"Going anywhere for the holidays?"
"Yes, upstate."
"Plane or car?"
"Oh Jesus no! Train."
"How long will that take?"
"9 hours. But my vacation starts when I get on the train, not when I get off the plane. It's much less stressful."
"You know... I can see that..."

Folks, I may have a made a convert today. Let's be real. Driving is work, and flying is torture. A train ride, might seem "long" but did you count all the time you spend getting to the airport, the security checks? The silly rules?

People who think "flying is faster" are falling for airplane propaganda. Take a day to travel. It gives you time to think, you can watch movies on your laptop and read. You can have a nice sit down dinner. Your ears won't pop and your legs won't cramp. No security people will yell at you for having too big shampoo.

The last time I flew was a decade ago. But I've been all the way to Alaska and beyond nonetheless. Travel itself should be part of the "vacation" not what you do when you get there

@futurebird Reminds me of one of my favorite children's books. (Although this one favors walking over trains.)

"Henry Hikes To Fitchburg is about two friends who have very different approaches to life. When the two agree to meet one evening in Fitchburg, which is thirty miles away, Henry decides to walk while his friend plans to work all day to earn the fare for a train ticket."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hikes_to_Fitchburg

Henry Hikes to Fitchburg - Wikipedia