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}} + + +Los Alamos to Lamy +----------------- + +There are a few ways I could get from home in Los Alamos to the Lamy train station. +There's a nearly-direct shuttle for $80. +I could take a series of two busses for maybe $60 and around 2 hours: +I haven't looked into this one too closely because 2 hours is a lot. +Or I can drive or have someone else drive me for 40 minutes. +So for I always drive. + +If I take the Nissan LEAF, I have to charge it in Santa Fe before I get to Lamy, +so that I have enough of a charge to make it back to Santa Fe when I return. + + +Lamy to Los Angeles +--------------------- + +Amtrak route 4, the Southwest Chief, goes from Chicago to Los Angeles, through Lamy. +It arrives around 13:40 when it's on time, but it's frequently 30-40 minutes late. +There's a little brewpub in the train station that opens at 14:00, +so I'll typically buy a beer and chat with the owner if the train is late. +{{
}} + +About an hour after I board, the train stops in Albuquerque for a 40-minute service inspection. +I could use that time to walk to a nearby grocery store and pick up food, +but so for I've always brought my own food in a little cloth bag. +I like bringing Tasty-Bites: Indian food in plastic pouches. +They're okay cold, and they don't need to be refrigerated. + +The sun sets around the time we get to Gallup. +I'll eat my dinner of a tasty-bite, maybe some crackers, +and an apple. +The bathrooms are downstairs in the car, +where I can brush my teeth and floss. + +The seats in coach are much larger than first class seats on an airplane, +and recline about 45°. +{{
}} +{{
}} + +I put a pillow under my shoulders and neck, +cover up with a fleece blanket, +put in some tiny noise-generating earbuds made just for sleep, +and try to get some sleep. + +I wake up typically when we're in California, +having slept through all of Arizona. +I'll put some instant coffee in my steel mug and take it to the lounge car, +where they'll give me free hot water and ice. +Then I take my coffee back to my seat, +eat two hard-boiled eggs from my cold lunchbox, +and replace the melted ice in my uninsulated lunchbox canteen. +Downstairs to the bathroom to brush my teeth, wash up a bit, and change shirts. + +I arrive in Los Angeles around 08:00. +The first thing I do is get my boarding pass for the next leg: +I like to do this as soon as possible so I can (hopefully) get a window seat. +I sleep better when I can rest my legs against the side of the car, +and I don't have to get up all the time to let somebody else out if I'm on the outside of the row. +Then I'll buy lunch for later. +If the next train is late, I get to eat it in a nice little outdoor courtyard at Los Angeles Union Station. + +{{
}} + + +Los Angeles to Portland +------------------------ + +The Coast Starlight train leaves at 09:50, but is sometimes late. +Starting at Santa Barbara, +on the fireman's side of the train, +you are right next to the ocean, +which can be pretty. +{{
}} + +I don't even know where I am when I have supper, +I think it's before the bay area. + +When I wake up, I'm in southern Oregon. +A few hours later, +the train goes up into some mountains, +and the Engineer's side is the one you want to be on to look out over the valleys. + +{{
}} + +On all these legs, +I try to put in 8 hours of work on weekdays, +and then there's a lot of movies, reading, +and just looking out the window. +It's a very different experience than travel by airplane: +you have no choice but to chill out and slow down. + +I arrive in Portland at 15:40. +If I'm lucky, and the train arrives on time, +I can run out and buy something for supper. +Otherwise, it's another pouch. + +Portland has a lot better food options near the train station than Los Angeles. + +{{
}} + + +Leg 4: Portland to Pasco +------------------- + +The Empire Builder leaves Portland at 16:45. +I don't have many interesting things to say about this leg, +because it's usually dark. + +One time I was delayed 12 hours, +and got to watch the sun rise over the Columbia river. +{{
}} + +I arrive in Pasco at 21:06, +and call a taxi to take me to my hotel. + + +Getting Back Home +=============== + +While I'm working in Washington, +I'll stop by a grocery store to buy food for the trip back home. + +It's similar going home, +except that the train from Los Angeles to Lamy leaves +before the train from Portland to Los Angeles arrives. +I have to spend almost 23 hours in Los Angeles. +So far that's been at a hotel. +If I find out that work won't reimburse that hotel night, +I'll start looking into cheaper options than a downtown LA hotel. + +The reason work might not reimburse it is because I'm taking "personal travel days" +to do this trip on the train. They will only pay for what it would cost by plane. +And while the train + 1 extra hotel night is still less than the plane fare, +they might not be willing to consider the overall trip cost: +rather, they'll consider the cost of transport (train vs. plane), +and will refuse to pay the hotel visit for extra days. +We'll see! diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh index 20bd01f..f94939e 100755 --- a/run.sh +++ b/run.sh @@ -1,6 +1,9 @@ #! /bin/sh case "$(hostname)" in + WE47763) + baseURL=http://localhost:1313/ + ;; sweetums) baseURL=http://sweetums.lan:1313/ ;; @@ -20,4 +23,6 @@ docker run \ klakegg/hugo:ext server \ --buildFuture \ --buildDrafts \ - --baseURL "$baseURL" + --baseURL "$baseURL" \ + "$@" +