This Actually Happened – November 26th, 2011

A Long Trip Home

My years at Seton Hall University were filled with weekend trips to Boston; I honestly traveled home every two weeks. One Thanksgiving Day was the worst experience ever. At first, I made the decision to take the Peter Pan Bus since it was the cheapest method of travel. After a couple trips, the train became my only option; the bus smells like a port-a-potty and I hate traffic. A trip can last anywhere from four and a half hours to six hours. The train ticket cost about forty dollars more, but it was definitely worth the price. My best option was for me to board the New Jersey Transit from the South Orange station, and then take Amtrak from New York’s Penn Station to South Station in Boston. The train station is about a mile from the campus, so lugging my over-packed duffel bag, and my laptop case was quite the challenge; there was one occasion in which I wanted to just drop the bag and leave it on the sidewalk, but I toughed it out! (Why I feel the need to fill up a large duffel bag for a weekend trip is not something that I can explain!) Thanks to the internet, planning my trip was fairly simple. I made sure to leave the least amount of time between my arrival at Penn Station and the departure to Boston. For some reason, I always cut it short, almost missing the train on several occasions. On this particular Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I made the long trek to the South Orange station and hopped on the train to New York. I didn’t want to wait at Penn Station which caused me to take the latest possible train. I knew it would be a close call, but I figured I would be able to make the train. Unfortunately, I didn’t factor in the number of people who would be traveling on the busiest travel day of the year. The line at the Amtrak counter mirrored the one outside of Best Buy on Black Friday; sleeping bags and all. I finally purchased my ticket just in time to step onto the platform while the train pulled away from the station. (It was truly devastating!) I was forced to make the walk of shame, back up to the main concourse; the next train wouldn’t depart for another three hours. Better yet, I had my heavy duffel bag and my laptop case; I had to sit in the waiting area and read magazines. After what seemed to be the longest three hours of my life, the train finally arrived. I walked to the platform and boarded the train, and I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. You could have confused it for the A train during rush hour. Every seat was occupied and the aisle was impassable. I placed my duffel bag on the floor and my laptop case on top of it. I grabbed hold of the hand rail and stood for half of the trip. The train was too packed for the conductors couldn’t collect the tickets. When I say I stood up for half the trip, I mean half the trip. I didn’t find an open seat until we arrived in New London, Connecticut. Half of the riders seemed to leave at the stop but seats were not plentiful. I placed my duffel bag in an overhead compartment and found an open row; I sat next to the window and continued listening to my headphones. A few seconds later, a healthy woman plopped down next to me and quickly fell asleep. Every so often, I noticed the other passengers looking at our row. At first it seemed to be the normal inquisitive behavior of train passengers, but this continued, beyond the acceptable level. I lowered the volume on my headphones and everything became clear; the woman was snoring, and snoring loudly! It probably would have been annoying, but I had my music so it was not a big deal; plus, she only stayed on board for one more stop. The everlasting journey finally ended after the four hour ride, and the weekend was great as always. Boston Latin Kicked Boston English’s ass, again! (In this year’s Thanksgiving Day game, BLS destroyed their “rivals” by a score of 50-0! To read about the tradition, click the link: Thanksgiving Day Massacre.) The wonderful people at Amtrak provided me with a full refund of my trip! BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

Be sure to watch the Florida Gators destroy instate rivals FSU at 7pm.

GO GATORS!!!

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for an update on the future of the blog!!! (The Bagging Up series is moving!)

@PeteTeix617