Postponed Trip

Among my most valuable senior discounts has been regional rail travel.  I have a travel free card from SEPTA, the system that operates near my home.  In my wallet, I carry an MTA card which discounts NYC transit by half.  NJ Transit which connects the two will accept my Medicare card for half off.  That makes home to NYC a no work proposition.  Drive to a SEPTA station, authorize $2 from my credit card to park, and I'm off for a cheap afternoon in Manhattan.  If I really wanted a lot of time in the Big Apple, I would either take Amtrak which will set my credit card back a lot more, both for transit and for local parking.  I could drive the NJ Turnpike to near NYC and finish the trip on the PATH commuter train or NJ Transit.  Driving seems a chore, EZ Pass gets debited each way.  I will need to park in NJ.  A lot of irritation, but more time exploring NYC attractions.

I opted to go cheap and easy, at least one time.  My miserliness comes with a significant downside.  Schedules are limited and inflexible.  SEPTA has a direct connection to NJ Transit at its main transfer point in Philadelphia.  To get there, I would have to leave home at 7AM to get a regional commuter train to Philly, then a half hour layover once in Philly, then transfer to SEPTA Trenton and a short walk from there with minimal layover to NJ Transit Trenton.  Same returning.  Easy to get back to Philadelphia from NYC, but big layover there until I can get onto the commuter train home, the penultimate one for the evening.  And winter standard time puts much of the trip home, and at the end of NYC, in the dark.  I would arrive home around 9:30PM.  So, fourteen hours in transit for about six hours of amusement in the Big Apple, or maybe even a little less.  Hardly worth it as tourism.  It may be worth it as an experience, as a challenge to convince myself that it is possible.

Travel of all types has its unproductive times.  Airports require a lot of preparatory effort.  Getting there by car, either my own with an expensive parking fee or by Uber.  Lugging stuff.  Lines at check-in and TSA screening.  Sitting at the gate.  Retrieving luggage at destination.  Finding ground transportation.  At least the distance traveled justifies a multi-day experience at the final stop.  Road trips are also multi-day, though sometimes that means an overnight stay for each day's drive before even arriving at the desired location.  And at least public conveyances allow the passenger to bring items to occupy or even advance himself during waiting time and transit.  Don't think I want to tool around NYC with a laptop in backpack.  My travel cross-chest carrier would allow a tape recorder, radio, cell phone, pens, and pads.  Books and my magazine subscriptions are now portable.  So if I travel for eight hours to get six hours, the transit time has useful possibilities.

Rain forecast.  If confirmed the day before travel, that would postpone the adventure.  The rails are mostly indoors.  NYC attractions usually require some emergence from underground.  Postponed, but not fully shelved.