When my husband and I first started dating we lived 5 hours apart and one of us would make the drive every weekend. After about 3 months I decided to just move to Chicago but the drive wasn’t too bad. I like a good 3-4 hour drive now and then, I find it really relaxing and a good length for listening to podcasts or an audiobook.
5 Likes
The closest airport is Willard, just south of Champaign. It’s small. You can fly cheaper if you go to a big hub like Indianapolis or Chicago, but then you’d have to rent a car and drive 2 or 3 hours to get here. There is also a small airport in Bloomington-Normal IL, about an hour away.
2 Likes
I would love to do this if I can, it will depend on flight costs really. I am available July and August.
It would mean flying into Chicago for me, if there are others flying in, we could car pool from the airport.
3 Likes
I’d definitely look at the larger airports and rent a car, that driving distance isn’t much.
1 Like
I updated the second post with info about nearby airports. And just for fun, I looked up a flight from each of them, to a single destination. (I picked Manchester, NH, since that’s where my parents are.) It just illustrates differences in cost and travel times within airports. (Does NOT include driving time to final destination.)
| Flight from ______ to Manchester | Average Cost | # of Stops | Total Flight Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willard | $772 | 2-3 | 8-15 hrs |
| Bloomington-Normal | $700-$900 | 2 | 8-10 hrs |
| Indianapolis | $665 | 1 | 4-7 hrs |
| Chicago O’Hare | $365 | 1 | 4-7 hrs |
| Chicago Midway | $365 | 1 | 4-7 hrs |
Willard - 10 minutes from my house
Bloomington-Normal - 1 hr drive away
Indianapolis - 2 hr drive away (via 74)
Chicago O’Hare - 2.5 hr drive (without traffic)
Chicago Midway - 2.5 hr drive (without traffic)
3 Likes
Yes! For sure!!
It is a long drive and I don’t care much for driving long distances (I’m a much better passenger! Haha) But in the grand scheme of things it’s a totally doable drive.
As for all this train talk…oh my goodness. I would love it. Our area has wanted a train system for a long, long time…but it never happens. I think the car companies lobby against public transport or something. US is very much car centric…it’s ridiculous.
6 Likes
I used to take Amtrak from Denver to Iowa, but they failed to tell anyone about work on the track or something and the last quarter was spent on a very uncomfortable bus. I got there a day late, missing my friend’s bachelorette party (I think?) and half the next day. I was the maid of honor, so it was expected of me to be there. Amtrak half-heartedly apologized, but did not offer any kind of partial refund for their bungle.
The next year, even if I wanted to ride with them, their prices jumped up so much it was cheaper to fly.
It’s definitely an experience to travel by train overnight and it is much more comfortable than a plane ride, but it was never on time and always had to defer to other trains because it didn’t have a dedicated line.
3 Likes
That reminds me of the time I took Amtrak from Chicago to St. Louis a few years ago for a dev conference. It was like 2 hours late and made me more motion sick than I’ve ever been in my life (which I was surprised by since at that point I was taking CTA - trains and bus - every day sitting forward/back/sideways/standing/stopping/starting). Amtrak was such and awful experience that I paid for a 1-way plane ticket back instead of using my return train ticket.
4 Likes
It does have that swaying motion. I found it to be soothing at night and helped me fall asleep (combined with my drowsy medicine at the time), but I can totally see it making someone ill. I’m wondering how I would feel nowadays. Pretty sure I can’t ride a rollercoaster anymore.
1 Like
My sister and I took the bullet train in Japan…there was no time to even feel sick at all…why can’t we have a bullet train in the USA? Seems every country has one!
I would probably get motion sickness as well…not a fun way to travel. I do like to drive, but I also like stopping at local places to eat and possibly pick up a souvenir.
2 Likes
Bullet trains in America: oof. So many reasons why not, mostly the history of how trains came to be in the usa, land rights, state vs federal govt, car & truck & airplane company lobbyists, indigenous people’s land rights, federal & state land usage, city govts … it goes on & on. I WISH we had bullet trains!!! I doubt they will happen any time soon (i hope to be proven wrong tho!).
1 Like
Yes, the whole history of railroads in the USA is pretty violent, corrupt and disgusting. They would probably have to use existing routes and old train routes…probably not in my lifetime…
2 Likes
Trains here are garbage. Expensive too! We lost our greyhound bus service as well. It’s ridiculous. Such an enormous country, 2nd largest globally, with no way to get around. European vistors are always astonished they can’t get anywhere without a car. We met an Estonian woman in Nova Scotia who had made plans to meet friends in Victoria BC the next day. She asked us for help figuring out the train, thinking she was missing how to find it. There was nothing to find.
2 Likes
I think for many Europeans, the sheer scale of you country is hard to grasp. Estonia is on the exact opposite side of Europe for me (very far away) and it’s still only 2000 km / 1200 miles. You can probably cover that distance in Canada without leaving your province.
And taking the train probably takes as long as driving. We’ve travelled all over Europe by train. Especially in Eastern Europe the road quality can be pretty terrible and driving habits are very different so it’s not just faster, it’s also safer. And trains attract a different crowd than long-distance buses - we’ve used those services a lot over the years and they fulfull a very important role, transporting people over a long distance for a low price, but I’ve absolutely not always felt safe.
2 Likes
5,857.9 km from Halifax to Victoria.
1 Like
That’s more than from Amsterdam, NL to the Chinese border (that’s 5300).
2 Likes
Another thing I was thinking of for our Meetup is to set up my copy of Arch Ravels, for anyone who wants to play. Or maybe even do a tournament over the course of the event, with some sort of prize. @Abbeeroad, @sheepBlue & I played when we visited together in October and it was so much fun. They’ve also just added some expansion packs on Kickstarter, and I ordered a few of them. I’m not sure they’ll arrive in time, but the original game is plenty fun on its own.
6 Likes
That game was really fun! I might get it for myself one of these days. Would def play again!
2 Likes
Yeah totally agree, it was easy to learn and fun to play together!
2 Likes
I loved how truly crafting themed it was. They nailed the ins and outs of yarn crafting.
3 Likes