I didn’t get many articles out this month other than a couple of NASA public outreach publications so I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. This time of year can be tough, and sometimes tougher when family is involved but let’s remember the Thanks in Thanksgiving and put aside petty negativity and past squabbles and treat our families, friends, neighbors, and who or what ever makes up your family or those you will be with this Thanksgiving and get ready to enjoy that good food that’s coming. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

I live in Portland, Oregon but I will be travelling to the San Francisco Bay Area as I usually do every Thanksgiving. In our family Thanksgiving is the big holiday. Birthdays, Christmas, Valentines days might be days forgotten or not much cared for, but Thanksgiving is that one day when the family comes from wherever they are and we get together for the annual Thanksgiving tradition. I’ll be travelling specifically to Martinez, California. Martinez is where my sister lives and where I’ll be spending the Thanksgiving holiday. Nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, close family friends, brothers, sisters, associated kids etc etc will all be there and it will be hectic, but the thing on the top of my mind is the food. Oh I can’t wait for the food, and the leftovers for the following days.

When I travel I usually take Amtrak, because I enjoy travelling on the train. It is an 18 hour ride from Portland, Oregon to Martinez, California but I don’t mind it. I enjoy it. The fact my sister lives in Martinez and there’s an Amtrak stop there makes it very convenient for me, and everyone else. I’ve found prices to be pretty much the same whether I fly, Greyhound it (God forbid, lol), or take Amtrak, and I prefer to take the train unless there’s a time pressure. I just enjoy riding the trains. It’s spacious, comfortable, allows for extra baggage if you have it though I never do. There’s a lounge car, concessions, and some trains even have a little movie/recreation section and some trains even have a coin op video game or two. There’s a nice train car with a see through plexiglass roof which is nice to sit in for a little bit during the night if the views are nice. There are electrical outlets on the train at every seat so you can keep your electronics charged and binge video’s the whole time if that’s what you wanna do. There’s a dining car as well though that tends to be expensive. I occasionally splurge and take one of the sleeper cars with private room which includes dinner, though that’s not the case this time. It’s not too bad if you can split the cost with someone. The sleeper rooms comfortably hold a couple adults, plus a child or two if you need it. There’s even showers on the sleeper cars. There’s also a little store which has comfort food items, coffee, hot water, burritos, small selections of fruits and bakery items etc etc but I always pack some food on trips to avoid spending money on the train if I can.

Usually for Thanksgiving I travel for about $80 each way but this year I goofed and reserved my seat a bit late so the getting there portion ran me $180 this year, but the return will be the regular $80 that I’m used to. Plus I have some mileage points which always helps to lower the cost a bit. In fact I usually save those points so some years I get to travel just based on points and not spend anything for the trip, which is always nice.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and coming holiday season. Keep your dealings with others compassionate this season and keep your internal light shining bright.