Tag: introvert

It’s November 13, and Thanksgiving is a mere two weeks away. That means it’s the season for mischief and mayhem. And this year is going to be filled with plenty of mayhem for me.

Most of my family live in Georgia. But I moved to the Washington, DC area 10 years ago and don’t normally go home for Thanksgiving because I don’t want to have to deal with Atlanta Hartsfield airport madness during the busiest travel week of the year. I also don’t want to deal with holiday traffic getting in and out of DC by car or bus. But, if I want to go home, and I do this year, I can always take the train.

Now the train ride from DC to Atlanta takes 14 hours. That’s a long train ride. However, you don’t have the same hassles that you deal with when flying. For example, I can check two full size suitcases for free and not have to worry about my luggage getting lost. I am also allowed two carry-on items and a personal item. If I need to carry-on more than that, it’s a fee of $20 per extra item, that’s cheaper than checking a suitcase when flying. Also, the train is an overnight train. That means the train is schedule to leave at approximately 6:30 p.m. and arrive in Atlanta at approximately 8:43 a.m. the next day. For the return, departure is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. from Atlanta and arrives in DC the next day at approximately 1:47 p.m. If you’re not in a rush, and I’m not, it’s doable.

I’ve taken this train trip several times over the years. At first, I always booked a ticket for coach. Three or four train rides to Atlanta and back ago, I upgraded to booking a roomette. Why would I pay a lot more for a roomette? Because I’m an introvert wanting to avoid other people. In a roomette I can close and lock my door in order to cocoon myself from the rest of the world. It’s perfect! The two seats in a roomette fold down flat to create a bed, so I also get to sleep laying flat. Those two things alone make traveling home to visit family a much more pleasant experience for me. Another benefit of having a roomette and being able to shut and lock the door….I don’t need my earbuds to listen to music or a book. I am one of those people that can’t read or watch a movie while in motion. I will literally get motion sickness whenever I try.

When I come back from this Thanksgiving trip, I will dive into the mayhem of holiday cooking/baking. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, I can usually be found in my kitchen making peanut brittle, baking cookies, and cooking holiday meals. It’s constant chaos.

But wait….there’s something else in the mix this year. Hunny Bun and I will head back to Manhattan via the train for two nights. We’re going to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at the iconic Radio City Music Hall (we went two years ago and loved it so are going back to see them again). We will see Hamilton on Broadway. And I will check off another “bucket list” item….ice skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Two years ago I checked ice skating at Rockefeller Center off my “bucket list”.  And as time permits, we will see and do a couple of others things that are on our “Can Do Only In New York” list.

And thru all of that, I must have my Christmas music, Christmas movies, and Christmas books. Trust me, once Thanksgiving turkey has been consumed, it will be all Christmas all the time until the day after Christmas. Lucky for me that Hunny Bun doesn’t seem to mind. Our one disagreement is over whether the movie ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie. Now before I get inundated with opinions on that subject….I honestly don’t care what anyone else’s opinion is on that.

So what you can expect over the next few weeks are blogs about my traveling experiences, the antics my family gets up to during the holidays, blogs about time spent with my two grandchildren, my adventures in holiday cooking/baking, and what I’m reading/listening to. I have jam packed holiday season ahead. What are your plans this holiday season? Let me know what you’re up to, I might want to add one of your holiday traditions/experiences to mine.