I took a very quick trip into New York City yesterday to do a mid-day event at a law firm. I left my house at 7:45 a.m. and returned at precisely 4:45 p.m.
I had been somewhat nervous about the travel logistics, as Amtrak was warning about track delays due to excessive heat. But I’d had my agent book me on the Keystone service, which is my little east coast train travel hack. The Keystone runs from Harrisburg, PA to NYC, meaning it only shares the main Amtrak northeast corridor line between Philadelphia and NYC. So delays elsewhere on the northeast corridor line (anywhere between Boston and Washington DC) don’t affect the service quite so much. The Keystone can get delayed, but it’s less likely to get delayed because it’s behind another delayed train, if that makes sense.
Anyway, for all the warnings the trip in was pretty charmed. We got in early — pulling into NY at least 10 minutes before our scheduled arrival time.
I have to say, after years of arriving and departing from rather dismal Penn Station, the new Moynihan Train Hall is amazing. The main hall is light and open! The food court offerings are excellent! (I tried a ramen shop on the way home). The existence of the hall also means you can now easily enter to catch a train from 9th Avenue, which runs southbound, so if you are coming from points north in Manhattan, your taxi/car doesn’t necessarily have to deal with Times Square/etc. I am a big fan.
While this is not officially on my summer fun list this year, today I think I will attempt a “tri” day (run, bike, and swim in one day). I ran this morning, so that’s crossed off the list. I’m bringing a kid to an activity that is fairly near a bike trail, so I plan to try a short ride later in the day. As it is only one kid, and he’s old enough to sit in the front, I can fold down the back seat to get my bike in there without dealing with the bike rack rigamarole. Then, going in the pool has become a fairly standard evening activity around here. I won’t really be swimming laps while life guarding, but I can do a little bit.
Not too much else to report but I guess that’s the fun of a blog…I’m trying to make the weekend schedule but needing to pivot since it looks like it will be rainy. We definitely need the rain, but I probably would prefer the rain on a Tuesday vs. a Saturday!
That is a genius travel hack! Hearing about potential delays can be really stressful, it’s great that you have a way to avoid a lot of that.
And I’ve never heard of a “tri-day”, but that’s such a fun idea! I’m going to mention that to a few people who I know would enjoy planning one or two of those.
@Jess B – the tri days certainly can be fun. I always give myself a little pat on the back, like, wow — I got a lot of activity!