Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Reverb 10

December 22: Travel
How did you travel in 2010?
How and/or where would you like to travel next year?

(Author: Tara Hunt)

*****

This year was a first for me as I traveled by train for the first time ever. As mentioned in previous posts, I went on vacation the first week of November to Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City, and Harrisburg. I haven't done a recap, so this will be a pseudo-recap of sorts.

I can't start without first sharing a hilarious story of the fiasco that was getting picked up to go to the airport. Courtney graciously offered to drive me to the airport, though it was her day off. Doesn't sound too bad - except that my flight was at 7 a.m. and TSA just announced their new changes and suggested an earlier arrival. So on her day off, C-Rat was going to pick me up at around 4:30 a.m. or something crazy like that. I was sitting around my apartment when I got a text that said "no rush, let me know if you're awake." I replied that I was awake and then continued sitting around watching t.v. Minutes go by and no phone call saying she was outside. Tick tock...tick tock...tick tock. I didn't want to bother her since she was kind enough to pick me up, so I kept waiting. I finally decided it might be best to call and see if she was okay - it's not like her to be late. When she answered, she sounded very annoyed. I asked if everything was okay, to which she snapped, "yes, why?" Me: "um, well you aren't here." C-Rat was way confused because apparently she texted me before the text I got that said she was outside waiting for me. I never got that text! So for about an hour, I was sitting inside my apartment waiting for C-Rat, and she was sitting outside my apartment waiting for me. We laughed the entire way to the airport. Only we could screw things up like that!

Okay... now on to a recap. I'm not going to get into a breakdown of each day and activity. I basically did a lot of sightseeing and walking around. So I'm going to focus this on things that I observed and liked/disliked.

Philly: I sometimes forget how historical the city is. I loved the huge, random board game pieces. We didn't go to the Rocky steps; I'll have to do that next time. I have no strong feelings either way on the city.

New Jersey: While driving from Philly to Bino's apartment in NJ, I couldn't help but feel giddy over the fall colors. Princeton is only a few minutes away from Bino's place, so we walked around the campus. It was gorgeous. I love wandering around other universities.

 

NYC: The bulk of my observations come from my time in NYC. I absolutely fell in love with public transportation while in the city. I'm sure city-goers who deal with it all day, everyday probably hate it. But I hate driving; I hate sitting in traffic.When I was in college, I actually enjoyed taking the bus to and from campus everyday. I was able to read a book or catch up on some homework (which was usually reading a book, being an English major and all). I wish the MetroRail in Austin wasn't so stupid. If it actually had stops that made sense, I wouldn't mind taking it to work. But nope - idiots constructed the route. Le sigh. Okay, back to NYC. While partaking in public transportation, NYC showed me that chivalry is not dead. I know it's not dead, but here in Austin there really isn't that much of a chance to see it. Guys on the train/subway were offering me their seat, helping me with my luggage, and holding open doors for me. I didn't encounter any rude locals, but I tried really hard to blend in (you know, once I got rid of the huge, pink suitcase). At one point, two people asked ME for directions! I couldn't help the first person, but I was excited to share my knowledge of how to get to Times Square with the second person.

Speaking of Times Square: it was surreal stepping out of the subway stairwell and into the middle of Times Square. I felt like I was in a movie, standing there staring up in awe. It lasted for a few seconds before I realized I was getting soaked in the rain. I have to admit that while walking around the city, I was a bit naive. I kept thinking to myself, "just keep walking and you'll pass all the buildings and get out into open space." Ha. I kept walking and never reached open space. I was surrounded by buildings.

I could go on and on about my whopping two days in the city, but I won't. Fingers crossed that maybe C-Rat and I will be able to go back in May for the New York chapter's chili cook-off, where crazy times will ensue. And my mom and I just talked about maybe going up right before Christmas in 2011. I would love to see the city during the holidays.

To touch on a few dislikes: First off, there is way too much noise, especially honking. The sound of cars honking drives me crazy. While the buildings were beautiful, I just wanted to see the sky and a feeling of openness. Apartments are teeny tiny and expensive. I don't understand how people can function in them. I need my space! And while I liked walking around the city and public transportation, I'm sure both suck when the weather is miserable (either hot or cold).

I didn't take any pictures. Again, I was trying to blend in with the locals and not piss anyone off by stopping to take pictures. Plus, I was alone so all the pictures would be of buildings, and that's no fun.

Harrisburg: There wasn't much to see in the city. The main reason for my trip was to see my friend Morgan. We were neighbors and best friends in middle school; then she moved to New Jersey followed by Penn State for college. Over the years we stayed in touch but were never able to visit. So we saw each other for the first time in 13 years (actually the second time - we happened to see each other in September when she was in Houston for work).

Penn State game: The second main reason for my trip. Seeing JoePa coach a game was on my sports bucket list. As it happened, the game I was there was the game he got his 400th win! It was a great game. Some observations from the game: PSU fans have a different version of tailgate than us Texans. There's the usual - tent, beer, food. But the food is obviously different and so is the set-up. It was odd not seeing huge trucks and trailers and smokers. There looked to be some fancy schmanzy catering going on at some tents. The student section inside the stadium was interesting. I wish UT had more of a student section. Instead, students are spread throughout the stadium. Which brings me to my next observation - the PSU student section is pretty amazing. They were all cheering along with the band/cheerleaders. Our student section sucks. I think they are just happy showing up for the game (that's when they do...this year, they didn't really come out at all). I feel like our student section needs to get more involved in the game. And our timeouts/between quarters breaks are boring. I have all these ideas for our games - I wonder if Athletics will meet with me...?

*****

I just received news at work yesterday that early in 2011, I will have another first in the travel world. For the first time, I will attempt to ski. The Young Alumni group of the Austin chapter is going on a ski trip to Heavenly, and I will be going for work. I'm excited about attempting to ski (yet very scared that I'm going to break a bone) and even more excited about getting to prove myself as a host. February 8-13...should be fun times.