Gulp!

[stonebender]

I have just booked round-trip passage on Amtrak from Oakland CA to San Diego CA. It will be a 15 hour ride! That starts at 8 o'clock in the morning on the way out and six o'clock in the morning on the way back (although the ticket agent suggested I get there an hour earlier to deal with baggage)! I am not, to put it mildly, a morning person. I'm a bit frustrated that when I went to the Amtrak web site. There seemed to be so many options, but in reality because of where I need to sit on the train (since I will be riding in my wheelchair), the baggage I need to take (transfer lift, bi-pap and an overnight bag) and my unwillingness to ride the bus for part of the trip, I'm pretty much stuck with the schedule I got.

I'm a bit nervous going 15 hours without any help. I'll use my condom catheter, so the bathroom won't be an issue. I won't be able to eat or drink for that time. I may be able to read because someotherguy is lending me his ebook. I hope I will be able to work it by myself. I am a little self-conscious about complaining here since serenejournal will be able to read this and I don't want to worry her. However I am feeling a little nervous about the whole thing.

I don't suppose anyone here is heading towards Southern California on the train Labor Day weekend? It would be good to have company for some of the trip. Especially, if they wouldn't mind helping me get a drink or a bite to eat. I'm sure I will be fine. I actually like doing things like this on my own, but I do have to worry ahead of time. I think it's what's left over from my Catholic upbringing. :-)

Comments

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Yay! It should be a fun adventure. I took the train this past spring up to Seattle. (It would have been much more fun if I hadn't started out with my neck out of alignment...). You are wise to avoid the bus (I hate it, and there aren't even the accessibility issues for me). Be sure to check the website for any updates on train delays. On the way up, the train was delayed by over 2 hours, for instance. Unfortunately, they don't always update that info, so even checking won't necessarily guarantee that you won't have to wait at the station.

Can you do books on tape/CD, that sort of thing? I've gotten some good stuff out of the library recently. That might work for you if you can get an appropriate setup for you to play it.

They do play movies in the evening in the observation car, but you'd have to be able to get there, and I don't know if you can (they were often many cars forward on the train from where I was sitting).

Hope you have fun!

[stonebender.livejournal.com]

The difficulty with books on tape/CD is that on a 15 hour trip I'm sure I will need to swap disks. I suppose someone would be willing to help me with that. I'll look in to the movies, thanks.