Chris cannot handle a 77-hour (one way!) journey and three train changes.Way back when I took the California Zephyr from Chicago to Denver for the cheapest fare available. It was pretty much the same cost as flying, but reasons. It felt like I had a lot of privacy in just a high backed long seat, it was nice not being arm to arm with some rando.
I think the rail experience would much better suit Chris than flying, especially if he has a connection flight. That doubles the chance of him having a meltdown and not being allowed on the plane, which for all the crap he wears and other obvious reasons puts him at a high risk for. I'm sure security for Amtrak has been beefed since my trip, but once he's on the train it's likely he can just chill and sperg out without bothering anyone much.
Even if it costs a little more and would produce less milk, when has price ever been a considering factor for Chris?
Segment 1 of 3
Charlottesville, VA, (CVS) 176 Northeast Regional
8:53a, Mon, Aug 9 (2h 29m)
Washington, DC, (WAS ) Union Station
11:22a, Mon, Aug 9
4h 43m layover > transfer
Segment 2 of 3
Washington, DC, (WAS) Union Station 29 Capitol Limited
4:05p, Mon, Aug 9 (17h 40m)
Chicago, IL, (CHI ) Union Station
8:45a, Tue, Aug 10
5h 30m layover > transfer
Segment 3 of 3
Chicago, IL, (CHI) Union Station 7 Empire Builder
2:15p, Tue, Aug 10 (46h 10m)
Seattle, WA, (SEA ) King Street Station
10:25a, Thu, Aug 12
Not to mention the third segment from Chicago to Seattle includes ALL of these stops:
Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Glenview, IL (GLN)
Milwaukee, WI - Downtown (MKE)
Columbus, WI (CBS)
Portage, WI (POG)
Wisconsin Dells, WI (WDL)
Tomah, WI (TOH)
La Crosse, WI (LSE)
Winona, MN (WIN)
Red Wing, MN (RDW)
St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN - Union Depot (MSP)
St. Cloud, MN (SCD)
Staples, MN (SPL)
Detroit Lakes, MN (DLK)
Fargo, ND (FAR)
Grand Forks, ND (GFK)
Devils Lake, ND (DVL)
Rugby, ND (RUG)
Minot, ND (MOT)
Stanley, ND (STN)
Williston, ND (WTN)
Wolf Point, MT (WPT)
Glasgow, MT (GGW)
Malta, MT (MAL)
Havre, MT (HAV)
Shelby, MT (SBY)
Cut Bank, MT (CUT)
Browning, MT (BRO)
East Glacier Park, MT (GPK)
Essex, MT (ESM)
West Glacier, MT (WGL)
Whitefish, MT (WFH)
Libby, MT (LIB)
Sandpoint, ID (SPT)
Spokane, WA - Amtrak Station (SPK)
Pasco, WA (PSC)
Wishram, WA (WIH)
Bingen-White Salmon, WA (BNG)
Vancouver, WA (VAN)
Portland, OR - Union Station (PDX)
Ephrata, WA (EPH)
Wenatchee, WA - Amtrak Station (WEN)
Leavenworth, WA - Icicle Station (LWA)
Everett, WA (EVR)
Edmonds, WA (EDM)
Seattle, WA - King Street Station (SEA)
Charlottesville, VA, (CVS) 176 Northeast Regional
8:53a, Mon, Aug 9 (2h 29m)
Washington, DC, (WAS ) Union Station
11:22a, Mon, Aug 9
4h 43m layover > transfer
Segment 2 of 3
Washington, DC, (WAS) Union Station 29 Capitol Limited
4:05p, Mon, Aug 9 (17h 40m)
Chicago, IL, (CHI ) Union Station
8:45a, Tue, Aug 10
5h 30m layover > transfer
Segment 3 of 3
Chicago, IL, (CHI) Union Station 7 Empire Builder
2:15p, Tue, Aug 10 (46h 10m)
Seattle, WA, (SEA ) King Street Station
10:25a, Thu, Aug 12
Not to mention the third segment from Chicago to Seattle includes ALL of these stops:
Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Glenview, IL (GLN)
Milwaukee, WI - Downtown (MKE)
Columbus, WI (CBS)
Portage, WI (POG)
Wisconsin Dells, WI (WDL)
Tomah, WI (TOH)
La Crosse, WI (LSE)
Winona, MN (WIN)
Red Wing, MN (RDW)
St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN - Union Depot (MSP)
St. Cloud, MN (SCD)
Staples, MN (SPL)
Detroit Lakes, MN (DLK)
Fargo, ND (FAR)
Grand Forks, ND (GFK)
Devils Lake, ND (DVL)
Rugby, ND (RUG)
Minot, ND (MOT)
Stanley, ND (STN)
Williston, ND (WTN)
Wolf Point, MT (WPT)
Glasgow, MT (GGW)
Malta, MT (MAL)
Havre, MT (HAV)
Shelby, MT (SBY)
Cut Bank, MT (CUT)
Browning, MT (BRO)
East Glacier Park, MT (GPK)
Essex, MT (ESM)
West Glacier, MT (WGL)
Whitefish, MT (WFH)
Libby, MT (LIB)
Sandpoint, ID (SPT)
Spokane, WA - Amtrak Station (SPK)
Pasco, WA (PSC)
Wishram, WA (WIH)
Bingen-White Salmon, WA (BNG)
Vancouver, WA (VAN)
Portland, OR - Union Station (PDX)
Ephrata, WA (EPH)
Wenatchee, WA - Amtrak Station (WEN)
Leavenworth, WA - Icicle Station (LWA)
Everett, WA (EVR)
Edmonds, WA (EDM)
Seattle, WA - King Street Station (SEA)
Imagine Chris getting frustrated and impatient while sitting at each one of those stations during the 46 hour train trip (that's ONLY from Chicago to Seattle).
And then imagine the likelihood of him wanting to do it all over again three days later...