The Cellar - View Single Post - Sycamore's "Shit, that was alive, wasn't it?" Roadtrip/Tour 2003

elSicomoro · 04-07-2003, 10:28 PM

Since I will be bringing a car home with me after all, I had to make some adjustments to the road trip.

I looked into renting a car one-way from Philadelphia to St. Louis...too much at $440 for 3 days.

Then I looked at Amtrak...30 hours, including a 6-hour layover in Chicago. And no smoking on the train (though that may not apply to Superliner trips). The cost was reasonable--$180, but had I added a bed for the night, the cost would have went up to $300.

So, I *gulp* decided to try my luck with a one-way flight. After checking out various sites, flying out of Philadelphia was out of the question--the best I could get was $250, on two different airlines, with a stopover on each flight, 10 total hours in the air. No thanks.

Then I looked at JFK and LaGuardia in New York. Not bad...$170 for a nonstop flight to St. Louis, add $50 for a train from Trenton, NJ to Penn Station, and a shuttle from there to JFK.

But Southwest came through like a trooper. Refundable anytime flight, nonstop from Baltimore to St. Louis, $169 including tax. Add $45 for the train trip from Philadelphia to Baltimore, and it's still a good deal. It makes the flight a half-hour shorter, and I know BWI well...plus my father-in-law is picking me up from the train station, letting me stay overnight at the in-laws' house, and taking me to the airport Saturday morning. A good deal all around. Don't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday to go to NYC, and I can handle a 90 minute train ride to Baltimore...and I should be able to handle my mother-in-law for 12 hours.

This pushes the road trip to the back end of the trip. Which is cool b/c I get more time on the home end of the trip by flying to St. Louis.

Now, I just need a name for my car.

04-07-2003, 10:28 PM	#4
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Since I will be bringing a car home with me after all, I had to make some adjustments to the road trip. I looked into renting a car one-way from Philadelphia to St. Louis...too much at $440 for 3 days. Then I looked at Amtrak...30 hours, including a 6-hour layover in Chicago. And no smoking on the train (though that may not apply to Superliner trips). The cost was reasonable--$180, but had I added a bed for the night, the cost would have went up to $300. So, I gulp decided to try my luck with a one-way flight. After checking out various sites, flying out of Philadelphia was out of the question--the best I could get was $250, on two different airlines, with a stopover on each flight, 10 total hours in the air. No thanks. Then I looked at JFK and LaGuardia in New York. Not bad...$170 for a nonstop flight to St. Louis, add $50 for a train from Trenton, NJ to Penn Station, and a shuttle from there to JFK. But Southwest came through like a trooper. Refundable anytime flight, nonstop from Baltimore to St. Louis, $169 including tax. Add $45 for the train trip from Philadelphia to Baltimore, and it's still a good deal. It makes the flight a half-hour shorter, and I know BWI well...plus my father-in-law is picking me up from the train station, letting me stay overnight at the in-laws' house, and taking me to the airport Saturday morning. A good deal all around. Don't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday to go to NYC, and I can handle a 90 minute train ride to Baltimore...and I should be able to handle my mother-in-law for 12 hours. This pushes the road trip to the back end of the trip. Which is cool b/c I get more time on the home end of the trip by flying to St. Louis. Now, I just need a name for my car.