How train gets to Pasco

content/blog/2023/10-21-how-i-get-from-lmy-to-psc/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+---
+title: How I Get from Los Alamos to Richland
+date: 2023-10-21
+tags:
+  - trains
+---
+
+Before I begin my trip,
+I pack up enough food for four days.
+It's only a 3-day trip if the trains are all on time,
+but sometimes there are big delays,
+so I prepare for that.
+
+So far this means 6 tasty bite Indian food pouches,
+6 apples,
+a box of crackers,
+a chocolate bar,
+two oat bars that I never eat,
+six hard boiled eggs,
+four single-serve guacamole cups,
+and six single-serve hummus cups.
+
+The eggs, guacamole, and hummus go in a little insulated lunch pail,
+along with an uninsulated canteen full of ice.
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231020_170034557.MP.jpg" alt="An insulated lunchbox with 6 eggs, an uninsulated canteen full of ice, and some single-serve packets of hummus and guacamole">}}
+
+
+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.
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231020_200515621.MP.jpg" alt="A glass of beer on a wooden bartop">}}
+
+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°.
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231021_151322061.MP.jpg" alt="A Superliner coach seat, fully reclined, which is about 45° down" >}}
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231021_151530454.MP.jpg" alt="A man sitting in a coach seat, with about 4 feet of space from his knees to the back of the chair in front of him">}}
+
+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.
+
+{{<figure src="PXL_20230930_161409234.MP.jpg" alt="The inside of Los Angeles Union station, with vaulted roof, chandeliers, and some art deco paint on the ceiling">}}
+
+
+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.
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231021_214043091.MP.jpg" alt="The view of the Pacific Ocean from the Coast Starlight, north of Santa Barbara">}}
+
+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.
+
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231001_171312049.MP.jpg" alt="A view, from above, of fog settling into the valley of the Oregon forest">}}
+
+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.
+
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231002_003840252.MP.jpg" alt="Portland Union Station from outside: a red brick single-story building with vaulted roof and a tall clock tower">}}
+ 
+
+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.
+{{<figure src="PXL_20231002_142539895.MP_exported_917.jpg" alt="Sunrise over the Columbia river: a desert with a river running through it">}}
+
+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!

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 "$baseURL" \
+    "$@"
+