Who are you? (Marco/Philadephia, Pa.)
A 25-year-old producer for a news website in one of the country’s largest media markets, and author of a blog on said website. I used to have an independent blog, but once I entered the real world I gave it up. It’s been so long since then that the blog is now owned by someone else.
What’s this blog about? (Elliot/New York, N.Y.)
For the second year in a row, I’m taking a break from work to travel across the country by train. The 2008 trip was spectacular and made me want to take another, so I saved up and decided to do it again in 2009. Last year, I said I was at the point in my life where I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to really take a trip like that again, but I’ve gotten lucky.
I’ll be writing about the journey, as well as posting loads of photos from it (see the Flickr widget on the right rail of the page). Since last year, I’ve used this blog as a home for interesting video clips and sporadic musings on what’s going on in the world. I hope it remains that unpredictable.
What was your 2008 itinerary? (Jake/Allston, Mass.)
August 5: Left Philadelphia for Washington, spent a few hours in D.C., then got on the Capitol Limited from Washington to Chicago
August 6-8: Three days in Chicago, including a Cubs game and a taping of NPR’s “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me!”
August 8-10: Left Chicago for Emeryville, Calif., traveling on the California Zephyr.
August 10-12: Three days in the Bay Area, spending most of the time in San Jose and San Francisco.
August 12-13: Flew back east from Oakland overnight.
What will your 2009 itinerary be? (Grant/San Francisco, Calif.)
As of now:
July 31-August 1: Travel from Philadelphia to Chicago on on the Cardinal.
August 1-3: Three days in Chicago, hopefully including a Chicago Fire soccer game and/or a Chicago White Sox baseball game.
August 3-5: Travel from Chicago to Seattle on the Empire Builder.
August 5-6: Two days in Seattle, hopefully including the Seattle Sounders’ exhibition against F.C. Barcelona.
August 6-7: Travel from Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight.
August 7-8: After a late-night arrival in Los Angeles, sleep at a hotel somewhere near the L.A. airport.
August 8: Fly back to the East Coast from L.A.
Wait a minute. Since you’re taking the train, aren’t you actually on the beaten track? (Fred/Jacksonville, Fla.)
No, not really. Most people do this sort of thing by car, and I’m not really fond of driving. Especially because all I really want to do is look out the window at the scenery, and that’s not as easy to do when watching the road as well.
I get it. You’re just another one of those self-centered twentysomethings who’s trying to get people to listen to what you have to say because you think if you keep up at it, someone will pay you to do this for a living instead of some other kind of work. So why should I bother reading your blog? (Zachary/Houston, Texas)
This part hasn’t changed: the heck if I know. What you’re reading is really just another blog to pile on however many thousands are out there in the universe. But I have a few friends who want to know about my trip, and I’m pretty sure that if you’re still reading this, you’re one of them. So you know that it’s been a while since I’ve had the freedom to really express myself through writing. That’s all this is supposed to be. If I’m lucky, it will become something better.
