The road to nowhere
I’m about to head off to another adventure. In 3 weeks, I’ll be heading for the vacation Mecca, known as McCook, NE. Tony’s going to school there. I wonder if could have picked a more out of the way place. I wonder …
As he will be out in the wilds of Nebraska, I wanted him to have his car with him. I’ve decided to drive with him and fly back. In this way, he doesn’t need to do the 22 hour drive by himself. Of course, we will not being doing it all in one fell swoop, but over 2 days. 14 hours one day, about 8 the next. After I get him there on Friday evening, we’ll rest, or at least I will. Saturday morning will be for moving in, and Sunday morning, I will depart. I’ve looked at all manner of transportation to get the heck out of there, planes, trains, and automobiles! Going by plane from there is quite the ordeal that I don’t even want to consider. It’s something like $600 one way and takes about 14 hours to get back to Charlotte because of all of the stops and layovers.
I’ve devised a different plan. I will catch Amtrak from McCook, NE to Denver, CO, a $39, 4-hour trip. Then, spend a day and a night in Denver, then catch a flight back to Charlotte. Much cheaper and faster than catching a flight from the netherworld! Hopefully, Monte and John might be around and the 3 of us can meet for lunch or, perhaps, a Sunday evening outing!
Well, I’ve wanted to ride on Amtrak, now I get my chance … even though the train leaves at 3:43 AM. It will be riding in the dark, but there are no other options for the train. A short flight costs $200, so looks like it will be the train!
Now, I’ve got to make my multiple reservations for our stays along the way. Details! Details! Details! I must say that I am tired of traveling for the year, but it has been fun! I plan on taking just the P-510 … let’s see if I can keep up with it this time. LOL
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Paul, man, talk about the underbelly or “backside” of Nebraska…to be polite. Better you then me!
However, it does sound like your exit plan is making the best of it. Hope you can catch up with Monte and John.
Earl recently posted..Crapemyrtle and the Arbor Day Foundation
Oh, my friend … I know. It is not in the least bit exciting. It will be good to be with him and accompany him there, but there’s a reason why Nebraska is on my list of places that I’ve not visited! LOL
It is interesting trying to figure out how to get hither and yon. I’m used to flying in, grabbing a car, seeing what I want to see, driving back to the hotel, back to the airport, back to my car. This one will be a little more ‘adventurous’ and contain all modes of transportation, save for a ship … at least I don’t think that there will be a ship involved!
You bet, we can sure work out something. I just saw your email and will get back with on ways to meet up. I would also like to meet John, so hope he can connect with us.
Monte Stevens recently posted..Abbie
Sweet! I’ll send him an e-mail and copy you on it so we can get a meet set up.
Well, I know for sure that the picture above ain’t from Nebraska! I’ve been there a couple of times and never saw anything this interesting. This is maybe Arizona? Or Nevada? Possibly New Mexico or southern California? Whichever, all are far more inviting than Nebraska. Especially right now, with all the heat and drought conditions in the midwest.
Anyway, have a great trip!
Paul, you would be absolutely correct. No parts of NE in this shot. This is from Joshua Tree National Park.
I just used it because it had a road in it. I’ve not gotten to experience the open plains just yet, save for Dallas, and I didn’t like that experience at all!
I’m sure that I’ll bring back some wonderful photos of McCook and surrounding areas!
I’m sure you’ll make the most of it Paul. I was surprised to read the prices on flights. I thought you guys in the USA had airfares that were cheaper than anything else. Your train fares on the other hand are really cheap compared to what we pay here. In fact, Brisbane-Sydney is far cheaper by plane (and takes an hour) than by train (which I think takes 9 hours). Still I do like train travel.
Cedric Canard recently posted..Things are never as they seem
Cedric: I was rather surprised at the cost of the train ticket, but then again, it’s only about 260 miles or so. On other train routes, say from Charlotte, NC to Washington, DC, a one-way ticket will cost $150. That’s an 8 hour train ride, or a 6 hour drive. They seem to have no rhyme nor reason.
Airfares are going up and up; going one way you don’t pay half – you pay about 3/4, or sometimes more, of the round trip cost. I was just fortunate to such a good deal. We see about, too. Amtrak is not known for its on-time arrivals, but then again, it’s not running on dedicated track. They have to share with trains moving goods and those trains always have the right of way.
I had the opportunity to take Amtrak a few years back. I took The City of New Orleans from some random stop in Illinois down to NOLA. First class is the best way to go, and we had a ball. Take your camera, sit back and enjoy the ride. Hopefully you’ll meet some cool people too.
Not going to be much meeting and greeting on this particular train, I don’t think. It departs at 0343 and arrives at 0715. I would imagine that we’ll all be groggy or either asleep. Maybe, if it’s light enough near the end of the journey, I’ll take a few pictures on the way into Denver.