> Since you are a coast to coast commuter, I can't help but wonder if you have ever made
> that trip down on the ground.

Never have as of yet. I'd like to someday, though. I haven't seen much of the interior of the country.

>We have driven to the west coast once and back twice, but now we are talking about taking a
>train trip to Portland, Oregon, down to Reno and back home.

I was in Portland briefly once. It seems like a pretty nice city. If you do make that trip and you can get a ways up north (I'm unfortunately unsure of driving times), I highly recommend Olympic National Park, if you've never been. It's absolutely beautiful scenery, and you can make a pleasant day trip of just driving around that area. (It's also home to the best roadside sign I've ever seen: "WARNING: No warning signs, next ___ miles.")

> I think I have lost track of the number of times I have flown to the west coast, but it is
>probably between 30 and 40. If I get a window seat, I still spend a lot of time glued to the
>window. I never get tired of it.

I mostly sleep or read. Today was a sleeping flight. I hadn't gotten enough sleep for the past week and a half, so I just conked out for a couple of hours. The chairs are really bad for it, though; I can never manage to keep upright and always end up leaning into the person next to me or into the aisle. I like the seats with those headrests that you can bend up to either side; that tends to help with the leaning.

> PS - Never pack swords in your carry-on. ;-)

And when the airline personnel ask what's in the bag, say "sporting equipment" first. "Fencing equipment," if they ask for elaboration. My coach drilled this into me before I took my fencing stuff on a plane for the first time. I really don't want to think about what would happen if I just told someone, "Oh, those are my swords." ;)

~Chrysan"I don't have any carry on bags that are long enough, anyway"themum~