Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
OK so here's my update on Amtrak and how well they deal with fat people's needs in particular.
First off...everyone was so friendly. I never encountered any unfriendlies at all. That was a relief in and of itself. Nothing is worse than traveling with fat haters. The conductors were awesome. I didn't do much walking around going to Reno on the train. It left at almost midnight and I was plum tuckered out. Remember, my bedtime is normally at 8pm! I did, however, have to go pee. Whew. Not a small feat! Amtrak's normal size toilets are NOT, I repeat, NOT, made for fatties. At all. I could barely manage wedging my ass into the little space. It's smaller than a jet toilet if you can imagine that. It was bad. And since it was frowned upon to use the toilets in other cars I had to make do with what was available....and that was just shitty. No pun!
It was also COLD. Not just cold, cold. But FRIGID. I think they had the A/C set to 50F! It was freezing. And silly me, not having been on a train before, wasn't really aware of what all to bring. Now I do! A BLANKET!!!!!! I was lucky that I'd thrown a light sweater on on my way out the door to meet the train or I'd have been a popsicle by the time I arrived.
On my return on Amtrak I got a little braver. For those of you looking to travel by train I do suggest this mode. But be curious and ask questions. Do not accept things as they are. The second time around I asked where the nearest handicap toilet was and thankfully it was in my coach! Woohoo! Much better! You can move around in there! I also went down to the snack car and bought a sandwich and water. They DO take credit and debit cards, people. You do not need cash! I had my blanket that I'd brought from home and I crashed hard on the way back. I was so tired I kept waking up to my snores. (Sleep apnea is such a pain.)
So, for those of you looking into traveling by Amtrak I highly suggest it. The seats are side by side and for the most part if they see a single person traveling alone they don't bother with you and allow you to have both seats to stretch out on. The footrests come up like a recliner chair and there are foot rests as well. For the price...it was certainly worth it and I will do it again.
First off...everyone was so friendly. I never encountered any unfriendlies at all. That was a relief in and of itself. Nothing is worse than traveling with fat haters. The conductors were awesome. I didn't do much walking around going to Reno on the train. It left at almost midnight and I was plum tuckered out. Remember, my bedtime is normally at 8pm! I did, however, have to go pee. Whew. Not a small feat! Amtrak's normal size toilets are NOT, I repeat, NOT, made for fatties. At all. I could barely manage wedging my ass into the little space. It's smaller than a jet toilet if you can imagine that. It was bad. And since it was frowned upon to use the toilets in other cars I had to make do with what was available....and that was just shitty. No pun!
It was also COLD. Not just cold, cold. But FRIGID. I think they had the A/C set to 50F! It was freezing. And silly me, not having been on a train before, wasn't really aware of what all to bring. Now I do! A BLANKET!!!!!! I was lucky that I'd thrown a light sweater on on my way out the door to meet the train or I'd have been a popsicle by the time I arrived.
On my return on Amtrak I got a little braver. For those of you looking to travel by train I do suggest this mode. But be curious and ask questions. Do not accept things as they are. The second time around I asked where the nearest handicap toilet was and thankfully it was in my coach! Woohoo! Much better! You can move around in there! I also went down to the snack car and bought a sandwich and water. They DO take credit and debit cards, people. You do not need cash! I had my blanket that I'd brought from home and I crashed hard on the way back. I was so tired I kept waking up to my snores. (Sleep apnea is such a pain.)
So, for those of you looking into traveling by Amtrak I highly suggest it. The seats are side by side and for the most part if they see a single person traveling alone they don't bother with you and allow you to have both seats to stretch out on. The footrests come up like a recliner chair and there are foot rests as well. For the price...it was certainly worth it and I will do it again.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
So tomorrow night I will be embarking on my first Amtrak adventure to Reno. I'm writing this now because I have no idea how much time I will have tomorrow afternoon after work to worry about entering another blog. That's not to say that I may not create an entry from there...but I'm not planning on taking my laptop along so that's that.
I miss my husband, my pets...(even though I'll be leaving Peaches behind and missing her terribly). I'll be having a lot of fun just being with my husband and celebrating our 8th anniversary (as of today!)
So here I sit...pondering over just how to pack the big ass suitcase full of stuff that I don't use here so that I can get it back to Reno. Moving back one big suitcase at a time!
Oh...I can't forget my drugs. God help me if I forget my anti-depressants and blood pressure meds. I think I'd worry myself to death! Haha!
I miss my husband, my pets...(even though I'll be leaving Peaches behind and missing her terribly). I'll be having a lot of fun just being with my husband and celebrating our 8th anniversary (as of today!)
So here I sit...pondering over just how to pack the big ass suitcase full of stuff that I don't use here so that I can get it back to Reno. Moving back one big suitcase at a time!
Oh...I can't forget my drugs. God help me if I forget my anti-depressants and blood pressure meds. I think I'd worry myself to death! Haha!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
So I finally got smart and checked the pricing for Amtrak rides between where I live now and Reno and it's cheaper than driving. So I'm taking the train in a couple of weeks to Reno. This is a new thing for me. I've taken the trains all through Europe but Amtrak is a new experience. I was fretting about seat width because as a grossly obese woman I need to think of these things. And you don't even want to know how uncomfy it is to fly for me. So, when I read on Amtrak's site that the seats are wide and comfortable I didn't know if I should believe it or not. I mean....is that comfortable for a person size 5 or a person size 12 or a person size 28? Wide and comfortable is extremely vague. So...I did some searching online. Oddly enough there's not a lot of other people out there who are fat and travel by train. I wonder why....
So I ask friends on facebook and only one responded about getting a sleeper car and wishing they'd just gotten coach seats instead. Not a lot of help. So just when I think of giving up my new supervisor at work, also quite large, tells me that she's travelled via Amtrak and that I should have no problem. The seats truly are large and comfortable.
What a relief!
It's shit like this that makes me really not like being fat sometimes. Ah well....life moves forward!
So I ask friends on facebook and only one responded about getting a sleeper car and wishing they'd just gotten coach seats instead. Not a lot of help. So just when I think of giving up my new supervisor at work, also quite large, tells me that she's travelled via Amtrak and that I should have no problem. The seats truly are large and comfortable.
What a relief!
It's shit like this that makes me really not like being fat sometimes. Ah well....life moves forward!
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