We know that flying is the fastest way to get to your destination, but taking a train, a bus, a rickshaw or renting an RV or even self-driving a rental car can be an experience all in itself.
The Travel Collective hosts a coffee chat every other Saturday and have for quite some time- these chats have provided us with inspiration when we could not be traveling ourselves and we have met travelers who live in all parts of the World, Scotland, Russia, England, Spain, Canada and of course the USA where we live.
Hitch-hiking was fairly common in the 60s in the USA and we pondered whether it still exists more frequently in Europe. In doing a quick internet search to get more information the law in the USA states that “No person shall stand in a roadway for a purpose of soliciting a ride” but a few website and blog authors say that this has led to misinterpretation and depending on what state you are in it is LEGAL…. do your research and maybe check out other alternatives. Interstates seem to be the place where your trying to hitchhike would be most dangerous and come into question by law enforcement. Secondary roadsides off the actual road, many writers have shared interesting experiences with hitchhiking.
We did a lot of chatting about Travel over Waterways, river cruising, boats, yachts and ferries. We shared about Jo May Author of “A Barge at Large: Blundering around Europe in our old Dutch boat” who with his wife made the decision to sell their home and move onto a River Barge in Europe! He is a delightful story teller but traveling long term gave them new life.
We reached back and shared some train stories both internationally and stateside with Amtrak, there are routes to take for their scenic beauty and longer routes to really just sit back and travel in a different way. Economy on Amtrak still has bathrooms with large showers, and dining cars, and stops where you can walk into the nearby community. Traveling into Washington DC April made use of the lockers and then we explored much of the Mall, even on a budget we met others, and it was a good way to start a life long relationship. Cindy recently did 70 days using Amtrak to travel, staying in AirBnBs and visiting friends to work remotely and experience new places in the USA! The beauty is we can choose where to work from and more offices are now opening that possibility
We heard about Sleeper Buses- a few exist here in the USA as in routes from San Francisco to LA but they are more popular in other countries. There are a few companies that offer travel via a bus- sleeper bunks and not sure what the routes are so we would love to hear from you if you have traveled this way in 2022!
The stories we heard ranged far and wide- mostly past experiences but we were also sharing tips for current travel as well. We hope you will join on us on another Coffee Chat and if you are a small travel business owner reach out we would love to find how we can potentially connect and support you.
Travel providers, connect with us!
