We just did it from Corvallis Oregon- we stayed the night on the way down and on the way back, just off I-5 in Firebaugh at the Best Western Apricot Inn- nice and quiet, relaxed hotel- great pool!
OK that just sounds like a pleasant motel. ***apricot inn*** nice.
DH and I live 6 hours away from DLR.....we've made the drive the past 5 visits and we both agreed NEVER AGAIN!!!! LOL
It's long......tedious....and I5 is a very boring freeway.........
When I lived in San Jose (grew up there) that's how I felt too! Then I moved away and thought "I lived THAT (relatively) close and thought it was so far away????"
...why not stop off in san francisco and enjoy the sighst. Makes the trip a little easier.
$$$$$
And SF isn't right off 5 so it takes time, too.
I'm from CA, and I have family all over, and even if I just choose one person to visit, it takes so much time and doesn't seem to add enjoyment (they want me to stay longer, I wish they'd just come to DLR with us).
In any case, we'll definitely be discussing the pro's and con's of both! Well, and taking a train, too. That sounds interesting.
Thanks for all your opinions!
The train is indeed interesting! I've only gone from Seattle to San Jose, and that was a solid 24 hours. Spent an hour sitting in the trainyard just south of the Seattle station b/c there was something going on on a track or something like that.
The way back home, it was delayed several hours...every little delay along the way causes a BIG effect down the line, so by the time it got to San Jose it was rather delayed.
I have friends who were coming home from CA to Seattle back in '01 or so (hey, maybe the same train as the other poster!) and it was 24 hours LATE getting home...yikes.
When I took the train, it was b/c I was 7 months pregnant and scared to fly. So my dad got me a ticket and a roommette. The room not only gives you a place to sleep, but it also causes you to be a first class passenger, giving you FOOD (very important for me at that time) and access to the special lounge.
But you have to have the extra vacation time, you have to have the proper mind-set that you're not looking at the clock every hour, and you have to be OK with being bashed into the walls as you make your way down the aisles as the train moves.
And...if you're 7 months pregnant, I would try to get a room with a bathroom (NOT the 2 person roommette!) or just don't change out of your clothes, for alllll the trips you're going to take down the hallway. On the way back, my dad managed to charm them into moving me to an Accessible room, with the bathroom in the room, and I was infinitely happier there.
Anyway, I like the train, but it's $$$, takes much longer, and requires the right mindset (and it's good to either have the money in case of extreme delays to buy a plane ticket, or have even more vacation time on either end, just in case you are late).
While in college, I would drive from Tacoma to Santa Cruz in one shot...maybe 2 quick stops, and if I didn't need to take a nap at a rest area (gosh, how intelligent of me), I'd make it in 12 hours. No more, I tell you, no more! Not since I particularly frightening trip from Tacoma to the middle of Montana...now I hate driving long mountainous distances.
If I manage to forget that and drive again, we won't do it quickly. We'll take our time. And we won't stop at the Worst Super8 Ever (in Medford on Aviation Drive), where we were afraid to take off our shoes in our room b/c it was so dirty.
