had comfy seats. There was a little snack car and even a 'quiet car' which I did not go to b/c I can't really be quiet - especially when there is a rule saying you have to be quiet.
Also, the train was fast - it goes 150 mph and that is kind of cool. It is actually only a 6.5 hour ride - which is almost 2 hours less than driving. Of course, I had to pick up the train in Baltimore - so all in all it is about the same. Except of course that - and this was the best part - that I could use my laptop the whole time - that there was a cool desk that I could work on - and there were outlets at every seat to plug in my laptop. Using my phone, I was able to access the Internet and check my email - and post this blog entry.
So what are the bad parts?
Well, on the train ride up to Boston, it was packed and I had to sit next to someone the whole time. Not fun. Although today, we are already in Connecticut and I still have not had to sit next to anyone and there are lots of open seats. I think once we hit NYC I will be screwed.
The other bad part is that I keep peeing on myself. Now let me explain. All the women out there will know what i am talking about. You have to pee and the only place is some nasty public restroom - and to make matters even grosser, it is a restroom you have to share with men. yuck. So you get in there and of course there is pee on the floor, pee on the bowl and the seat is up - so you decide that since you are not actually going to let your ass touch the seat for fear of getting some kind of communicable disease, you decide that you will just straddle the seat to pee.
Now, I have learned that it is best to roll up your pants, lest they touch the floor on any part other than the very bottom. And then you have to pull your pants and underwear forward so that number one they don't touch the seat and number two you don't pee on them. And then you have to bend down and try to watch yourself pee - through your legs - so that you know that you are actually peeing in the bowl. And well, this is where I always go wrong - especially when I am in a moving bathroom like on a plane or train. I think that I am peeing right into the bowl but sometimes I miss and pee on the rim of the bowl. According the laws of physics, if my pee stream hits the bowl at just the right angle, it does not go in the bowl but instead goes down the side of the bowl and my leg and into my pants. At that point, I'm pissed off, I"m still trying to hold my pants off the floor, and now I have pee on my leg and my pants. Not wanting to smell like pee, I have to use a paper towel to clean my pants and of course, now I have a big wet stain on my pants, so I have to try to make it back to my seat without everyone assuming that I peed my pants which actually would not really be an assumption since that is actually what I did do. And when I get back to my seat, it is all I can do to not slather anti-bacterial gel all over my entire body.
The other bad part is the scenery. Apparently, human beings have a lot of big trash items - like burned out cars, rusty trains, tires, and numerous other pieces of trash that apparently are too big to be picked up on "large item" trash day - so they just get dumped by the railroad. Don't get me wrong, there was some really cool scenery too. But there was also a lot of graffiti, abandoned cars and lots of rusty stuff.
