My trip to the US

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I'm just back from two weeks in the US, where I took a train trip around the country.

The route was New York - New Orleans - Los Angeles - San Francisco - Chicago - New York.

I could write a fuller review of this later on, and probably will, but for now I'm going to focus on the points that have to do with travelling as a person with AS. By all means if you have any questions though, don't hesitate to ask.

The AS-related pros: Knowledge of geography, always seeming to know better than the Americans where we were; a liking for and knowledge of transport which obviously helped with my success at travel, and made the long train trips (travelling wise, at least) absolutely no problem to me. Visiting, seeing and exploring the cities was very enjoyable for me, was a good experience with hardly any trouble.

But on the other hand, there were also experiences I wouldn't want to repeat, which AS must have had some bearing on.

- Latched onto by a guy on the train, approaching New Orleans, who wanted me to carry one of his bags into my hotel there (AND he was to be on my next train too). Obviously suspicious, most likely drugs involved, no doubt deep trouble had I accepted.

- The trains made stops at various places other than the termini listed above, and at those other places you could get out/explore for a while. Well, in one such place - San Antonio - I managed to have a brush with the police. I couldn't even explore the streets near the station without an approach from a cop who questioned me, when all I was doing was having a look round. I mean I would never have this problem if walking around near Ednburgh Waverley, or Glasgow Central, or any UK station.

- The Chicago-New York train proved a scary experience for me. I got a pretty scary guy beside me for the duration of this trip. And, at one point in the trip he tried to take a lunge at me. In fact it wasn't only him, but also the guy in front of me was trying to grab me at another point.

Other than that I do not recommend Amtrak trains for Aspies or those with social anxiety. There is a serious communitarian thing going on. There is forced socialisation at meal times, if you choose to go for them, and even if not you still have an awful lot of interaction which in itself got too much for me.

If I went back to America - I may or may not do but as I say I had a good time visiting the cities and would very happily go back to NY, LA or SF - then I sure would never take the train again.

You could avoid quite a bit of the socialization if you pay for you own room. You may also be able to get meals delivered to that room if you mention to the conductor in advance of your disability.

I have taken many Amtrak trains from Wisconsin to Western New York in the past. My biggest issue is that the trains were never on time it seems or repaired well.

What a grand adventure. I'd love to hear more about both the trip and the strategies if you find yourself moved to post more in the future

If you ever come back to the US their are some nice areas outside the major cities and cities you didn't go to. (Palm Springs CA is beautiful!) I personally like small beach towns (particularly the one I practically grew up in/2nd home). Only issue is such areas are difficult to get to w/o a car once your done flying.

Problems there are:
1.1 Amtrak is a US government operation funded by the US Congress and they don't much give a rats posterior.
1.2 Some Amtrak services are partly funded by individual State Governments and they don't see it as worth much of anything either.
1.3 and those aren't helped by a sort of generalized public perception of trains as "old timey".
Most people outside of the several major large cities these days will rarely if ever see a passenger train, and then most likely a commuter train, or even streetcars/trolleys/trams.

2. Except for some track between Washington D.C. and New York City, Amtrak is sort of a "guest" on freight Railroads' tracks and a lot of them aren't real thrilled about Amtrak getting in the way of the money-making freight trains. So, Amtrak is often treated like an unwanted stepchild.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak

Last edited by southwestforests on 14 Sep 2009, 10:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I would love to go to Scotland...love those castles! Other places in Europe would be: Italy, Germany, and Ireland. About your trip, if you really want to see what America has to offer, and really enjoy yourself, without all of the hassle of the police and druggies...stay away from the big cities.

What, you didn't go to Texas?

Anyway, I went to San Francisco years ago, and it was one of the best vacations ever.

Yeah Amtrak is government owned and operated and it sucks. (One of very very few government services here. Everything is in private hands. Hell, our nuclear plants are in private hands!)

Next time fly from one state to the next, and rent a car at each location. That's how one experiences the US proper.

The scary people riding public transportation are a pretty regular occurence, actually. Unlike in Europe, public transportation here is largely perceived as poor person's choice. Besides we are in love with our cars.

Still, it sounds like you had a great time. Tell us more when you get a chance.

Did you get to see the LA beaches?!

After the Interstate Freeways, not much thought has gone into our transportation infrastructure in the US.. except how to raise taxes to pay for all the roads we made.

Our bus and rail system are in sorry shape.
Air travel is being cut back.

If you want to see America, rent a car & buy a Tom Tom. I rented an SUV for $25 a day just two months ago, no mileage charge. Swing by Walmat, grab a tent & a sleeping bag...camp out when you can, find hotel bargains on the web when you want a hot shower & a clean bed (you can often find an good room for about $30 a night)

IMHO: The best way to see any country is to pick a small community somewhere and stay there for a few weeks getting to know the people.

I think San Antonio is close to Texas
At least it got the biggest paragraph

1. Congrats on your tour. Too bad you didn't see the better parts of America, but the train offers very limited options.

2. Creep on the train...not uncommon. You handled it well.

3. San Antonio...cops in Texas are not always regarded as the nicest.

4. Chicago...big cities have a higher percentage of scary people. Sounds like someone wanted to mug you.

5. Public forms of transport brings issues. Having a MP3 player might help. If you can drive over here, I'd recommend driving to scenic spots rather than ever take the train again.

I am only 45 minutes away from San Antonio.

Well, as I was coming to the end of my rail trip I seriously considered upgrading to a roomette or sleeper to avoid said socialisation, yet I knew the prices were somewhat over the top so didn't bother. I had paid for the $389 USA Rail Pass for 15 days, which seemed quite a deal!

Yeah I ended up being able to go to Texas and spend a short while in three cities, as the NOLA-to-LA Sunset Limited train made three stops on the way at which you could get off for a while. Other trains did this too. This was a pleasant surprise, being able to set foot in more places than I expected to do. These three stops in Texas were Houston, San Antonio and El Paso - not that there was much to see near the stations.

Unfortunately I cannot drive so am restricted to public forms of transportation. And it would be pointless me learning to drive just so I could visit America in a vacation where I could drive. Besides I think you have to be driving for 3 years in your own country to get an international licence? If in America again I'd fly between places, as if the trains were too much to cope with I sure couldn't handle the intercity buses either.

Los Angeles: while there I did indeed get to the beach, at Santa Monica, which was a place I really liked. I thought it was a great, vibrant atmosphere there. I also went to Hollywood and West Hollywood. Not that I was at all interested in the celebrity stuff but was interested more in seeing these places as neighbourhoods. Was staying in downtown LA, not far from the station.

When you were stopped by a policeman while having a look around, were you trespassing on private property that you assumed was public access? I ask because that's something that my husband encountered when he was first here in the US. He's from England, and apparently there you can just walk across fields from one place to the next. In the US, we have huge amounts of space, but you can't walk on any of it, because it all is someone's property.


Anyway, it's neat that you were able to take the trip, just for the experience. How many people felt it necessary to comment on your accent? I bet a lot.

I've never taken a train anywhere. We sometimes go down to Legoland, California, down at the very southern end of the state. We've considered taking the train most of the way, but apparently they are often up to eight hours late, so the eight hour drive through desert nothingness is actually quicker and easier.

Santa Monica? Sweet! My old stomping ground. While I was there I'd run along the boardwalk in the mornings between Santa Monica peer and brakewater at Marina Del Rey.

The beaches are just outrageous, aren't they? The sand has the consistency of flour. They have these tractor-like machines that come through early in the morning and sift the sand.

I certainly wasn't on private property when stopped by the police. I can safely say I was on a public highway. I know in Scotland you have what's called the "right to roam", as long as you're not creating a nuisance or engaging in antisocial behaviour. I have no wish to ever touch places such as San Antonio again if I'm going to find it that easy to get in trouble with the police.

You guessed right, a lot of people commented on my accent, most correctly guessing it was Scottish. A few people guessed Irish. I have occasionally had people here guess my accent was American, which in reality doesn't mean it really is - just more American than a Scottish accent normally is. In America, one guy said at first he thought my accent was Scottish, then decided no it's not, it's a New Orleans accent.

I know the train takes up to twelve hours to get from Los Angeles to Emeryville (the station for San Francisco, and it was actually in Emeryville that I stayed because of the location of the station). So yes, driving's definitely a lot quicker for you. I didn't actually go on the beach as such, at Santa Monica, but spent time on the pier and along the seafront. The beach does look inviting though.