A couple of months ago I read a book by Tim Parks called "Italian Ways" about the train system in Italy, some history, a lot of his experiences on the trains, the idiosyncratic nature of the Italian rail system and yet how efficient it is. Having taken many trains in Italy, the book reinforced, in my mind, the enjoyment of train travel. You pay some money, sit back and watch the world go by. You can read, talk, daydream, nap, eat, anything you want. At the end of the journey, you are in a new town and more adventure awaits.
We don't have a real train system in the US, just Amtrak. If you have ever ridden Amtrak you are familiar with two facts: sometime it's fun and often it's not. The trains do not necessarily run on time (often 20 + hours late) and that alone is reason to question one's sanity when embarking on a long trip. But still, it's such a different way to travel than driving or flying.
In my restless quest for the next phase of my life, I sort of want to take a long train trip, from SF to maybe Chicago. Or maybe even farther, like to New York, Penn Station. If the trains ran on time it would take about three days, close to 75 hours. It would cost anywhere from about $300 to $900, depending on what class of seat I chose. It is expensive (I could fly to NYC for a lot less) but cheaper than driving and staying in hotels. It's a bit faster than driving as well, and less tiring.
And yes, it's just a pipe-dream right now. Or a rail dream, I suppose, since no pipes are actually involved. But one must have something to dream about other than winning the damn lottery, so the rail dream is it for this week.
All this is just idle chatter but somewhere out there is the small seed of what I am to do next. I swear, if I am still doing this job in a year and a half, it will be time to sign up for that DIY lobotomy class offered here at the local junior college, continuing education program.
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