Positively On The Move

Heading downtown

by Mauverneen

The holiday travel season is upon us. Bureau of Transportation Statistics report that The Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s holiday periods are among the busiest long-distance travel periods of the year. As if that’s any surprise.

During the 6-day Thanksgiving travel period, the number of trips 50 miles or more away increases by 54 percent, and during the Christmas/New Year’s Holiday period the number rises by 23 percent.  While most of this travel is done by car, 5 to 6 percent of those holiday trips are by air, while 2 to 3 percent involve other modes of transportation. Last year, this translated to over 40 million Americans on the move.

Airport Terminal

While there may not be as much traffic outside the U.S. during Thanksgiving, I would guess that the Christmas/New Year’s travel stats would echo those increases worldwide. Lucky the ones who are closer to the 50 mile mark than 500 or more miles.

On the Autobahn

My personal holiday travel by car was only across town and the past several Christmases only a 45 minute drive. But I have holiday travelled across the country both by plane and by train. Of course this all brings to mind the John Hughes movie ‘Trains, Planes and Automobiles’ with Steve Martin and John Candy.

Above the clouds

The weather can be iffy. Fog, rain, snow – they can all cause big delays. Rick and I were once stuck in Laramie, Wyoming for three days. We experienced a ‘whiteout’ while on the highway and were lucky to make it to Laramie while there was still a hotel room available. After the first day it wasn’t even snowing, but the roads had to be cleared of the cars and trucks that had either slid off or been blown off the road (and this was in October).

Snowstorm in Laramie

 

So if you’re travelling, allow yourself plenty of time to get there. And depending on how far you’re going and by what means, that could mean hours or it could mean days. So plan well, be safe, and enjoy the season!

coming in for a landing

Next week, I’ll take you on a train ride from Chicago to Reno. A lovely way to go!

Amtrak - heading West

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