Traveling

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Anyone on the spectrum that hates to travel by train or airplane since it can be very crowded? How do you deal? Do you rarely travel then? Or if you do do you tend to drive to your destination? Just wondering...

I have rarely needed to travel long distances. As a child I was taken on some long drives to visit far away relatives. Once as a child I was on a small plane, to have a ride as a treat. I have been on trains a very few times. I have been on public buses a number of times. I have driven myself some long distances to visit distant places, but am not likely to do that any more. I have sleep apnea, which leaves me tired all the time. Staring at the road on long drives is likely to lead to my falling asleep behind the wheel. Not good.

I would not want to travel by air. I have read too many stories of crew under the influence of drugs or booze. Also, I don't want to be groped or irradiated. The crowds would bother me too. I am also turned off by the cramped seating I have heard about, and the bathrooms are too cramped as well. Yes, I am over weight, but I think I would feel they were cramped even if I was in my proper weight range. I also don't want to put up with on board drunks and unruly or freaked out children. If I had to put up with all that for several hours I would be a basket case myself, so flying is not an option. I would consider train travel for long distances. It's a lot like a bus, only there is more freedom to move around. Because of that you can get away from unruly or noisy fellow passengers. I still think the bathrooms are probably too cramped though, so I would have to make sure I went before boarding. A bus is good over shorter distances, but not so good for longer distances, as you really aren't supposed to walk around while it is in motion, except to use the facilities if it has on board accommodations. Some long distance buses do.

Mostly I stay home, except for errands or occasional visits to nearby family members. The longest drives I ever took were several round trips to Philadelphia from Morris County, NJ--about 6 hours round trip, to take my mother to visit relatives some years ago, and then some years later, when I moved here--about 5 hours one way. After that I went on several shorter long drives for cancer treatment, but since then I have stayed closer to home.

Like others on the spectrum, I really don't like noise, crowds, and cramped accommodations, but sometimes you have to put up with it.

i usually manage to tune out others by listening to music trough noise-cancelling headphones, if i then have an open book in front of me, noone tries to bother me, as i'm "reading"

I too don't like flying unless I can travel in first or business. It tends to be way less crowded and easier access to the bathroom. Also the times I have flown on those classes, rarely are their children seating in those classes. I also tend to think that flight attendants are more friendly with first or business class passengers. But with that flight attendant yelling on board and then that pilot, I'm scared. I never had to put up with onboard drunks, but unruly children, yes I have! That's why I try and avoid flying coach. I can't stand flying also due to the turbulence and it affects my bladder big time. I have a bladder disease.
But when I do fly, it's mainly from Dulles to Seattle. I love it when the pilot flies over Mt Rainier because the scenery is so pretty. My dad's family live in Central NJ so its a 5 hour drive and I prefer to be in car actually. I'm going to Charlotte NC next weekend and its about a 6 hour drive.

With train travel I already do that from the train station near my house to work here in DC. I have been doing that for nearly 10 years. It's ok though. I leave so early from home that the crowds aren't bad. I leave DC before 4pm so it's fine. I find that if you leave work in DC after 430pm there is plenty of people standing. Talk about BO and overcrowding. The thing I hate on public trains crowded or not is that there tends to be an middle age man staring at me. UGH! Nasty!! !

I did use Acela Express few times from DC to Central NJ to visit dad's family alone. I went on one last fall and it was fine. Acela has quiet car which is great. So no kids on that! Plus no one can talk loud! It's annoying when people talk so loud on their cell phones or have their IPODs on so loud! I can't avoid that on the public train into work since they don't have quiet cars. I hate the summer time due to the huge pop of tourists visiting DC. I can use the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) to get to work, since they offer a quiet car, and no tourists use them, however they don't stop anywhere near my office.

So with traveling, driving or Acela is the way to go for me. So that means no more airlines for me.