Bus Nerd and I do our best to limit air travel–in part because of the ridiculous amount of fuel it uses. This sucks a little because we like to go places. And sometimes, we need to go places. Like this weekend, for example. We’re headed to Detroit to visit his family (missed them over the holidays) and (this was his idea) participate in Detroit’s Winter Blast. The tagline for this event: “A Detroit celebration!” Hey, when it’s 12 degrees outside, I’m in no mood to celebrate. I’d rather sit in my Gail’s kitchen, drink a cup of something hot, and play with Hope, her newly adopted bulldog/lab. But I digress.

I first heard about TerraPass back in September. In a nutshell, it’s a company that helps individuals offset their carbon emissions by assessing fees for environmentally damaging activities (such as driving or flying) and donating the money to various clean-energy projects. It’s a reasonable concept, but I’m afraid it gives the impression that people (specifically, people with money to spare) can continue unsustainable, earth-damaging habits and then “undo” the damage by writing a check. (The FAQ on TerraPass’s website addresses this somewhat.)

Of course, you don’t need TerraPass to donate to alternative energy projects, but they do make it more convenient. They partner with major corporations, so you can pay up at the time you make a carbon-unfriendly purchase, and they even calculate the “cost” of your activity. We paid our fees ($17 per person–cheap, considering) through Expedia. It still feels a little like so much guilt balm, but I’m glad they’re out there–if for no other reason than to remind people of the impact of their choices.

And you know I’ll be rockin’ one of these snazzy luggage tags they sent us:

Maybe we’ll get noticed on the 194.

The MEHVA fall foliage tour turned out to be great fun. There were three buses full of people–60 riders total. Who knew these events were so popular?

Here’s the bus I rode:

I have to be real: This wasn’t the kind of “vintage” I was expecting. These buses were around when I was a kid, which–in my mind–just makes them old. They even had some of the signs I remember from my elementary school bus-riding days:

Despite the rain, the views were lovely, though you can’t tell that from the pictures. (Hey, you try taking decent photos from inside a moving vehicle–through a rain-spattered window that won’t open.)

We stopped at the Black Diamond Bakery for lunch, and I got a chance to talk to MEHVA volunteers Jeff, John, and Warren, who gave up their Sunday afternoon to host this bus-chick friendly event.

Thanks, guys!

Next MEHVA excursion: the Christmas lights tour on December 9th. I’ll definitely be there.

Recently, I’ve started to consider expanding my transportation options. No disrespect to the bus, which has served me well for many years and will remain my primary mode of transportation, but there are times when I want more control over when and how quickly I get somewhere. To that end, on Monday, I took a beginning commuter class through Cascade Bicycle Club’s Education Foundation. (Well, it wasn’t an official class; I spent a couple of hours getting schooled by their extremely knowledgeable commuting specialist, Chris Cameron.)

Busnerd, on Bike to Work Day, 2006

Despite the number of bike nerds I know, I’ve never really considered biking a viable option for regular travel, 1) because of practical considerations like how to dress, weather, and hours of daylight, and 2) because I am terrified to ride in the street. (I’ve participated in Bike to Work Day a few times, but for that, I used bike paths, trails and sidewalks. Plus, there was the added incentive of free food at the end of the line.)

Chris gave me some good information about how to equip a bike for safe travel, and we even did a trial run along Sand Point Way. I’m feeling confident enough to try biking on my trips to Madison Market and for other miscellaneous errands in my neighborhood. Next step: Find a decent used bike.

Highlights of Monday’s class:
• Riding the 74 for the first time (to get there)
• Meeting Patrick Burns McGrath (aka Cascade Commuter)
• The bowl of chocolate kisses in the CBEF office

Jim (left) on the most recent of his public transportation adventures

Jim Moore is a person who lives his job. A service planner for Sound Transit, the man will take public transportation anywhere: from Seattle to Anacortes, from Lake Quinalt to Seattle, and even from Seattle to Brewster (near Okanagan).

On Friday, to test the integration of the Sounder commuter train with one of Skagit Transit’s newest bus routes, Jim (and two other Sound Transit employees), completely of their own volition and using their own time and resources, took public transportation to Mount Vernon. I was fortunate to be one of the people invited along.

First, we took the Sounder from King Street Station to Everett. I am an old hand at riding Amtrak to Vancouver, but this was my first time on a Sounder. The ride costs $3.00 (less if you have a bus pass, nothing if you have a Flexpass), and you can actually purchase your ticket from a machine on the platform.

The train was comfortable, with reclining seats, plenty of legroom, outlets for electronic devices, and overhead storage bins. There were also bathrooms, a huge plus in this bus chick’s book. (Miraculously, I didn’t need to use one, so I can’t tell you how clean they were.) We rode in the front car, which is testing a wireless pilot. I did use that, and, as you can see from my hurried Friday afternoon post, it worked fine. But the best part, hands down, was the view. We spent the hour-long ride kicking back, looking out the window, and asking Jim how to get to various rural locations using transit.

View from the northbound Sounder, somewhere between Seattle and Everett

At Everett Station, we transferred to the Everett Connector (route 90 X), an express bus from Everett to Mount Vernon operated by Skagit Transit. The 90 X is a new route (started on July 10th) and currently runs four times (round-trip) in the morning and four times (round trip) in the evening. The ride to Mount Vernon’s Skagit Station (where you can also catch an Amtrak train, a Greyhound bus, or an Island Transit bus) costs $2.00 and takes about 50 minutes.

In Mount Vernon, we ate dinner at Skagit River Brewery, which is half a block from the train station. Some of my fellow travelers ordered a pitcher of their strong, house-made beer and were kind enough to let me taste it. (It was, indeed, very strong.) I ordered a barbecue “appetizer” that turned out to be large enough to serve sixteen. I barely made a dent (had to save room for dessert, after all) and so packed up the smelly pile of meat to carry on the long trip home.

To save time (and also because we had stayed out later than the last 90 X), we caught the southbound Amtrak right from the Mount Vernon station. The train, which was coming from Vancouver, was crowded by the time we got on, so to keep the group together, we sat in the bar car.

While I drank merlot from a plastic cup and watched the sun set in the spectacular Skagit Valley, I got schooled by Jim and the other transit nerds (“foamers,” as they call themselves) who came along for the ride. As someone who knows a lot about riding public transportation but very little about how it is funded or run, I was completely in awe of their deep understanding of all things transit. They knew about the history of the systems in our region. They knew about land use laws. They knew about the status of all of the transit-related ballot measures. They knew the manufacturer and model of the 90 X. And they knew just about everything there is to know about trains: speed capabilities, safety records, weight regulations, track conditions.

I was glad it was Friday and that I was enjoying the conversation, because there were a few delays (I think to let other trains pass) on the way back. We finally made it to King Street station at about 10:35 (scheduled in at 10:05). I caught the 14 home right outside the station.

Et voila! Seattle to Mount Vernon and back again, with some strong beer, great views, and not-so-great wine in between. Not bad for a car-free Friday night.

Cool stuff I encountered along the way:

• Skagit Transit’s fare boxes. They’ll take bills up to $20 and give you change in the form of a fare card. Nice!
• Internet kiosks in Everett station. They allow free trip planning but charge for general surfing. The paid surfing (usually, I assume by folks waiting for the train) funds the kiosks and their maintenance. Brilliant!
• Chocolate mousse and Snickers pies at Skagit River Brewery. Yum!

Not-so-cool stuff:
• Those trip-planning kiosks I mentioned earlier were out of service when I visited, so I didn’t get to see how well they worked. Actually, I guess I did.
• Amtrak’s self-serve ticketing machine in the Mount Vernon station. It was unreliable and prone to freezing. We barely got our tickets before the train arrived.
• Amtrak’s grouchy staff. Either Amtrak is seriously overworking these people, or they need to consider a different line of work.

I’m on one right now. Seriously. I’m on a “public transportation adventure” to Mount Vernon (more later). Who knew they had wireless on these things?