Back from vacation

Greetings, comrades! I have returned from a two weeks vacation hiatus, and it feels wonderful. The travel was wonderful as well, details of which I will write about in the upcoming days, perhaps weeks.

Indeed it’s the first bit of traveling I’ve done since the beginning of the pandemic. As cliche as it goes, you truly don’t know how good things are until it’s taken away from you. I love traveling, but never was one to be sentimental about it. The euphoria I got as I stepped onto the train in Emeryville, en route to Los Angeles, was a welcomed surprise. The challenge and excitement of heading off to a new adventure has returned, and it’s been far too long since I’ve last had it.

Let’s not go a year and half before I travel again. Go get vaccinated if you haven’t already. And I pray the rest of the world will be able to catch up soon enough. I yearn for the shores of the Asian continent. Hopefully by Thanksgiving week I can either go to South Korea, or Taiwan.

For this trip, we elected to take the train as much as possible. Flying is fast and all, and I’m sure it’s plenty safe vis a vis the coronavirus, but the lack of space and being stuck inside a metal tube in the sky with hundreds of other souls just isn’t all that enticing. The leisure pace and space of an Amtrak train is the way to go for those of us in zero hurry to get to our destination. 14 hours to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles is quite a time-consuming affair, though that’s nothing an iPad full of books can’t solve. Or an iPhone full of music.

The views along the way are quite nice as well. It’s a shame the train network here in America isn’t as intensive and fast compared to Europe and Asia. I for one would choose it over flying if both methods are able to get me to the same destination. Principally because I’ve a fear of heights, and planes have always caused me anxiety.

Trains are cheaper than flying, too.

View fullsize

The coastal sunlight.

First time night commute on MUNI

Heading home from work last night was the first time I took the bus this late (I get off at 10:30pm), and I have to say it was not anything out of the ordinary. The only small hiccup is the duration between buses is absurdly long compared to normal commute hours. I thought the app was malfunctioning when I checked schedules on NextBus and saw the next train wasn't for another 25 minutes. Had I drove I wouldn't been home already in that time. 

Fortunately the prolonged intervals is offset by the lack of traffic at that time of the night, so the trains and buses are quite quick. There's immensely less passengers too, which meant fewer stops and pickups. I was amazed that my connect bus got from Balboa Park station to my house in 10 minutes, where it'd normally take 25 minutes when the sun is out. Even with the extended wait times, the trip home last night ended up taking the same amount of time when I worked "normal" hours. 

One negative though is that San Francisco, as famously usual, is bitterly cold at that time of night. Yesterday was no different: (Karl the) fog rolled in heavy and there was an ever so slight of a drizzle; standing at an unprotected bus stop for 20 minutes was not exactly the most comfortable occasion. I think I'll start packing a beanie.

Do I miss having a car, then? The time saved by driving compared to an hour on the train and bus is significant (~45 minutes). However, to achieve my current financial goals I am willing to trade that time for more money. Compared to the fiscal outlay of car ownership, a MUNI unlimited monthly pass is but 78 dollars. There's always UBER if a train never arrives or I really need to get home quickly. 

But let's see how day two and onwards go. 

A train station all to myself.