Tuesday Travel Twofer
Posted on March 18, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 13 Comments
Today (Tuesday) I am traveling to Chicago for secret nefarious purposes of my own (read: doing some early publicity stuff for Zoe’s Tale) and thus will be busy doing things like driving, driving and driving some more. And YET, even driving I’ll spend less time traveling than if I flew into Chicago, and this way I won’t have to take off my shoes or unpack my laptop. I will have to pay tolls. Stupid tolls.
Anyway, to make up for the fact that I will not actually be here on Whatever all day long, I’ll be posting not one but two Big Idea pieces: The first will hit at 6am, and the second at noon. So there, you have your morning mapped out for you.
Depending on when I arrive I may check in and let you all know I am alive. Or I might not, which will not necessarily mean I am dead. However, if I am dead, I definitely won’t check in. Sorry. I’m probably making this more complicated than it needs to be.
Have a good trip! Don’t kill any cows.
Where are you going to be in Chicago John? That is, assuming it is book store stop publicity / public appearances.
I lived in Chicago for a few years. I miss much about the town, but not the tolls.
David McNelis:
Actually, it’s not a public appearance. However, I will be out near the airport.
I’m in Chicago at Fermilab for the week. I’m planning on going to the Blackhawks game on Wednesday, so let me know if you’re interested.
Ooh, ooh, just had a brainstorm!
You need a Scalzimobile, John!
Imagine it: Tool guys lounging at the tool booth, when they suddenly see approaching…
…SCALZI-MAN in his Scalzimobile, the one with the six-foot tailfins, flaming rocket exhausts on the back, and an old-style-Cylon oscillating red eye in the front grill.
“Look!” the toll guys shout. “It’s Scalzi-Man, on his way to taunt the tauntable! We can’t slow him down! Quick, raise the gate!”
Hey, and put a mask and cape on Athena… boom, instant sidekick.
Hey, I know I fixed those “tool” typoes before I posted. What the…?
So which cost more, the gas to drive, or the ticket to fly? Inquiring minds want to know!
JJS: I made a 9-hour drive over the weekend to check out the con Our Gracious Host is going to be GoH at next year. It would have been about 7 hours to fly, counting all the front-end, layover, and back-end delays. The plane ticket (for one person) would have been about $400, but that’s because I live in the DC area (for $800 I could have cut a whole hour off that flight time.) Even the lowest fares for a two-leg round-trip flight are around $200.
It cost me $90 of gas, round trip (little sports car, about 30 mpg.) Since I was traveling with my wife, it was a savings of $700 for me. I got two extra hours each way to converse with her and not be wedged into too-small seats with people with colds. Time well spent.
I live out in the suburbs. Too bad it’s not a public appearance. Welcome to Chicago!
Don’t kill any cows.
Thanks, that was good for a snort of coffee up the nose.
Now, for some reason, I’ve got Farside comic strips running through my mind.
#8
So which cost more, the gas to drive, or the ticket to fly? Inquiring minds want to know!
Well, google maps tells me it’s ~298 miles from Bradford, OH (where his bio says he lives) to Chicago. Let’s assume his car gets around 30 MPG highway. So, 10 gallons each way, total of 20, and we’ll assume $3.50/gallon. That gives us $70 in gas as a ballpark figure.
The best plane ticket prices from Columbus (granted, about 100 miles in the wrong direction) to Chicago I’ve seen are $45 each way, and that’s a special deal that Southwest does sometimes to fill up planes that have to get from one to the other anyway.
I just got an EZpass/Ipass/Izoom, in time for my upcoming drive through Chicago. The Indiana toll road is supposed to be fully converted by the end of the year. But they said that last year too. And you get discounts!