a train adventure!

I've been playing Ticket To Ride with some friends lately. It's super-fun. It doesn't quite indulge my travel bug, but it does indulge my board game bug. :)

This weekend I'm taking a real-live Ticket to Ride adventure, hopping on an Amtrak train to St. Louis for the wedding of a dear friend. I'm excited about the opportunity to spend that 6 hours reading or napping rather than driving and desperately trying to stay awake. I'm also excited that the cost of a round trip train ticket is awfully close to the cost of one tank of gas (and I'd surely need a few to get there and back, even in my awesomely fuel-efficient car).

I haven't taken Amtrak before. I've had a couple of Greyhound Adventures in my life. I've had ScotRail adventures and EurRail adventures and more than enough EgyptRail adventures to last me a good long while. I'm still waiting for the day we wise up to the wonders of high speed rail in this country--I should be able to train to St. Louis faster than I could drive...but I'll take the same length of time in this case. For longer distances though...seriously? It should not take 3 days to go up the coast. It just shouldn't.

So, anyway, I'm away on a train adventure. I hope it's as exciting as the game! Though I also hope I win (aka get there safely and in a timely manner) more often than I win at Ticket To Ride. So far I'm 0-5 on TTR, while my lovely friend Laura complains through the whole game about how terrible her hand is but she wins basically every time, by double digits. I'm hoping that this particular train adventure will not be the cause of any whining, by me or by others. :-)