Day trips usually provide me a needed respite. I do not schedule them as rewards for tackling more onerous tasks, though perhaps I should. No, they stand alone as needed recreation. I'm fortunate to have the resources to leave home for short periods of time. My car gets me to where I want to go. My age enables senior discounts, including free use of the SEPTA system within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. My finances are stable. Spending $100 for a day's recreation will not set my financial position back in a meaningful way. I enjoy good, or at least fully functional, health as a senior. No work obligations in retirement, though there are things I have committed myself to accomplish that these days away from home postpone.
I am also fortunate to live close enough to places I might want to visit, which allows me to depart and return on the same day. New York metro three hours counting either driving or using public transit. A recent trip there went well. Amish country and Poconos closer than that. I visit Lancaster a few times a year. NJ across a bridge, one that I mostly cross when my destination requires me to drive through the Garden State. Downstate Delaware resorts easily accessible by car. Baltimore sits less than two hours by interstate. Each has museums, sights to see, local wines or brews to sip, places to experience. No excuse for not setting aside a day to travel to one of these.
Some contingencies exist. I dislike driving in downtown traffic or paying through the nose to park my car. Public transit from where I live to NYC can be some combination of inconvenient if economical and expensive if more user friendly, as I recently learned. Weather usually gets checked as far in advance as reports become reliable, usually two days. If I am visiting a place indoors, the rain matters little, unless I have a seven block walk to get from the parking garage or transit stop to get the place I intended to visit. My wardrobe includes sufficient warm and layering items, so the cold is less of a deterrent. Seasonal closure of where I'd like to go will change my plans, as it did for a short multiday outing to Long Island a few winters ago.
My default has become Philadelphia, that blend of activity, price, and attractions. The Pennsylvania Lottery profits had been designated for senior services, including free use of the regional transit system. Residency in Pennsylvania was not required but travel within it is. As a result, I drive to the Pennsylvania station nearest my home, about a ten-minute drive, pay $2 parking at the kiosk next to the station, flash my Senior card on a screen outside the loading area, and show it to the conductor after the train has pulled toward the big city. Not a luxurious ride, nor a scenic one, as residents littered much of the length of this suburban and city track. Depending on time of travel, unrestricted for seniors, the cars can get crowded. But I've not encountered any overtly unfriendly conduct from the passengers. In 45 minutes or so, depending on the chosen destination within the city, I can exit to usually some vast expanse of an indoor mall, then onto the sidewalk. Transfer to a city subway or bus, also free, mostly goes smoothly, though with one misadventure averted.
I decided last week, a day free of appointments, would be a good day to go. Onto the station. Parked car. Could not get the parking kiosk to accept my credit card. No matter. I have their app on my phone. That did not allow me to pay my $2 either. By then, the train had pulled within sight of the station. I gave up and drove home. My only unsuccessful attempt.
Considering the minimal cost and usually minimal inconvenience, my use of the system has fallen short of what I anticipated when I got my Senior Card. I should give it another go. Or maybe drive someplace else. Getting away for a day periodically still has its personal attraction.
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