wayman
Engineer
One way or another, I'll be in Brattleboro (Marlboro, really) by Friday evening. I have the option of going up Thursday and staying in Boston for a night; I may have the option of going up Thursday and staying in Brattleboro for a night too.
I'd initially dismissed the idea of going to Brattleboro via Acela-to-Boston because I was certain Memorial Day Weekend would be a blackout period for First Class Upgrade coupons. But I just actually looked at the back of a coupon for the first time this year, and ...
... it's not?!?!?! :blink: :blink:
Dates surrounding Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Presidents Day 2011 are all that are listed. Has Memorial Day weekend always been upgradeable? Or are there far fewer blackout dates this year? Or am I missing some other fine print in which Memorial Day weekend is actually blacked out after all?
Followup question: OTP of Acela into Boston. Is it highly unusual for Acela to be more than 20 minutes late into BOS these days? :unsure: :unsure:
The Acela I'd take is the one that arrives at BOS at 11:37am. The LSL departs BOS at 11:55am. This is ridiculously tight, obviously, but
1) I'll ticket to BOS so if the Acela is more than 20 minutes late, I can just ride to the bumper and be on the Red Line to Somerville where I'd stay for the night if need be (easy for me to schedule on short notice).
2) So long as the Acela is anywhere from on-time to 20 minutes late, I can hop off at BBY (scheduled 11:32am, so 20 minutes late would be 11:52am) and catch the LSL there (on-time departure from BBY would be 12:00pm). With on-time trains, or even a 10-minute-late Acela, this is a 20-30 minute transfer which is certainly no problem. With a 20-minute-late Acela, it becomes an 8 minute transfer ... which might be a problem. So I'm trying to calculate just how late Acela could be running where I've still got a shot if I get off at BBY to print my tickets and make the LSL.
The one thing I don't know about this plan is, how convenient are the QuikTrak machines at BBY? If I wait to print the LSL/Vermonter reservation until BBY, where do I have to run to print them and how much time will that take? h34r: h34r:
I'd initially dismissed the idea of going to Brattleboro via Acela-to-Boston because I was certain Memorial Day Weekend would be a blackout period for First Class Upgrade coupons. But I just actually looked at the back of a coupon for the first time this year, and ...
... it's not?!?!?! :blink: :blink:
Dates surrounding Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Presidents Day 2011 are all that are listed. Has Memorial Day weekend always been upgradeable? Or are there far fewer blackout dates this year? Or am I missing some other fine print in which Memorial Day weekend is actually blacked out after all?
Followup question: OTP of Acela into Boston. Is it highly unusual for Acela to be more than 20 minutes late into BOS these days? :unsure: :unsure:
The Acela I'd take is the one that arrives at BOS at 11:37am. The LSL departs BOS at 11:55am. This is ridiculously tight, obviously, but
1) I'll ticket to BOS so if the Acela is more than 20 minutes late, I can just ride to the bumper and be on the Red Line to Somerville where I'd stay for the night if need be (easy for me to schedule on short notice).
2) So long as the Acela is anywhere from on-time to 20 minutes late, I can hop off at BBY (scheduled 11:32am, so 20 minutes late would be 11:52am) and catch the LSL there (on-time departure from BBY would be 12:00pm). With on-time trains, or even a 10-minute-late Acela, this is a 20-30 minute transfer which is certainly no problem. With a 20-minute-late Acela, it becomes an 8 minute transfer ... which might be a problem. So I'm trying to calculate just how late Acela could be running where I've still got a shot if I get off at BBY to print my tickets and make the LSL.
The one thing I don't know about this plan is, how convenient are the QuikTrak machines at BBY? If I wait to print the LSL/Vermonter reservation until BBY, where do I have to run to print them and how much time will that take? h34r: h34r:
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