Any Boredom

[Rail Freak]

My brothers say I may want to take along a DVD, in addition to the book I'm planning on taking. I'm wanting to travel lite & at the same time, don't want to be bored either!

Any suggestions???

 

[Shotgun7]

If you bring a deck of cards, an MP3 and the right mindset, trust me... you won't be bored

 

[MrFSS]

A camera - take a camera. Just looking out the window will be enough to keep from being bored!

 

[MStrain]

You can take a DVD if you want, but the whole point of the train travel really is to do things you don't do at home. A good book or two, a magazine and a player full of music should get you going just fine. Also, since this will probably be your first trip, you'll want to explore the train as much as you can and talk to the service persons on board (just don't get in their way or become a nuissance ). There is more to do on a train than most people think......like MrFSS said.....I enjoy watching the scenery zoom by and watching the motorists sit in traffic on the interstates.

Enjoy!

MStrain

 

[Rail Freak]

I ususaly get in trouble when I think but, I think I'll take a book to put me to sleep and spend the rest of my time enjoying all the aspects of train travel. Get my attitude & expectations within reality and ENJOY!!!!

 

[Steve4031]

It is good to get advice, but only you know what is best for yourself. If you think you might want to watch a DVD, and you can bring the relevant equipment, than do so. Don't forget that you could watch videos/movies or whatever on an IPOD which would not take up that much space. I enjoy looking out the window, and reading, and can alternate between the two for hours. Sometimes, though, I don't mind watching a movie, and have done so.

 

[PetalumaLoco]

I'm bringing a pocket scanner on our LD trip, so I can hear what the crews are up to. Takes little room and it's something to diddle with. Also taking the laptop but not planning on taking any movies along, I think the big screen is the train windows. I'll run a GPS mapping program on the laptop to monitor progess and see what's coming up. DSLR and video cameras. Also a book to read. And I plan on being sociable too.

Doesn't look like I'll be traveling light, but all the extra stuff should fit in a shoulder tote.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I found a scanner to be most interesting and entertaining, but beware if you walk about with it, as many passengers will see you have a radio of some kind and think you're part of the train. Next thing you know you'll be bombarded with questions-"Where's the toilet?" "Where can I get something to eat?" "Are we on time and when is my stop?" Be sure to take an earpiece or headphone so you don't disturb those not wanting to hear "NO DEE-FECTS -REPEAT NO DEE-FECTS. TOTAL AXLES FOUR FOUR!"

 

[PetalumaLoco]

Yup, got the earpiece already.

Thanks for the warning about the needy pax!

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

It is good to get advice, but only you know what is best for yourself.

This is very good advice. I do think bringing something along is a very good idea, but picking one or two of books, DVDs, cards, music etc may turn out to be enough.

I find I don't especially like listening to music with headphones, and going without music for one day train trips is just fine. On the other hand, I did bring two CDs along on my last Amtrak trip, without any player, and ended up listening to them during the automobile trip from Madison, WI to Chicago.

I brought Catch 22 along on both of my most recent Amtrak round trips, and haven't made much progress on it. I imagine if I truly had nothing to do but read it, the length of the time I spent on the train would have been enough to finish the book by now.

If you think you might want to watch a DVD, and you can bring the relevant equipment, than do so. Don't forget that you could watch videos/movies or whatever on an IPOD which would not take up that much space.

The downside of a tiny screen is that you probably don't see as much of the detail that's in the movie. I tend to think that this means that someone who appreciates books and movies equally might be best off bringing books for the train, and saving the movies for the time not spent on the train. Also, picking books that are small, light and cheap has some advantages if you have a bunch of books to choose from.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

A camera - take a camera.

This is a very good point.

My trip report from May of this year mentions some bridges that I tried to describe, where photographs would have been a good thing to post. (There's the general problem that I need to get more organized about getting the photographs off my camera and onto the web, but I also neglected to take photographs of those particular bridges when I had a chance, mistakenly thinking I could always take photographs later. And in some sense I probably can photograph them during some future train trip. But if you see something you want to remember and/or ask questions about after you trip, taking pictures is good.)

A lot of the photographs I've taken on the train suffer from the shutter button having been pressed about a second too late, resulting in a completely different image than the one I wanted. I also just plain took lots of photographs on my last trip, which is cheap with digital, but with film I might have been reluctant to take some of the pictures due to the cost. This probably argues that digital is better than film; on the other hand, if you're comfortable with film and not experienced with digital, film might still be the way to go.

 

[GG-1]

I ususaly get in trouble when I think but, I think I'll take a book to put me to sleep and spend the rest of my time enjoying all the aspects of train travel. Get my attitude & expectations within reality and ENJOY!!!!

Now that's the best suggestion yet. Oh that was yours. Well the add MrFSS and take a camera.

Aloha

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I do not even own the kinds of doo--dads you are talking about it.....and I have rideen 152,000 miles on the train and have gotten by just fine.

The train can be an event in itself, at least it is for me. Do I ever even read a book? Yeah , maybe late at night when it is dark.

But guess what.....at least if you are in a sleeping car room...you can turn the lights off, shade up and see the scenery in the night, old farmhoues with one light on etc, etc.

The train itself means so much to me, more than any "movie" tyipe thing, but yes, that may not be true for others..

But consider this: you can watch a DVD or something any time you wish.....how often can you be on a train? Who knows whether you will like it? You might find it the most boring thing in your life---if so, never make thae mistake of riding one again.

The bottom lline is how often can you be on a train and watch real scenery and watch the train go around curves, etc instead of some gadgets you can play with anywhere any time.

Try letting the mood over take you, forget your worries, chat with interesting people in the diner and the lounge, bring a physical actual timetable along and keep up with your stops. While you are at, it read the timetable for train trips to other places you might want to take in the future, in case you find that you actually enjoy train travel.

Just relax, enjoy, please don't think you have to fill up every available second with a substitute for the real thing.

It has become a cliche, but please "stop and smell the roses".You will only pass that way once.

 

[RailFanLNK]

I bring a book or two but half the time never even crack them. I know you are going by yourself so thats different. Bringing a DVD player I think is useless. As another poster said, "the window is the big screen". I sleep some on the train and I do alot of visiting but try not to overstay a visit or watch for the fellow passengers eyes to glaze over as I discuss Amtrak. :blink: One thing I do is listen to complainers and when they are pouting that the train is running late, I try to smooth over somethings with them and keep a real positive outlook. I will be travelling alone to the gathering in October out to LA and am really looking forward to it. Not that I have had bad company on my Amtrak trips because I haven't, it will be nice to have some "Al time" as my girlfriend calls it and just look after myself. I will be riding with a fellow gathering AU member on the way back. So I will have seen the whole Southwest Chief route.

 

[The Metropolitan]

I spend a lot of time looking out the window, which tends to offer a lot of interest if 1- you're going through areas you don't see regularly, and 2- you're going.

A diversion is a must in the event that your train gets tacked into a siding for 30-40 minutes. I remember looking at the back of a Moose lodge for over an hour once. That got old after about 3 minutes.

 

[Guest]

I'm with Mr. Haithcoat on this one. My husband and I's favorite joke is over the quantity of sheep we saw by the roadside in Europe and our favorite joke is, "did you see THAT sheep". I don't suppose there's anything that exciting about a sheep unless you farm them but we would have missed something we rarely see if we had been tied up with electronic junk. In the US the changing geography is eyecatching but so is the stuff that people keep in their yards by the railroads.

If you have to take something with you take a book on the geographic areas that you are passing through and figure out what is what and why. I look at the stores in these small towns and figure out what is important to the people living there. Also, I try to discern how people are earning a living in the sparsely populated areas. It also provides conversation topics for those traveling with you.

Simply put, don't lug that stuff with you. It comes across like a pacifier.

 

[transit54]

The only thing I take with me is my laptop, and sometimes my scanner (if I can dig it out before I need to depart!). And my camera, of course, but that always comes with me when I travel. I only bring along the laptop because I'm working on writing two books, and I find the time I'm on the train is great time to write. Plus, given the nature of my job, I do want to have access to the office if a small crisis develops while I'm away. That being said, I usually end up doing very little writing a lots more window-watching. Where I do the most writing is routes that I regularly travel, like the Vermonter, which I probably take 15-20 trips a year on.

 

[Walt]

I take a portable DVD player. I find it somewhat comforting to watch a movie late at night. It is too dark to really watch the scenery.

I suggest that your portable DVD player have battery backup, since A/C power on any train is not reliable. My DVD player will automatically just switch over to battery power during those times the A/C drops off for a minute or two.

 

[GAT]

I think your decision may hinge partly on where you're going, and why. Are you taking the train because you have to, or want to? How long will the trip be? And it possibly also depends on whether you are young, middle-aged, or (forgive me) advanced in age like me . I needed to de-compress, so I took a roomette SEA-CHI-NOL-LAX and revelled in the relaxation afforded by simply sitting in my room and watching the country go by. I did listen to my MP3 player occasionally and also read on-and-off. But I found myself constantly putting the book down to enjoy the scenery. It didn't matter whether it was urban or country, it was all interesting, possibly because I have a photographer's eye. I made a point of getting off the train every time I was allowed (and wasn't asleep), and on more than one occasion I and my tablemates found ourselves the last folks in the dining car due to our interesting conversations.

So your answer depends on your interests and objectives, but if you were my son or daughter, I'd suggest you leave the gadgets at home.