<p>My D attends college in NY. I’m looking for safe alternatives to flying. Are there any safe trains that run btwn NY and The Bay Area/peninsula in CA?
I was thinking that dd could drive, but it is a very long distance. Any suggestions would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Amtrak is fun, but it’s going to take five days and cost almost $600. San Jose (or Oakland) to Portland to Chicago to New York City (or Albany).</p>
<p>DD took the train from near San Jose to Springfield MA when she returned home from college this year. It’s a 3 1/2 day long trip. She had a sleeper from CA to Chicago…and a coach seat from Chicago to MA. It was about $750 but did include all of her meals while in the sleeper and linen service too. She told me if she had to do it again, she would have paid the $200 additional for the sleeper from Chicago to MA…the coach seats are not all that comfortable for a long ride.</p>
<p>So…yes it’s possible to take the train but it IS a long trip and it’s easily 2 to 3 times the cost of a one way plane ticket.</p>
<p>There is no way I would let my child drive cross-country alone. I’ve done it many times as an adult and it is a two-person job. </p>
<p>Is your D afraid to fly? Perhaps she could try counseling services at her college.</p>
<p>Driving it can be fun but I agree with pug that I wouldn’t want my young D to do it alone (although I did at that age and didn’t give it a thought). </p>
<ul>
<li>Trains - long, perhaps boring, maybe not comfortable (days in a seat), not inexpensive, sometimes inconvenient for stations</li>
<li>Car - long, not inexpensive due to hotel rooms/gas, risk of accident, can pick own route and see the country along the way</li>
<li>Plane - fast, probably least expensive, most comfort - only due to not having to sit in the seat for days, safer than driving</li>
<li>Boat - this would be difficult</li>
<li>Walking/biking - I’ve read of people who’ve done this - it sounds like something I wouldn’t mind doing someday</li>
</ul>
<p>If the reason for not flying is due to the TSA screening - I wouldn’t avoid it just for that reason. If it’s due to a fear of flying - I suggest working on overcoming the fear since not flying can be very limiting in a career, enjoyment of travel to far places, etc. If it’s for other accommodations sometimes the airlines can make them.</p>
<p>in the winter- the train could take much longer. My daughter attended school less than 200 miles away, but one thanksgiving the train coming up from CA to pick up riders in Portland Or., had to stop for visual clearance at each crossing, because it was so stormy.</p>
<p>It would have been faster to drive down and pick her up- they weren’t able to get their train till the next day.</p>
<p>Ease of transportation was one reason that she chose a school within driving distance of 4 hours, but if she had chosen a school where it would have been much easier to fly, that’s what she would have done.</p>
<p>We considered taking the train this spring to NOLA, but as part of an adventure- not because it would be safer/easier. ( cause it wouldnt)</p>
<p>I guess there are not real alternatives to flying without dd spending significally more time traveling. Ucsd-ucladad, yes, we’re trying to find some alternatives because more the invasive pat-down (to say in a nice way). Going through the scanner is a no.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of alternatives either–can’t afford a cruise to get D from CA to HI, even if we could find one that went that route. Hopefully by the time she flies in December there may be more “sense” in how these TSA folks are behaving.</p>
<p>Have heard from many that these “enhanced patdowns” are pretty awful. S was put thru the full body scanner before we realized it, at two airports. I know it sounds odd, but we were contending with my medical equipment & it gets distracting with all that is going on at the airport–he was put in a different line instead of being able to stay in my line (I just went thru the metal detector on all 4 flights–S had to go thru the body scanner on 2 flights).</p>
<p>Why not fly?</p>
<p>^^^She doesn’t want to go thru the body scanner/pat down process in the airport.</p>
<p>It will not only take significantly MORE time but it will also cost three times as much one way to take the train…if she gets a sleeper (which for a trip that long is essential, in my opinion…and also from my DD who TOOK that train this summer).</p>
<p>I will also mention that a friend just returned to Seattle from Portland (by train)and he experienced what he considered an invasive search, so escaping that may not be guaranteed.</p>
<p>I have a question about the pat downs. I have heard that they only have full body scanners and pat downs at a few airports. My D is flying home today and is flying from a regional airport through Chicago. I thought that she wouldn’t have to go through a full body scanner but maybe that isn’t correct?</p>
<p>Oh boy, I hope not. </p>
<p>Also she was booked to arrive at 4pm but yesterday her flight information said that she wasn’t to arrive until 6:30. She never received any notification of a later flight and on American’s website they have a flight that is arriving from O’Hare at 4. Could they change her flight with no notification at the last minute? We’ve had this booked for months now!</p>
<p>
Not only can they change the flight, they can cancel it also.</p>
<p>
Good grief. I guess you will never see her again.<br>
Try hitchhiking. it’s ‘safer’ than the scanner.</p>
<p>May I ask why the scanner is a “no?” </p>
<p>I’m not a fan of all of this myself, if for no other reason than I do not believe it’s making us any safer, but right now it’s a hoop you have to jump through to fly. I cannot imagine giving up flying, not with my family all over the country.</p>
<p>I would not want any member of my family going through the scanner. I really have questions about the unknown health risks.</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with the pat down.</p>
<p>^
then you don’t allow them to talk on a cell phone either - right??</p>
<p>Hmmm…I much prefer the scanner to a pat down. Especially for my child. But I’m willing to participate in either because flying is just part and parcel of my life.</p>
<p>
Is it because of a health concern due to the radiation or is it due to how revealing they are?</p>
<p>If it’s because of the radiation - I understand the concerns about it and have some as well. I haven’t done enough research on them to determine how benign or harmful they might be but I’ll do that when I get a chance. However, the scanners were ‘approved’ (for whatever that’s worth) and you have to realize that some frequent flyers are traveling every week almost every week of the year (I used to be one of those). If it’s deemed safe for them then it’s reasonable it’d be more safe for the occasional flier. </p>
<p>If it’s about the revealing nature of them - think about it practically - there are thousands of people going through these scanners on a daily basis. Some person has the task to sit there and view each of these thousands of images. In addition to these being somewhat grainy images without a huge amount of detail and ability for anyone to recognize anyone, I doubt the viewer is getting too thrilled at having to view these thousands of images per day. In other words - I don’t think it’s too much to worry about even though I’m not thrilled with the idea - especially since they still manage to miss some potential hiding places and substances from what I’ve heard.</p>
<p>
I was concerned enough about the radiation from a cell phone that I purchased bluetooth devices for each of my kids who use a cell phone more than I do. Holding a cell phone right next to one’s head does expose the brain to the strongest waves (holding it out a bit on speakerphone or use with a bluetooth decreases the signal strength to the brain considerably).</p>