Do you all have ways of predicting the next sign up bonus? I've seen people have methods before. Rn I see the bonus is 25k points plus 5k with an authorized user, I've seen it go up to 40k before (is that with an authorized user?) So I'm waiting. Is there a tier in between what it is now and the 40k points?
Ok! I've posted a different itinerary before here and in r/amtrak but I've come up with a new one that might be better for next summer for me and my friend
NYC-Toronto (seg 1),) [I realize that you can't use the railpass for Maple Leaf on the Canadian side, but from what I've read online, you can use one segment up to the border and then get a seperate ticket?] Anyways, then I'd take VIA to Windsor and take the bus into Detroit.
Detroit-Chicago (seg 2)
Chicago to Minneapolis (seg 3)
Minneapolis to Seattle, purchase a roomette with points or a mix of points and cash hopefully (Amtrak card sign up save me)
Seattle to Portland (seg 4)
RENT a car and drive from Portland to San Francisco, I asked here and people said that this is a really beautiful stretch to drive, with tons of great scenery by the coast, forests, fun little towns, etc. I suspect it might be nice to take a break from the big cities as well.
Take San Francisco public transport to Emeryville
Emeryville to San Jose (seg 5)
San Jose to Santa Barbara (seg 6)
Santa Barbara to Los Angeles (seg 7)
Ok this is where I'm unsure what to add, I would like to visit Vegas, but there's no direct route from Amtrak, and even if we did take the bus, it seems, looking at the national route map, it's not exactly convenient to train out from Vegas to other places, thoughts?
Alternatively, could do
Los Angeles to El Paso (seg 8) This is just kind of a long train, and it'd be in coach. Where could we stop to break it up/add another segment? On the map I see places like Yuma, Maricopa, and Tucson.
Maybe then to end it off, El Paso to San Antonio? (seg 10)
Then fly out of their airport back to some airport in the northeast, preferably Philly or NYC
Ok! I've posted a different itinerary before but I've come up with a new one that might be better for next summer for me and my friend
NYC-Toronto (seg 1), [I realize that you can't use the railpass for Maple Leaf on the Canadian side, but from what I've read online, you can use one segment up to the border and then get a seperate ticket?]
Anyways, then I'd take VIA to Windsor and take the bus into Detroit.
Detroit-Chicago (seg 2)
Chicago to Minneapolis (seg 3)
Minneapolis to Seattle, purchase a roomette with points or a mix of points and cash hopefully (Amtrak card sign up save me)
Seattle to Portland (seg 4)
RENT a car and drive from Portland to San Francisco, I asked in r/usatravel and people said that this is a really beautiful stretch to drive, with tons of great scenery by the coast, forests, fun little towns, etc. I suspect it might be nice to take a break from the big cities as well.
Take San Francisco public transport to Emeryville
Emeryville to San Jose (seg 5)
San Jose to Santa Barbara (seg 6)
Santa Barbara to Los Angeles (seg 7)
Ok this is where I'm unsure what to add, I would like to visit Vegas, but there's no direct route from Amtrak, and even if we did take the bus, it seems, looking at the national route map, it's not exactly convenient to train out from Vegas to other places, thoughts?
Alternatively, could do
Los Angeles to El Paso (seg 8) This is just kind of a long train, and it'd be in coach. Where could we stop to break it up/add another segment? On the map I see places like Yuma, Maricopa, and Tucson.
Maybe then to end it off, El Paso to San Antonio? (seg 10)
Then fly out of their airport back to some airport in the northeast, preferably Philly or NYC
I'm bidding on a used XA2 that the owner says is untested. Price is good so I'm willing to go for it but what can I do when I get it to test it to make sure it works? Takes pictures? Processes film correctly?
Planning a train-based trip across the US utilizing USA Rail pass for next summer. I see that there's quite a big gap between Portland and San Fran, about an 18h Amtrak train ride with some extra time with a bus. What are some places we could see in-between these two places to break up the long journey? EDIT: Not opposed to renting a car for this portion as well and either completely ditching the train or using it for a shorter portion
Just wish nightowl fares applied to Wilmington too, its a big city! And also would make my life so much easier. 72 bucks from DC to Wilm at 10 PM hurts 🥺
If I booked a round trip with flex tickets, would it be possible to cancel only one ticket? Basically I won't be sure til day of if I want to take Amtrak TO my location, but I know I'll need it to come FROM the location
Born and raised Delawarean, but only recently have been using public transit to get around all the great cities around us in the northeast megapolis. We'd visit NYC alot as a kid but always drove lol. But anyways I was wondering if yall had any low cost hacks to get around between like lets say Richmond and Boston. Partially making this post to learn more but also to inform people about all the fun places so close to Delaware that you can visit. The stretch of cities we're kind of sandwiched between is really wild and unique.
Here are mine that I've learned about
Amtrak (US train service) ofc, con is that it can be pretty expensive, but if you book at the right time/and FOR the right time it can be pretty cheap
Greyhound (US bus service) often much cheaper than Amtrak which is awesome, just takes longer though and it'll often feel cramped (IMO) esp if you're not sitting next to someone you know
SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) regional rail, LOVE taking regional rail, very cheap and fairly quick, from Wilmington its 8.75 one way to Philly per SEPTA's fare system
MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter), took this recently all the way to DC! The Penn line (named for Baltimore Penn station) goes all the way from DC to Perryville MD, right outside of Delaware, might be a little more or little less of a commute depending on where you are specifically. But it's super cheap and the train was so clean and comfortable! 13 bucks to DC, took like 2hr. You can also take this to get into Baltimore. P.S, Perryville station had free parking, others have said it fills up quick though
NJ transit (Commuter rail, light rail, bus, it's the third largest provider of these things in the US!). There are multiple ways to utilize NJ Transit, especially when getting into NYC
5a-One way is driving up to a train station like Hamilton and paying to park your car there (huge garage) and then taking the train in. Parking was a bit expensive I remember but the train wasn't too bad.
5b-I haven't tried this way yet but I want to, you can take SEPTA regional rail into Philly, then take NJ transit from 30th St to Trenton, then Trenton to Penn station in NYC. It ends up being super cheap compared to driving and then having to pay for parking. I believe some of the regional rail stations in DE have free parking too (correct me if I'm wrong). But yeah this way theoretically would also take only around 4h I think? NJ transit trains tend to fairly okay too
Staten Island Ferry. I haven't done this one yet, but I've heard that it's fairly simple to drive up to Staten Island, pay for parking (apparently its not that expensive) and take the free ferry into Manhattan. Huge benefit is that Staten Island I've heard is easier to drive in than the other four boroughs
PATH? I know it's a very popular way to get into NYC from certain cities in Jersey, not sure about how close these cities are to DE in comparison to driving and taking the train from Hamilton or Trenton. But hey if you wanna see like Jersey City or something you could drive there knowing you can easily train into Manhattan.
Just brainstorming for a trip for next summer. We're east coast. I've seen quite a few (but not all) places on the east coast I thought it'd be cool to explore cities in the west and midwest. So I thought maybe flying out west and training around, and then back to the east, could be good.
Fly out of any east coast airport, preferably PHL or JFK maybe
start in San Diego? (Idk what the airport sitch is in regards to direct flights)
San Diego-LA-San Fran-Portland-Seattle-Minneapolis-Chicago-Pittsburgh-Philly (or DC)
Okay as I've written this out I've realized I have two(?) segments left over! What could we add? I recognize the train from Seattle to Minneapolis is LONG, but it's also really pretty right? With one of the only state park thingys that Amtrak stops at right? But maybe also there's somewhere we could stop on this stretch to make it more bearable?
Or would it be preferable to stop somewhere between the stretch between LA and San Fran? That one is longer than I expected. Amtrak was saying we'd have to take the train and then a bus, surprised there's not a direct train there. But it probably makes sense for some reason I'm unaware of.
Also maybe could add Vancouver actually
Just wondering, I took Greyhound (bus) to Baltimore and then NER back the same day. Both coach. Thought it was interesting how Greyhound had assigned seating so that me and my friend were automatically placed together (bought tickets together) but with Amtrak it doesn't work like that. Apparently for some lines it does? I feel like it should be universal though
I'm just seeing the alert that the line is down, any idea when it'll be back up? I would have called SEPTA to inquire but its past their hours. I'm debating whether or not to see if it'll come back up tommorow or if I should buy Amtrak tickets now
Hi! First time going to wildwood, just staying for a weekend in early August, our group is early 20s but 21+, what's the nightlife like and what are some cool places? Any good karaoke places?
Also in general if theres anything someone whos never been here should do let me know! I saw a huge list of restaurants on another post lol
Hi! Coming to NYC for pride this weekend and I'm staying in Long Island City in Queens. What are some cool museums, attractions or in general destinations I could check out? I'm not completely unfamiliar with the city, I'm Guyanese and have tons of fam in Queens and the Bronx, but have never really done too much of the touristy stuff. I do want to go to Little Guyana at some point and that's like an hour train ride from LIC so if there's anything on the way specifically too def let me know haha. I know I wanna go see the Museum of the Moving Image!
Also a more specific question, do you all know of any good Caribbean bars/clubs? I've only ever visited with family before and this is my first time going with friends, so I'm unfamiliar about nightlife and definitely anything Caribbean
Realistically, how bad would it be? There's an amtrak direct to New Orleans that I saw and like idk I'm considering it (coming from DE)
EDIT: I appreciate all the advice! I just checked skyscanner though and it seems that flights are actually CHEAPER than Amtrak, around 290 for a round trip from PHL, and Amtrak is around 300 total for a round trip. Will keep the post up though it's alot of good info. If Amtrak tickets were like at least half the price of the flight I'd do it.
Just was thinking about it, he was geninuely upset and Kev seemed horrified when he walked in. Out of all the characters it seems like Frank is the most willing (slimy enough by the shows standards?) to involve the authorities. For example when he called DCFS on his own children.
How do you all feel about how hygiene is represented in Shameless? I've always noticed there are tons of implicit and even explicit clues that its lacking. For example, no one washes their hands properly or at all after using bathroom, changing diapers, etc etc. People go on their bed with shoes. People wear shoes in the home. I wonder if this was an intentional choice by the writers? As some commentary on poverty? I've seen people justify stuff like shoes on bed by saying that these characters simply didn't have time to care about all that. However, I feel like impoverished communities in real life actually do quite often care a great deal about hygiene. I think for alot of people its about dignity and hygiene helps preserve it. Not to mention in alot of developing countries such as India there are cultural practices such as shoes off in the home that are inherently more hygienic and are adhered to across the socioeconomic spectrum. You can also look at specific marginalized groups in the US like African-Americans or Indian-Americans being sterotyped by white people as dirty/unclean. I think that an argument could be made that this type of racism has led to an EMPHASIS on hygiene and cleanliness in these communities. Anyways, I do wonder if this was an intentional choice by the writers, I'm sure its an accurate for some people, but a part of me feels like sometimes its just a TV show industry misrepresentation of what being poor is like
Is there ANY wiggle room with their policy? I accidentally bought two tickets (I'm an idiot) from Ham to NYP for Saturday and then coming back on Monday and that was actually gonna work out so I kept it til now but I've realized it would make alot more sense to train in from Philly instead, I've accepted I probably can't get a refund but lmk if you all have had any similar situations
I like to think that Frank didn't try to steal all the meth when they first got it and tried to divide it equally because he felt like he had to honor Monica's wish of dividing the profits as an inheritance for the kids. Another example of Frank's toxic but certainly deep love for Monica. In fact if you think about it, it is very uncharacteristic of Frank to not even try to hide some/skim some off the top. He does that so often when it comes to thos stuff
Where do you think the characters are and what do you think/how do you think they're doing? I suspect Debbie moved back to Chicago, I hope so anyway. Ian and Mickey maybe get legit jobs? Can Ian become an EMT again? Liam would be about to go to college I presume (finance major!) Help me finish the others lol
With the way I've seen them talked about, I thought that they literally wouldn't mention Fiona at all, but they do, she's pretty constantly there for a character that's not doing anything direct in the plot. I agree that the legal guardian thing was stupid and also selling the house would have needed her involved somehow (unless she transferred the title to Lip off-screen, wish they cleared that up.) I really liked Lip and Tami as a couple, don't see why everyone hates on Tami. She's flawed just like everyone else, and holy shit does Lip make some HUGE mistakes during their relationship. Putting them in harms way to rob BornFree was so stupid he had way too much pride. That being said I loved the Brad-Lip duo and I thought the whole Tamietti family was super funny and a good contrast to the Gallaghers. I really liked the little moments of huge family get-togethers like Liam-Franny-Amy-Gemma playing together since they're all around the same age. I've seen people say they missed older characters and I guess I did too but I liked the news one a ton too. Cop Carl can get some criticism from me, but overall I thought it was a good and entertaining storyline. It's pretty realistic that the police is systemically corrupt. The two things I really didn't like were 1) Implication that Debbie runs off to TX on such a whim 2) V's uncharacteristic lack of care for leaving Chicago and the Alibi, just doesn't feel like her. She's been invested in the South Side for multiple plot points.