u/Romiha00

So, I had a "trains, planes and automobile (and bus)" road trip May 11-21. I flew twice, took Amtrak three times, and Greyhound twice. Lyft rides to/from station/hotel. I purposely chose to travel only during daylight hours, coach, simply because I wanted to see the scenery as I had never traveled in the southern states. I am an Amtrak Newbie.

My first Amtrak ride was from New Orleans to Birmingham. I was able to get a window seat - my greatest fear on Amtrak is that in Coach you can't reserve your seat ahead of time and I really wanted window seats! I ended up without a seatmate on this part of the journey. It was about an 8-hour trip and I was simply mesmerized watching the scenery go by - sometimes very quickly and WHOOSH those passing trains!! Sometimes very slowly. And I know what that sign with the W stands for now. 😄 I was able to find the Cafe car and had a hotdog, macaroni and white cheese and ate at a Cafe car table. The bathrooms were small but adequate.

My 2nd Amtrak ride was from Raleigh NC to Baltimore, an 8-hour journey. The departure was delayed due to an "unauthorized vehicle on the tracks" in Charlotte NC. The station at Raleigh was very nice, so no complaints. When I boarded the train, I noted "Coach"and "Cafe" written on the cars and got on the car just behind Cafe! Initially I didn't see a vacant window seat so had to choose a "backward" aisle seat. Set my stuff down then wandered back to the forward facing section. Saw a lady in an aisle seat with vacant window. I asked if anyone was sitting there and she rolled her eyes at me and got up. I had to retrieve my stuff and when I got back she was gone. So I had a "forward" facing window seat with no one beside me the entire time. Grabbed a Turkey Asiago sandwich, chips and a Coke for lunch. The internet on this leg was quite spotty. New Orleans to Birmingham I had no issues with internet. This leg of the journey, the train felt quite bumpy. I got to Baltimore around 9 p.m. (original ETA was 5:30) took a Lyft to the hotel, went to sleep and had to be back at the station at 6:58 a.m. for the 3rd and final leg of my journey. Amtrak has since sent me an email, apologizing for the delays and issued a travel voucher good thru next year!

The 3rd leg of the journey was Baltimore to Boston, an 8-hour ride. This train was quite full but I still managed to snag a window seat although I had a seat mate most of the journey. The train to Boston left a couple of minutes early but ended up being delayed in total only 15 minutes, so not too bad. I had a breakfast sandwich and coffee in the Cafe car. A family with a little girl, perhaps 3 years old, came on board in Philadelphia and sat directly behind me. She talked loudly and cried a lot. The parents grated on my nerves more because they were constantly trying to entertain her. She had letter shaped cookies and they were asking her to name words that began with that letter. When they got to "F", the mom asked can you think of any "F" words? And I thought to myself I sure can! LOL. Thankfully my earbuds and music covered most of their conversations. However, I discovered when I record video on my phone, whatever song I'm listening to gets put on hold and those were the times I could overhear them behind me. OH WELL. Thank goodness for ear buds! They got off the train one stop before I did.

All in all, my experience riding coach on Amtrak was fine. Even the family behind me - I get it. Next time I'll try to find the "Quiet" car! My trip was in mid-May so I'm glad I had my hoodie/jacket. I didn't need it all the time but I'm glad I had it when I did need it! I look forward to future Amtrak journeys!

I think my main "complaint" was how far I had to walk to get to the Coach cars. I had a two-ton backpack and a crossbody pouch. By the third ride, I wised up and put my backpack on instead of carrying it by hand. LOL. Also, make a mental note of my seat number (or snap a quick picture on my phone) BEFORE getting up to go to the Cafe car or the restroom! And take a moment and put on my backpack instead of carrying it by hand.

No matter how early I was at the station, it didn't matter as far as seat selection. I find it interesting you can't reserve a seat in Coach. With Greyhound, I was able to not only choose and reserve my seat of choice but also paid 50% extra to reserve the seat next to me. There truly wasn't much price difference between Greyhound and Amtrak and Amtrak has more cars so you would think choosing specific seats would - could - should be a viable option.

Hope this information helps someone else!

So, I embarked on a "planes, trains and automobile (and BUS)" road trip May 11-21. Flew twice, Amtrak three times, Greyhound twice and automobile in the form of Lyft rides. 😄

I'm a single, 67-year-old woman. I purchased my tickets in February for this trip. In this Greyhound Lines sub, I discovered you can purchase the seat next to you for about half price and that's exactly what I did so thank you whoever mentioned it!!

The first leg of my Greyhound journey was from Birmingham, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia where I spent the night. The next day Atlanta to Raleigh, North Carolina although I chose to get off the bus at Chapel Hill (closer to my final destination). On both legs, I chose a seat in the 3rd row, so I was fairly close up front.

I purposely did not travel at night, so I have no experience for that and I will more than likely never choose to have that experience. I chose to stop and spend the night in a hotel instead, having reserved those at the same time I booked everything else. I wanted to see the scenery and that worked out very well for me! I had never traveled through those southern states and I never knew how much FOREST there was!!

The first leg, from Birmingham to Atlanta, was a little over 5 hours. The driver was a no-nonsense driver. He explained all phones MUST be on vibrate. Someone forgot, their phone went off, he pulled over to the side of the road and said if that happens again, that passenger will have to get off the bus. It didn't happen again. A passenger in the front row was talking on his phone; he was using ear buds BUT the driver asked if he was going to be talking the entire trip and basically told the passenger to end the call. The lady behind me was complaining about her seat mate several times at the beginning of the trip; he pulled over again to ask someone to exchange seats with her. Thankfully, he did NOT ask me and I assume that's because he knew I had purchased both my seats. After that, there were no other issues on that bus. We did NOT stop anywhere long enough to get food so I'm glad I had brought 2 bottles of water, a sandwich and some snacks. At one point, for me it was a BONUS because he had to exit the interstate and take windey twisty narrow roads to avoid some issues on the interstate. I was SO GLAD I was not the driver!! The seats were very comfortable. Cup holder, seatback pocket, electrical outlet, seat belt. The temperature on the bus was perfectly fine for me, not too hot, not too cold.

The 2nd trip on Greyhound was the next day, Atlanta to Raleigh. This time, the driver was from Vietnam. He basically didn't say anything to us but when we stopped for breaks there were several rude customers making fun of his accent. I spoke to this driver outside and that's when I discovered he was from Vietnam. He and his family fled Vietnam in the 70s. He said he was about 10 years old when this happened. Vietnamese people who fled Vietnam did so to escape communism and were called Boat People. I basically apologized to him for the rudness of the people on the bus who were making fun of him. It makes me mad when people show how ignorant they can be in this day and age! This trip was about 8 hours. A person on the opposite side and one row back talked on his phone for over 45 minutes. The driver never said a word. I was glad I had my own earbuds and music so I didn't have to listen to that man's conversation.

This trip, however, was on a FlixBus. I found my seat VERY uncomfortable. There wasn't a cup holder. There was no seatback pocket. The electrical outlet was okay. The lever to incline the seat was of hard plastic and dug into my right hip. I am a little overweight (180 pounds) but I can only imagine anyone heavier than me would have found this to be painful. The seatbelt buckle on the opposite side dug into my left hip. We did take two breaks on this trip and one was for food although I wasn't aware that this was going to happen so once again, I had already brought my own sandwich, snacks and bottled water. It was nice to get out and stretch and also a bathroom break. The temperature on this FlixBus was fine.

All in all, I was pleased with my Greyhound experience and look forward to more in the future. As a solo traveler, I was glad to be able to purchase the seat next to me. On the bus, I had no fear for my safety. I did not even try to use the restrooms however so I have no comment there. I will try and avoid booking on a FlixBus although I'm not sure that would be an option.

I hope someone finds this information helpful!

NEVERMIND. I looked at my Grubhub account and figured it out.

I have Amazon Prime and use Grubhub. It bills to my Amazon card. I'm traveling right now and wanted to remember what restaurant I used the other day. It only shows up as "Shipping and Tax". ??!! Not helpful!

I don't see anything in the Amazon site that shows Grubhub purchases. The Amazon statement, as mentioned above, only says "Shipping and Tax."

Anyone know how I can find out what restaurant that was? Thanks in advance!

I know this is last minute. (It's Wednesday, May 13) I have a Lyft already scheduled to pick me up at my hotel and take me to a grocery store half a mile from the train station. I've already ordered and paid for a sandwich. Is it possible to have the driver wait while I run inside to grab my sandwich and then have them take me to the train station?

I know I can walk that half mile but my backpack is really heavy! Should I schedule another Lyft from the grocery store to the train station now? Or can my original ride be modified? Thanks in advance.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be taking Greyhound from Birmingham to Raleigh, only traveling during daylight hours.

DO I NEED A JACKET? Looks like outdoors temps will be in the 80s for the most part during the day in this area. I was planning to bring one and can tie it around my waist if need be. I'm trying to travel light, only bringing a backpack and a crossover pouch. I don't know if Greyhound tends to be warm or cold ...

I've already reserved seats - paid extra for the seat next to me.

Any words of wisdom? I'm SO EXCITED! 😄

So I'm starting my journey after I get home from work this morning (7 a.m.). I'm flying to New Orleans.

On Tuesday morning, I'm taking Amtrak to Birmingham.

Next week, I'll be taking Amtrak from Raleigh to Baltimore, then the next day Baltimore to Boston.

DO I NEED TO BRING A JACKET? I've heard Amtrak can be chilly. Riding coach. I'm only bringing a backpack and a crossover pouch. I was planning to wear one and if it's just too warm I can tie it around my waist.

Any other words of wisdom? I am SO EXCITED! 😄

So between 2008 and 2013, after my youngest moved away to college, I was quite uninhibited, for lack of a better term.

Basically, I had a lot of friends with benefits. Never intended to settle down with anyone and never did. It suited me very well.

In 2013 I quit my full-time job to take care of mom who had Alzhiemer's. She passed in 2019 but then my dad had started to develop dementia, so I took care of him until he passed in 2023.

Parents left the house to me and my brother. Brother had already lived here since 1993. I moved in a couple months after dad passed.

ANYHOO. One of my first friends with benefits just contacted me on FB messenger. We had great sex but life drifted us apart. He ended up getting married. Well, he just contacted me to touch base. He's divorced. I think he wants to get back together and of course WE ALL KNOW WHY.

Ugh. Since I started caring for my parents, sex has been the last thing on my mind. I've never looked back. But ugh. I should have known better than to have even replied!! lol. Thankfully he lives 5 hours away in another state.

Any words of wisdom?

PS the last time sex was tried, it hurt. It was a case of use it or lose it, I guess. Because during my uninhibited phase, that was after menopause. And no, I'm not going to start HRT. I'm happy and content just the way things are.

I'm actually fairly new to sourdough but have successfully made a few loaves now so yay me!

However, I would like to see if anyone here has ever tried using sourdough starter with low-carb bread?

I've successfully made low-carb yeasted bread. Even if no one replies, I'm still going to give it a try once my current sourdough loaf gets low.

For the yeasted low-carb bread, here are the dry ingredients:
1-2/3 C Vital Wheat Gluten, 3/4 C Oat Fiber, 1/3 C Golden Flaxseed meal, 1/2C Wheat Bran

This totals approximately 425 g of dry ingredients, comparable to amount of bread flour used in a sourdough sandwich recipe I've had success with.

Both recipes include egg and melted butter. I'll substitute inulin for white sugar (yeast can eat inulin similar to white sugar). I'll also be using buttermilk in place of water.

Any thoughts? Thanks! ☺️