500th entry, train trip
Feb. 22nd, 2004 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
algehThis is my 500th entry. I will use it to talk about the train trip I want to take.
First I need to pay off my student loans, but I looked at my finances today, and I realized that I can do that right now. I have one loan with roughly $2,500 to go, and another with $1,566. That's $4,066. I have $3,270 sitting in my savings account, and about $1,100-$1,200 in paychecks that I need to deposit sitting in my living room (I'm terrible about this kind of stuff). That's at least $4,370 that I could use to pay them off with. I'm going to do this this week. I'll call and ask for current payoff figures during lunch, then stop by the credit union after work and either transfer/deposit the money to checking or get cashier's checks, depending on what the loan company wants.
Then, I need to figure out how much money I need for my trip, and how long it will take me to get it. I kind of want to go for 2 months, and the rail pass I want is $699/month peak, or $495 if I travel before the end of May or after halfway through October. I'll probably end up going at least one of the months during peak times, though, and I'm going to calculate it with both of them being during such times, just to be on the safe side. That's $1,398 I need for just the train tickets.
The plan for the trip is basically to leave Portland on the train, head north, get to Canada, and then east to Toronto for the first 30 days, with as many stops as I can manage. Then, somehow get to Orillia, which will probably involve a car rental (it's about 80 miles away), and spend at least a day being a stupid Gordon Lightfoot fangirl and seeing the town he's from, as well as seeing some of the things that he's sung about that are in that general area (such as Georgian Bay). I will probably also spend some time playing tourist in Toronto. I think that's where Younge street is, and Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about that, too. I am sure that there are many non-Gordon-Lightfoot-related things to do there as well. Then I'll start the 2nd 30-day rail pass, finish going as far across Canada as I can, then head south and start seeing the east coast of the USA. I know I want to spend some time in Washington D.C and New York City, but other than that am pretty open to suggestion. Then I will somehow train back across the country to Portland again. The second half of the trip is pretty flexible, since I think there are several east-west Amtrak lines at different north-south points, and I haven't really decided which to go for yet. This will probably be dictated by a combination of people I want to see along the way, how often they run, and whether there are any cool landmarks or such that I could see along the way. Any suggestions on this point (or offers of meeting for coffee or crash space) are welcome. I'm not sure how many stops I'm really going to be making on the way back, though, since I do want to spend some of the 30 days seeing the east coast.
Calling one car rental place (Budget 800/268-8900), they won't rent me a car in Toronto because I'll only be 23 (bastards!), but they will in London, which is still close enough to drive from Orillia from, and it would come out to about $300 Canadian for a week, and that includes enough mileage to get to Orillia and back. That seems pretty promising. I'll call around to other companies and try to get the best deal (and try to find one actually in Toronto) when I get a firmer idea when I'm going (I just told them the first week in August, on the theory that that's when the highest prices of any time I might travel would be). The guy on the phone had actually been to Orillia many times and said it's really beautiful there, which is a good sign. Looks like I can get a a decent hotel room for less than $100 Canadian a night in Orillia (even in August) with my AAA card, too. Thus, it looks like transportation and lodging for that little jaunt will be about $1000 Canadian. Yahoo's telling me that's about $750 US right now, but I'll play it safe and assume $800.
So far, that's up to $1400 + $800 = $2200 for the basic transportation costs and staying in a decent hotel in Orillia for a week. I still need to figure out how many other stops I can make and figure out hotel or hostel costs for those parts, and then figure out a food budget, a souvenir budget, and an admission-to-attractions budget. However, I'm guessing I can do this whole trip for around $5,000 - $6,000 if I'm careful and don't splurge too much on staying in nice hotels the rest of the time. I also don't really plan on renting cars any place else, it's just that the train doesn't seem to go to Orillia.
Now, to figure out how long it'll take me to save up that kind of money, so I get an idea when I could go. In a week where I work the 25 hours I'm supposed to, I make about $200 take-home pay (stop laughing). 6,000/200 = 30, so it would take me 30 weeks to make $6,000 for my trip. Assuming 4 week months, that's 7 or 8 months from now, meaning fuck all, this would be next winter. In recent times, however, I've been working around 40 hours a week, and my take-home's been like $300. 6,000/300 = 20, so assuming 4 week months it'll only take me 5 months, which puts this in roughly the fall or very late summer. (I don't use the money from my job for daily expenses, since I still get an allowance from my mom. There's a whole 'nother post in that.) So, with luck, I can do this trip in September and October, which seems pretty nice. I need to be sure to be able to somehow vote in the November election, so I guess I need to be home or at someplace I can predictably receive mail before then. I have no idea if it would be possible for me to vote before I go, but I'm guessing it would be too early. I already know who I'm voting for (not Bush, whoever that may be), so I'm not concerned about last-minute things changing my mind.
Anyway, this is seeming more and more do-able. I'm very pleased. I just need to get as many hours at work as I can, which hasn't been a problem lately. I already have a stack waiting for me that will probably take me until at least Wednesday even if I stay all day, and I know it'll get interrupted by at least a few priority things during that time, so I'm guessing I can work overtime this coming week without much trouble. I think I'll try to squeeze in 9 hours or so each day but Monday, when I have choir and really should leave by 1700 or so. They don't seem to have a problem with giving me more than 40 hours in a week, and I make $15 a hour for my overtime hours, so I can make a fair amount of extra that way. The real question is if my job will last that long since it's temp work, but several of the other temps have been there more than 9 months, and that'd be around when I'm planning to quit to go on this train trip, so it seems likely. The idea of taking this trip in November and December also seems appealing, since then I'd get to duck out on the election coverage zoo and on Christmas (I can vote absentee before I leave if it's late October), but I bet it'd be damn cold to be sightseeing in Canada and on the US east coast then.
Any suggestions or comments are quite welcome. I've never planned a trip of this magnitude before, so I'd like all the help I can get.
First I need to pay off my student loans, but I looked at my finances today, and I realized that I can do that right now. I have one loan with roughly $2,500 to go, and another with $1,566. That's $4,066. I have $3,270 sitting in my savings account, and about $1,100-$1,200 in paychecks that I need to deposit sitting in my living room (I'm terrible about this kind of stuff). That's at least $4,370 that I could use to pay them off with. I'm going to do this this week. I'll call and ask for current payoff figures during lunch, then stop by the credit union after work and either transfer/deposit the money to checking or get cashier's checks, depending on what the loan company wants.
Then, I need to figure out how much money I need for my trip, and how long it will take me to get it. I kind of want to go for 2 months, and the rail pass I want is $699/month peak, or $495 if I travel before the end of May or after halfway through October. I'll probably end up going at least one of the months during peak times, though, and I'm going to calculate it with both of them being during such times, just to be on the safe side. That's $1,398 I need for just the train tickets.
The plan for the trip is basically to leave Portland on the train, head north, get to Canada, and then east to Toronto for the first 30 days, with as many stops as I can manage. Then, somehow get to Orillia, which will probably involve a car rental (it's about 80 miles away), and spend at least a day being a stupid Gordon Lightfoot fangirl and seeing the town he's from, as well as seeing some of the things that he's sung about that are in that general area (such as Georgian Bay). I will probably also spend some time playing tourist in Toronto. I think that's where Younge street is, and Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about that, too. I am sure that there are many non-Gordon-Lightfoot-related things to do there as well. Then I'll start the 2nd 30-day rail pass, finish going as far across Canada as I can, then head south and start seeing the east coast of the USA. I know I want to spend some time in Washington D.C and New York City, but other than that am pretty open to suggestion. Then I will somehow train back across the country to Portland again. The second half of the trip is pretty flexible, since I think there are several east-west Amtrak lines at different north-south points, and I haven't really decided which to go for yet. This will probably be dictated by a combination of people I want to see along the way, how often they run, and whether there are any cool landmarks or such that I could see along the way. Any suggestions on this point (or offers of meeting for coffee or crash space) are welcome. I'm not sure how many stops I'm really going to be making on the way back, though, since I do want to spend some of the 30 days seeing the east coast.
Calling one car rental place (Budget 800/268-8900), they won't rent me a car in Toronto because I'll only be 23 (bastards!), but they will in London, which is still close enough to drive from Orillia from, and it would come out to about $300 Canadian for a week, and that includes enough mileage to get to Orillia and back. That seems pretty promising. I'll call around to other companies and try to get the best deal (and try to find one actually in Toronto) when I get a firmer idea when I'm going (I just told them the first week in August, on the theory that that's when the highest prices of any time I might travel would be). The guy on the phone had actually been to Orillia many times and said it's really beautiful there, which is a good sign. Looks like I can get a a decent hotel room for less than $100 Canadian a night in Orillia (even in August) with my AAA card, too. Thus, it looks like transportation and lodging for that little jaunt will be about $1000 Canadian. Yahoo's telling me that's about $750 US right now, but I'll play it safe and assume $800.
So far, that's up to $1400 + $800 = $2200 for the basic transportation costs and staying in a decent hotel in Orillia for a week. I still need to figure out how many other stops I can make and figure out hotel or hostel costs for those parts, and then figure out a food budget, a souvenir budget, and an admission-to-attractions budget. However, I'm guessing I can do this whole trip for around $5,000 - $6,000 if I'm careful and don't splurge too much on staying in nice hotels the rest of the time. I also don't really plan on renting cars any place else, it's just that the train doesn't seem to go to Orillia.
Now, to figure out how long it'll take me to save up that kind of money, so I get an idea when I could go. In a week where I work the 25 hours I'm supposed to, I make about $200 take-home pay (stop laughing). 6,000/200 = 30, so it would take me 30 weeks to make $6,000 for my trip. Assuming 4 week months, that's 7 or 8 months from now, meaning fuck all, this would be next winter. In recent times, however, I've been working around 40 hours a week, and my take-home's been like $300. 6,000/300 = 20, so assuming 4 week months it'll only take me 5 months, which puts this in roughly the fall or very late summer. (I don't use the money from my job for daily expenses, since I still get an allowance from my mom. There's a whole 'nother post in that.) So, with luck, I can do this trip in September and October, which seems pretty nice. I need to be sure to be able to somehow vote in the November election, so I guess I need to be home or at someplace I can predictably receive mail before then. I have no idea if it would be possible for me to vote before I go, but I'm guessing it would be too early. I already know who I'm voting for (not Bush, whoever that may be), so I'm not concerned about last-minute things changing my mind.
Anyway, this is seeming more and more do-able. I'm very pleased. I just need to get as many hours at work as I can, which hasn't been a problem lately. I already have a stack waiting for me that will probably take me until at least Wednesday even if I stay all day, and I know it'll get interrupted by at least a few priority things during that time, so I'm guessing I can work overtime this coming week without much trouble. I think I'll try to squeeze in 9 hours or so each day but Monday, when I have choir and really should leave by 1700 or so. They don't seem to have a problem with giving me more than 40 hours in a week, and I make $15 a hour for my overtime hours, so I can make a fair amount of extra that way. The real question is if my job will last that long since it's temp work, but several of the other temps have been there more than 9 months, and that'd be around when I'm planning to quit to go on this train trip, so it seems likely. The idea of taking this trip in November and December also seems appealing, since then I'd get to duck out on the election coverage zoo and on Christmas (I can vote absentee before I leave if it's late October), but I bet it'd be damn cold to be sightseeing in Canada and on the US east coast then.
Any suggestions or comments are quite welcome. I've never planned a trip of this magnitude before, so I'd like all the help I can get.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 12:38 pm (UTC)Part 2: Map out your possible itinerary for the trip. Figure out how much it would cost to buy the tickets individually. Probably the rail pass will be worth it, but you never no. Also, you're gonna hafta pay to get up to Vancouver, of course, but you know that.
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Date: 2004-02-22 12:39 pm (UTC)i thought you were doing canrail pass, not north american
i should finish reading this entry before i say anything else!
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Date: 2004-02-22 12:46 pm (UTC)new york city and washington DC are both awesome. boston, however, is ALSO awesome, and should be seen.
most east-west routes would bring you through Chicago, except for the one that goes by way of New Orleans, I think. Chicago is an awesome city, with dangerous sections. We can get my Chicago native friend to draw you a map of dangerous sections, and you can stay in the nice parts (of which there are many, and many of which are very nice), and see the sights (of which again there indeed are many). from Chicago, you can take the train to SF, but you hate the Bay Area, and you can also take the train direct to Portland or Seattle, and that route takes you through the Twin Cities, for which I can recommend sights and even write you a brief walking tour of the Macalester neighborhood.
$5k-6k sounds relatively reasonable, given that i'd figure about $2k/mo in Europe, and transportation and lodging tend to be somewhat cheaper there given the shorter distances and higher preponderance of hostels.
september and october can be a very nice time to travel... shoulder season means lower prices and less crowds.
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Date: 2004-02-22 12:49 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 12:51 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 12:55 pm (UTC)I think I need to go through Iowa and see relatives, but I am not sure on this point. I am also not sure exactly where Iowa is. I suck. I know Canadian geography well enough to picture that part of the trip pretty well, but then I just handwave the "and through the USA and stuff" part.
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Date: 2004-02-22 12:58 pm (UTC)Re:
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Date: 2004-02-22 01:07 pm (UTC)Where in Iowa do your relatives live?
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Date: 2004-02-22 01:13 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 01:17 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 01:11 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 01:17 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 12:50 pm (UTC)I'm more worried that they won't let me do two North American's in a row, since it doesn't say anything about it either way. In that case, I may have to look into an alternate rail pass for one half of the trip. I assume it does't require you to get there and back on one pass, since it doesn't say a single thing about that anywhere on the site, but I could be wrong on that bit too. That would really suck.
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Date: 2004-02-22 12:56 pm (UTC)North American may still be your best bet, of course.
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Date: 2004-02-22 01:06 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 01:07 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 12:57 pm (UTC)Also, Greyhound can fill in gaps in places. I don't know their number, but 1-800-555-1212 will get you the number super fast. Ask for Greyhound, and then call back and ask for Greyhound Canada, because they're different. Greyhound Canada people are nice and speak funny. I haven't taken the Greyhound in Canada, but I have tentatively planned trips that didn't work out and they were super-helpful.
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Date: 2004-02-22 01:23 pm (UTC)Ona more relavant note. the reps who deal with the North American passes aren't in on weekends, so I'll have to call back tomorrow, but the guy I talked to seemed to think it would work.
Arrgh! I'm late for anime club.
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Date: 2004-02-22 02:41 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 01:43 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 02:42 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 10:07 pm (UTC)Oooh, or I could take the train all the way down the east coast, loop around back up in New Orleans on a route that takes me through Chambana, and then go out west on the route through Iowa and see my relatives. I'd miss the Grand Canyon then, though. I could do that on a different trip, I suppose. I've been vaguely meaning to do an Arizona trip some winter to see my relatives, and I could do an Idaho/Nevada/Arizona roadtrip and see the Grand Canyon some other time.
I will have to see how often all of these trains run, and if they intersect in the way I want them to.
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Date: 2004-02-23 10:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 02:07 pm (UTC)On the other hand, if you're going to canada on the train, you're probably not going to stop here.. =(
On that note, are you going to SakuraCon?
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Date: 2004-02-22 02:42 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 09:53 pm (UTC)Hmm....I hadn't really thought about SakuraCon. On one hand, I hate people. On the other hand, I like anime. I suppose if I could crash with y'all it wouldn't be that expensive, and therefore somewhat do-able. Which weekend is it, again?
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Date: 2004-02-23 01:33 pm (UTC)Yeah, I hope to stay in seattle. I guess I'll see how it goes...
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Date: 2004-02-23 10:54 pm (UTC)I wonder if I'd be in good enough shape to look good in my Legend of Mana costume yet...I doubt it...I also need to un-ghetto the skirt part, but that wouldn't take more than a day or two. I have the top pretty much down, but the skirt needs a complete re-do with new, nicer fabric, and I either need to lose a bunch of weight or find a plus-size substitute for skating/dancing tights.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 03:46 pm (UTC)For the US: http://www.hiayh.org
For Canada: http://www.hihostels.ca
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Date: 2004-02-22 09:57 pm (UTC)Hey, you've been further east than I have. I've never been further east than Boise, Idaho.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 05:08 pm (UTC)Re:
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Date: 2004-02-22 10:12 pm (UTC)Re:
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Date: 2004-02-23 06:32 am (UTC)It'd be cool if that happened, but it looks like it'd be really late September or sometime in October, so it'd be after summer break. Assuming I decide to bring a camera of some kind, I will take pictures, however. (I always feel totally torn between taking my really cheap camera so I don't have to worry about losing it or breaking it, and taking my nice camera so I get good pictures.)
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Date: 2004-02-23 06:52 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 09:54 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-22 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-23 09:36 pm (UTC)New York - It's best to decide specifically what you want to do there before going in. It's a big place and not very tourist friendly. Be very careful about safety. Do not talk to people unnessarily and no not make eye contact with people on the street. Do not wear jewelry and keep your money and ID on you, preferably in a front jeans pocket. NY is not nearly as dangerous as it used to be, but still be carefull. If you want to get a good overview of neat stuff in the city, without dealing with crowds and stuff, there are tours by ferry around the island of Manhattan. I can get you more specific info on where to go to do this from my Dad if you want.
Umm... You go to Times Square and / or Rockafeller Center. They is on TV and in movies alot. Not really alot to do. CBS has a 'CBS Experiance' near Rockafeller Center. You can see a broadway show if you want. Maybe because it is from living so close, but to me NY has always been a place only to go to for a specific purpose and then get out. Ellis Island is kind of itneresting. I do not know how accessable Ground Zero is currently, but again, I can find out.
I have not been to the Metropolitan Museaum or to ... The Cloisters, which is ... http://www.fieldtrip.com/ny/29233700.htm. Both are really good from what I hear and I really should have gone before I moved.
DC - Smithsonian Air and Space Museaum. There are other museaums, but that is the unique, must see one even if you aren't interested in science. There are other museaums and famous monuments, mostly gathered in one large area, Washinington Mall. Check before you go to make sure you aren't there the same weekend as a major protest. My family and I took relatives visitng from CA to DC once and the city was mobbed and there was no way to even get to the museaums. We stayed in our hotel all weekend. Also be very careful about wrong turns. DC turns very dangerous just a few feet off the beaten path. Do not wear anything that marks you as an obvious tourist, like buttons or badges from tours or museaums. There is a high speed train from NY Penn Station to DC. DC has one of the nicest train stations I have seen.
Boston - Betsy Ross House, Ben Franklin House, many other preserved houses and governmental buildings. Great shopping for used books. Picturesque. Easily navigable by public transportation. Historical walking tours. I have a map and two guide books to this city, one is for a self guided walking tour of major historical sites. Old churches. Historical seaport where you can go on old tall sail ships. Boston is a great city to visit. Most of my best, most laid back, travel experiances in New England have been in Boston. This is the *only* NE city where I would feel safe to wander and explore. Cambridge is technically a separate city that Boston has swallowed whole. That is where Harvard is, IIRC, and has lots of nice places to explore around there. Nice architecture. Comic book and anime shops.
Philadelphia - Good Food. Lots of restaurants serving the same quality of food as top NY restaurants at half the price. Some nice historical stuff. Liberty Bell was being prepped for a move to a new home last I heard, do not know if it is currently viewable. Iron Chef Japanese has his own restaurant there called Morimoto's, and he has a partially open kitchen area so fans can talk to him and watch him prepare food. Not sure if you care, but I thought I'd mention.
Non-city stuff would be hard to get to via train. I do not think you can rent a car in the US if you under 25 years old.
Oh, and Toronto rocks. I have little specific info on Toronto as I was there with my parents and don't really know what parts of the city I was in. We went on a trip there speicifcally to eat at a really good Austrian restaurant. Shopping in Canada rocks. It's like there is a sale on money.
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Date: 2004-02-23 11:20 pm (UTC)My goal for New York City is simply to go to any damn part of it, as I want to go as part of my goal to go every place mentioned in a Gordon Lightfoot song eventually (hey, there are worse themes to base vacations around). I may have to do more research to see if he mentioned anyplace terribly specific in the city, but I think it was just New York in general. Assuming that they have at least one good choir performing while I'm there, I might make some attempt at getting tickets to a concert, but odds are anything I'd want to go to would be out of my price range. I hate people, so I doubt I'll really want to spend much time there. It's more that I'd feel dumb going near there and not seeing it. I am kind of thinking it would be a day trip from somewhere else, as I hate elevators (see: "hating people" and "control freak" for more information) and would prefer to stay in a reasonably flat hotel.
Oooh...I think I will be all about the Air and Space museum. That sounds like a Nea thing. I will probably try to go on a weekday to avoid at least a small portion of the teeming masses of humanity I'll have to deal with to see it. I don't really have any goals at all for DC, it just seems dumb to go near it and not see it.
I am very much in favor of used book stores. When I was younger, the first thing I'd do when we got to a hotel room on vacation would be to get out the phone book and investigate used book stores in whatever town we were in. I think Boston therefore has to go on the list of places I'm going.
Oddly enough, it appears that New York, which is about the last damn place I'd want to rent a car, has a law or regulation of some kind saying that 18-24 year olds have to be allowed to rent cars for an additional fee. I can't imagine wanting to do any such thing since I get hopelessly lost driving *here* if I don't already know where I'm going, but I suppose it's good for those who are more into the navigating thing than I am. In general, if you're willing to go out of your way and pay an extra fee, you can usually find *somebody* who will rent to you. (For example, Budget will rent to me out of London, ON but not Toronto, ON, and for an extra $3 a day) Honestly, on the east coast I think I'll be happy just hitting a few big spots as I pass through, since I'll only have 30 days to get home from Toronto and there's some Illinois-puttering being planned as well. I really need to look at train schedules.
Thanks for all the info.
And Canada is very much like they are having a sale on money. Plus, they have Kinder Eggs.
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Date: 2004-02-24 03:22 pm (UTC)In Times Square there is a ticket office open for about 2 hours everyday that sells 'day of' tickets for 1/2 or less of going price for Broadway and other shows. Every running show in NY likes to be able to say that every performance is sold out, if they don't sell out by the day of, they go to this place to be clearanced. Especially if you are alone and can take that one empty seat in a row, you can get deals on even top shows, especially mid-week. If you want to see a specific show and book ahead of time, top shows run 60-85 a pop. If you don't care whether you see Chicago or Rent, much less a good choir, with luck you'll pay 30 bucks. I can get more specific info on times and location.
Re: Used Bookstores.
I used to do the same thing when traveling, which is why I have such complete collections of various authors.