And Hello to you Undergroundfortea, I have to agree traveling by train is the only way to see the country comfortably and in style, and I always prefer having at least a roomette, you can have your privacy, sleep in comfort without having to deal with a snooring neighbor or rude seat mates. And you see sooo much of the country side, it gives you a better panorama of what our country looks like.....and all in comfort, no weight baggage issues, no long lines, hardly any delays, good food and to be able to stretch out and walk around.
There have been times when I've had to go to L.A. or back East to visit family or relations but I've always taken the train and train travel has improved. Many years ago I went back east by Coach----Never again, although service was very good, but having a roomette (at least) made it so much more Luxurious.
I have taken commuter trains when needed and that is not bad and its relaxing. But flying, unless it was something of great urgency, I never fly.
And when you compare the cost of traveling by train, taking a plane or Greyhound Bus, the train wins everytime. Unless you're going to a place where there is no train connections so its Greyhound.
Why one of the things Doyle and I plan on doing is taking the train to Yosemite, now the train doesn't go into Yosemite but there is a jumping off point where you catch the Yosemite shuttle into the Valley, then in touring the Valley and other areas you take the Valley tram, one does not need a car. All one has to do is plan things carefully.
About the Spirit Stores, well with Blockbuster closing so many of them it does leave an opportunity for Spirit to make use of those locations, they are usually easy to get to, have parking and easily spotted for the general public, it makes perfectly good sense. I like them because if I see something in the Store and then when Halloween is over I can order it from the web site already knowing the quality of the product. It can be very helpful. And I am a tactile person, I like to touch or see the actual object before I commit myself to purchasing it.
I told Coralline on the phone last night and she is soooo looking forward to going, and we are planning another shopping spree this coming weekend. Well its just as much for me as it is for her.
About AC Transit.....it seems that Union and that particular Board was on the ball working out their negotiations, they saw the problems BART was having and they were not that far apart on issues and both were in agreement on many things. At least common sense was working with them. They were not going to the media but staying at the negotiation table until a final agreement was made. So the Buses are running----Yeaaaa!!! says a lot of my co-workers. It will help with some of their commuting. But we may have to fall back onto carpooling on Monday if no 60 day cooling off period is declared.
Yesterday the Director said to us that with the planning that we've made for such a problem, that it will be kept in place (that is on file) to have on hand for the possiblity of any other future transit strikes, that way the "wheel won't have to be re-invented" we'll have a plan on hand and just do a little tweeking as needed.
And about that truck that caught on fire, it was an unusual situation, it does happen from time to time, its rare but not unusual. It's just that it happened right at commute time and with a bridge they have to careful of the stablity of the pavement surface and it was also a sort of accident scene so all those things had to be looked into which caused further delays.
But I have to say I have never seen such tempers fly like what was reported, it was pretty scary.
That is why I and many of my co-workers always have Plan B and Plan C in place, and thank goodness for basic cell phone service to give family members the "heads-up".
But now I'll be getting my things together and hi-ho its off to work I go, Sis is home today doing reports, but I'll be taking Belladonna to my elderly neighbor, the dear lady loves to fuss over the little darling.
Later Darklings
