Over the next few days I’ll be running a series of posts called “Planes, trains and automobiles,” playing homage to the classic John Hughes flick. The setting is our annual trip this past January to the Chicago area for B-Fest. Although at no time did our rental car burn down to the frame we encountered more than our fair share of problems before arriving on time for the festival. For the second straight year this was the plan:

  • Trans-Bridge Lines bus from Easton to the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT).
  • Eighth Avenue Line subway down to Pennsylvania Station.
  • Amtrak Northeast Regional to Washington, D.C.
  • Amtrak Capitol Limited to Chicago.
  • Rental car to Evanston, Illinois.

That’s not what eventually happened. Not even close. Stay tuned.

Featured image courtesy of jpmueller99 (Flickr: Amtrak #30 on the Magnolia Cutoff) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.