(04-18-2018, 08:03 PM)robkelk Wrote: You know, just because we have an 11-seater short bus doesn't mean we have to drive it cross-country.
Let's see... (goes and looks) ...it looks like a five-day train trip from Ottawa to San Antonio. Two and a half days on the trains, assuming no rail disruptions, with layovers in Windsor/Detroit (sleep only) and Chicago (at least half a day). More expensive than driving, but we can get up and walk around for most of the trip. Fewer opportunities for sightseeing, though.
And as long as I'm looking... (looks again) ...Amtrack's "Sunset Limited" takes 27 hours to go from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with no need to change trains. Too bad the track is too far south to see any of the Rocky Mountains.
Well, I told someone once about the difference between splurging for a sleeper stateroom on a train and simply driving.
Assume you're not like my parents with their batshit-crazy tendency to go full-bore cross country, not stopping except for fuel, food, bathroom, and driver changes. Preferably all in one stop. Which means you're stopping every night at a hotel.
So, compare all that: money spent on food, lodging, and fuel for a five day trip.
I'd budget at least $500 for fuel, five nights of hotel stays with five doubles and a single - assuming $50 for the single and $75 for a double - that's $2,125 right there. And lastly, food. Assuming two meals a day for eleven people, and at least $9 per meal... That's almost another $1,000 right there.
So just for the trip down, you're talking about $3,600... Double it... $7,200 round trip.
But with a sleeper berthing, you get all that, plus room to move around. Sleeper berthing accommodations include bathing and toilet facilities (though not always within the stateroom), included meals in the dining car, and reasonably comfortable beds.
The cost for one adult traveling from Toronto to San Antonio and back will run about $1,430... But there's eleven of you. Which means you qualify for a special group rate, which are usually quite a good value.
Let me tell you, this is going to be something the girls are not going to soon forget. They're used to train rides that, while lasting all day, will get them to wherever they need to go in Japan without needing lodgings midway. In short, they don't have stateroom cars because there's never been any need for them. But here in the Americas? Whole different kettle of fish, and the girls will get to have the unique experience of getting rocked to sleep by the swaying of a train car. I am certain that they are going to fall in love with American rail travel right away.
I wish *I* could have had that experience, but then again I've had the rather unique experience of sleeping one of the aft berthing compartments of a US Navy Destroyer. (Let me tell you, it doesn't get any better when the ship is fast-cruising at 20 knots - the whole ship is swaying, the screws are thrumming in the back, and the sea is foaming and hissing against the skin of the ship. Puts you out like a light.)
Anyhow... As for money... I think I got an angle. You guys remember my Tenchi Muyo SI fic? And how my SI used his workstation computer from 2017 as a 'super computer' in 1992, selling CPU time to universities, businesses, and government organizations? I we can get Washu and Kestrel together to work up something similar. Keep in mind, even in this day and age, people willingly pay through the nose for CPU time on supercomputers because as PCs have been advancing, so too have supercomputers. They just use a helluva lot more parallel processing now.
With this money, we can easily set up a 'Tennant Enrichment Fund' for things like these get togethers, or even more mundane stuff like group outings to the movies and stuff. Maybe even a stipend for personal spending. And the best part is that there's nothing bad about it at all. Our customers get exactly what they want for a fair price, and our Tenants get goodies.
Thoughts?