Need help with a travel decision?

Question

My daughter and I will be moving from Washington to Iowa in March. She will be a year old then. A plane ticket will cost $300 or more and can be up to a 9 hour trip. Then when I get to the Des Moines airport, my mom would have to drive an hour 1/2 to come pick me up when my plane gets there after midnight (the only time any of the cheaper flights arrive!). I will be traveling alone with my daughter. My second option would be to take Amtrak. This would be convenient because there is a train station in my hometown that I am moving back to, and the arrival times for those trips are around 7:00 in the morning, so getting a ride would not be a problem. But for that, the train from WA to CA takes 19 hrs 44 m, then there is a 5 hour layover, then from CA to IA it is a 42 hr 5m trip. BUT the ticket, with my military discount, is only $176.40. What way should I go? It is already going to cost about $1500 for movers to move our household goods.

Answer 1

Trains are not bad. I have a friend who takes a cross country ride every year because she loves to look at the land. That price can't be beat! My concern would be what would you do during the layover? The baby would need a nap in there and would get bored just staying in the station. Maybe you could take a cab to the movie theater or Chucky Cheese in town to make a little mini trip out of it. Do a Local search on Yahoo! to figure that one. Why would the plane flight be 9 hours? Did you look for a flight with no stops? Its too stressful to catch connecting flights, they don't give you enough time to run from one side of the airport to the other. I was going to say fly, but again, saving money is great and the train ride is relaxing and can be beautiful. God bless.

p.s. You might want to consider picking up one of those mini portable DVD players, too. There were some on sale for $60 at Christmas time.

Answer 2

Will a one year old really get upset at the longer trip? She'll probably (when she's awake) enjoy the new sensations - and be better with a 7am start than a midnight meeting, an hour 1/2 trip and another moving/awakening.
And I'd love to travel down the US West Coast by train - I've been told its great, as is the cross-continental trip. You'd see parts of your country you'd never see otherwise!

Answer 3

while you're a baseball fan, i could advise NYC, because of the fact the two Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium are remaining after this year. while you're a history buff, then Washington D.C. could be my suggestion. In vast apple you ought to bypass to floor 0, the statue of liberty, Yankee Stadium, cases sq., you ought to bypass see David Letterman or Conan O'Brien, there is likewise Broadway with a ton of theatre innovations, and there is often Coney Island. In Washington D.C., there is the Smithsonian, the Capitol, the White homestead (regardless of what you think of of the present occupant) it fairly is a funky place to bypass to, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial, the Vietnam memorial, Arlington national Cemetary, and assorted greater good issues.