Brothers In Blog

If you caught my 2-Cents in my brother Bret’s post on Monday, June 25 titled “Capitalize on the Apple iPhone Hype” you read that I was late in adding my 2-Cents because I was driving from his home in MA to my home in NC. While it wasn’t technically necessary to collaborate on the Brothers in Blog site in person, sometimes more ideas can be exchanged over a cup of coffee out on the patio of one’s local cafe than in an IM conversation. Besides, it had been 2 years since my daughter got to visit with her cousins and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to update that connection.

Now, I have to admit that my original plan was to make the trip solo but my 5-year would have been heartbroken if daddy had left to visit Uncle Bret without her. Being that she is a great traveler regardless of the mode of travel, I had no excuse for not bringing her with me except for the cost.

Traveling by air was going to run me approximately $400 round-trip according to Expedia for the both of us and take 4 hours from departure in North Carolina to arrival in Massachusetts. A non-stop flight would take only half the time, but add another $180 to the total price. $400 was more than I wanted to spend for a long weekend with my brother and his family, and the argument “you’ll get there quickly” doesn’t necessarily work with me.

I’m fortunate that I have a major airport just 35 minutes from my home, so this leg of my journey is not an issue. However, when I factor that in with the recommended 90-minute early arrival at the airport in order to check in our luggage, clear screening and maybe another 15 minutes to get our luggage on the other side my 4-hour trip has now become a little over 6 hours. Now, that’s assuming there are no flight delays either at the gate or on the tarmac.

My other option is to travel by train, which both my daughter and I thoroughly enjoy. At only $288 for the both of us, this roundtrip excursion on Amtrak (aka Slamtrak) sounds like a real bargain. Someone else does the driving while we sit back in reclining seats with plenty of leg room. I could plug in my laptop, and my daughter can plug in her portable DVD player if I were to upgrade to Business Class. We can also take a stroll to the Cafe Car to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat. What’s the catch? The trip by train takes just as long as it does by car and there is still the concern that we could miss our connecting train or be delayed.

Being the adventurer that I am, I decided to take control of my destiny and get behind the wheel of my automobile for a 14-hour trek amongst the dangers of our interstate highway system. Getting 29 miles to the gallon in my comfortable Dodge Magnum (you guessed right…no Hemi) it takes nearly 2 full tanks of gas to make the 800-mile trip, or $90 one-way.

We depart right after dinner, so my little one is awake for just a few hours watching a DVD before she falls asleep and I continue non-stop to New England. Other than 1 refueling stop in Allentown, PA we make a stop for breakfast in Darien, CT for McDonald’s pancakes before knocking down the final few hours. Traveling at night, we only encountered one travel delay, which was an evening repaving job in VA that cost us 20 minutes.

Long drives to visit family or friends is a kind of bipolar experience. Thinking about that moment when you pull up in their driveway seems to keep you in good spirits and helps to sweep away the thoughts of how long it’s taking to get there. The return trip is the “down” side of the journey because you’re going back home to the unmowed lawn, unopened mail and subsequently your job. Granted, I was looking forward to getting home to see my wife and my daughter was missing mommy and I don’t mean to dilute that fanfare, but the purpose of the trip had been fulfilled and it was still 14 hours behind a windshield to the finish line.

To help alleviate the stress of a long drive for both of us, I decided to cut the drive in half with an overnight stay at Marriott’s Fairfield Inn in Chambersburg, PA. Unlike the trip up, we drive during the day and despite a 20-minute delay for a bridge construction crew in NJ and a 25-minute delay to fill Pennsylvania’s coffers at the Delaware River I-78 Toll Bridge we still make it to the hotel in time for a swim in the pool and then a pizza picnic in our room. The next morning it’s breakfast in the lobby, a quick refueling of the car and we’re back on the road for the final 6-hour leg.

All in all, it was a good trip. My daughter was a trooper (and thankfully the only one I had to talk to if you get my meaning), the car ran great and traffic delays were at a minimum. The family had a great visit and my brother taught me a few things about WordPress. Even with these great results, it will be awhile before I make this journey by car again. I’m not giving the nod to air or rail travel just yet, but I do look at them a wee bit more favorably after the tires have cooled.

Bret’s 2-Cents:

Everyone here enjoyed your visit and hats off to your driving stamina. I’ve done a few long trips behind the wheel, and while the drive can be long and exhausting, the pay off can be big.

Traveling as an individual via plane or train can be affordable, if you catch ticket prices at the right point in time. Add a few more people to the trip and it quickly gets expensive. And, if you’re ultimate destination requires you to rent a car, then there’s another added expense.

Finally, I calculate travel time the same way you do: end to end. I don’t care that the flight is only 1 hour. I also factor in the travel time to the airport, extra time for check in, baggage claim time, rental car pickup, etc. In the end, you can easily add 2 to 4 hours to even the shortest of trips.

Based on travel expenses and end-to-end travel time, we try to drive whenever possible. It just makes better sense in the end.