Creative transportation ideas....

[s/v Faith]

I have an opportunity to help with a delivery (helping a friend, not a paying job).

  I am in Pensacola, the boat (a Southern Cross 31) is in St. Petersburg (about 400 miles away).

  My wife can drive me down, drop me off, and then drive to NC (Oriental) to come get me... but that would be 800 miles, to drop me off, and them maybe 1500 miles to get me.

  I have thought about greyhound, but it has been since 1987 since I rode a bus and the 15 hour journey may not work out for me.

  I would LOVE to take a train... but it does not run from the Panhandle down to St. Pete.



Anyone have some creative ideas?

[Captain Smollett]

Anyone have some creative ideas?

Dunno how "creative" this is, but my wife priced one-way air fare from New Bern to Gulfport this morning and it was only $139.  That's not TOO bad, really. ( ** )

More creative:   ;D  Only bring the boat up partway, have Rose pick you up closer and let ME bring it the rest of the way to Oriental.   ;D ;D

(Okay, more self-serving than creative...)

That said, Sailfarers could daisy-chain deliveries so no one person has to go too far from home.

Got a friend with a General Aviation license that would like a trip to NC?  

Hitchhike?   ;D


( ** ) I could give you a lift from Oriental to NB no problem, mon.

[marujo_sortudo]

The train actually will take you to St. Pete (with the last leg out of Tampa by bus) IF you change in Jacksonville.  Not exactly "on the way", but it would get you there, and in more comfort than the bus, if you're not in a hurry....

Likewise, if you can get inland in NC via bus, car, or whatever you can catch trains to either New Orleans or Jacksonville and transfer to a Pensacola train from there...

Or at least, that's what it looks like by glancing at Amtrak's Interactive Route Atlas.  15 hours is a long time on a bus.  Not so bad on a train, IMO.

[Captain Smollett]

Likewise, if you can get inland in NC via bus, car,

It's about 3 hour car ride from Oriental to where he could get on Amtrak.  We could solve that problem, but it may be that all the bits add up to too much.  3 hour car ride here, wait for train in Raleigh, ride train x hours (with stops and changing trains), then a car ride on the Panhandle end.

We looked into Amtrak a few years ago for a "fun" trip, and in the end, had to abandon it as just not practical or worth the money.  This is a personal decision, though.  Riding the train sounds romantic; I rode trains all over Europe so I know it can be a great way to travel.  But the American system is NO WHERE NEAR as useful as the European one.  Stations are too spread out, schedules are too iffy and oh my the COST.  YMMV.

I would view buses out of the question.  They don't hit many small towns, are very expensive and take a LONG time.  Again, personal decision, but we looked into it for how to get more "days" out of time off work for boating trips.  At least here, it just is not practical.

Unless there is some compelling reason (and they do exist, of course), it is really hard beat air fare and the general convenience of flying.  Raleigh is one of the cheapest air ports in the country.

Craig, I could drive you to, I don't know, the GT area or some such, get SOMEONE there (  ;) ) to hop you down a bit further, maybe another to do a leg somewhere, and we could get you back within a comfortable driving distance for Rose and without all the $$ for those pesky tickets.

We could even take the scenic route and let you see the sights.   ;D

[tomwatt]

When my daughter was transferring duty stations in the Army a few years ago, she elected to go cheap and ride Greyhound. She later described it as a "learning experience"... apparently the bus was mostly inhabited by illegal aliens and convicted felons.
I don't think I'd recommend that route.
I took the train (Amtrak) about a decade ago, and it wasn't nearly as romantic a ride as I'd hoped, although it was decent for sightseeing.

[marujo_sortudo]

Incidentally, I use trains and buses all the time in this country, but it really depends on where you are going to and from.  Transit on the West Coast and in the Northeast corridor of the US is excellent and there are many options for bus and excellent train schedules.  Other parts of the country tend to have poorer service and fewer schedules.  That said, in recent years, train on-time performance has improved substantially and they've started to add routes again.  (Trains are subject to fewer major service disruptions than airports, too.  Snow?  So what?)  With the recession, many new bus companies have sprung up and are way better than Greyhound, and even Greyhound has caught the bug and added nicer buses on select routes.  Many buses now feature outlets, Wi-Fi, on board movies, free water/snacks, or other amenities.

The Southeast has passable bus & train service, but nothing particularly good to my knowledge.  This is mainly a result of supply & demand.  It is interesting to note that trains, buses, and planes are largely used by different segments of our society.  It can be interesting and eye-opening in that way.  Also, much like with the sailfar philosophy, I believe some of the most interesting people can be encountered on less conventional forms of transit.  If you like starting conversations with strangers, trains are the best form of transit by a long shot.  If you're motivated by environmental concerns, trains/buses use 1/4 the energy of plane flight.  (Of course, a relay sail back would be even better ;)  Unlike planes, you can comfortably sleep on a train (if you can sleep on a moving vehicle at all,) and if the schedule aligns it can be a cost saver if you consider deferring the cost of lodging somewhere.

Some buses (and fewer trains) are express with few to no stops and will get you somewhere just as fast as driving there.

If you're anywhere in the north of the country or on the west coast, I'd definitely recommend using train/bus.  Other parts of the country are probably still worth investigating.  In particular, the Surfliner Amtrak train on the west coast is a nice combo of excellent views (waterfront track most of the way) and actually transiting between useful points (San Diego -> San Fran, I think, and maybe further.)

[Mario G]

When does he expect to get here to Oriental , Next Tuesday we  were going to St Pete to pick up a Chrysler C-22 ( trailering)and could give him a ride back to Fl.  The time schedule is very tight on the pick up do to the marina there but we might be able to work it out.

[Jim_ME]

Rose, Good to read your updates. Craig, Fair winds for your trip. I too look forward to hearing about it.

Since others have suggested Amtrak as a possibility, I'll share my experience using it... A few years ago I rode down to Washington DC with an old friend who had come to Maine and would be visiting family there, and then continuing to Louisiana. I would need a way home on my own and before leaving was able to find a discounted ticket from Washington DC to Boston (South Station) for $44.

I enjoyed the ride back by train, especially the experience of leaving through the magnificent Union Station near the Capitol Building (see photos). The train departed at 8 pm and arrived in Boston about 8 am. It passed through Philadelphia and there was a long stop (45 min or so) just after midnight in Penn Station, New York City. I had planned to get off and go up to the street above and see some of the sights (including the nearby Empire State Building). However, when the train arrived, there was a very heavy police presence in the station, and security made sweeps through the coaches with dogs. With all of the security activities, it seemed better to stay put on the train. I learned many hours later that the train bombings had just occurred in Madrid, Spain, and so New York City went on a high state of alert.

When the train departed New York City it went through another tunnel beneath the East River and then emerged (perhaps in Queens) and rose to high ground that offered an impressive view back at The Manhattan skyline. The illuminated top of the Chrysler Building stands out most in my memory.  The train followed the shore of Connecticut, through the estuaries and historic ports, Old Saybrook, Mystic...the tracks were closer to the shore than the highways and had great views. Out in the dark and then dim early light was Long Island Sound.

So I enjoyed riding the train and would do it again, and recommend it to anyone.

I checked the Amtrack Weekly Specials page... 
http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/WeeklySpecials Friday and saw that there was a special from North Carolina to Georgia for about $36. It appears that the route continues to Jacksonville where another line goes West to Pensacola.

[Auspicious]

I really enjoy trains. I agree that they work great in the Northeast and the far West. Not nearly so many options in the Southeast.

Buses are not for people.

There are lots of boats headed North this time of year. Once in Oriental Craig might be able to find another boat to bum a ride further up. He should be able to get a good deal flying out of Norfolk or BWI. If he comes to Annapolis I can easily drive him to BWI or get him to Union Station in DC (showers and laundry too!).

[s/v Faith]

I went ahead and split off some of the non-transportation posts and merged them into the thread on "s/v Fairwinds"

  Thank you all for your suggestion and input.  GROG to all who replied in helping me figure out what my options were.  ;D

[Piraten]

I work with a guy that that got tickets from Tampa to NC for $9.99 each way on allegient Airlines.