Taking a train to Chicago, what could go wrong?

alternate title: Going through Donner Pass in winter, WCGW?

alt alt:Train to a train to a train to a train to a train to Chicago, WCGW?

Because I suddenly am worried about Amtrak's continued existence, I may have impulse booked the California Zephyr, with few days stop-over in Truckee, right near Donner Pass. I was supposed to do this trip a few times, but first covid and then other trips took precedence. New Orleans derailed all my other travel plans.

I may regret only having two days in the Donner Pass area, or it may be too snowbound to do anything. We will see.

I will, by then, have my replacement writing laptop. I was going to get my old one repaired, but it would cost 3x the cost of said laptop to get it repaired and also be more than 2/3rds the cost of replacing it with a Lenovo laptop with a service plan. (Lenovos are known for build quality, so while a problem like this shouldn't happen to a relatively new laptop, it really, really should not happen to a Lenovo) I have never bought a service plan or extended warranty in my life. Overall, they are not worth it, but also, uh, something bad might happen to the price of electronics in the US soon and just extra securing my laptop seems like a good idea. I still need to figure out how to pull the data because my last backup was... older than it should have been. I now have running backups as a recurring event on my GCalendar, but that doesn't help me right now.

Getting the data pulled would cost $200. I know how to do it, but like... if I try I might make a mess. I just need to pull the drive and connect it to the new laptop as an external drive, then return the cables and cage once I'm done. In theory, it should be easy?

Also, I know what is wrong with the laptop. It is very fixable and would be about ten minutes of work for someone who knows what they are doing. I am fine with 'one hour billing minimum' and even paying $100 for that hour, but not $300. I just can't do it. I will not be ripped off like that. But, I am going to keep it because it's very repairable so I'm not donating it to Free Geek like I normally would. Actually, not long ago I brought all my old tech to Free Geek (local charity that refurbishes tech for non-profits and low income people, also teaches repair skills. They sometimes run 'you learn to build it, you keep it' PC clinics for students) Anyway, if I really need it, I do own it and can figure out something if I really need it for whatever reason. I just need to figure out if I can going to try to pull the data myself or not.

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I really need to watch an LP of Life Is Strange because I like other stuff by the team and it's a classic well known among people who play the same games I do. But, the actual mechanics drive me nuts. It's not that it's hard, it's that it's awkward and you'll go ages without a button press and then sudden button presses! I can game for hours, but needing to be at the ready without button presses causes weird stress in my hands. So, I need to watch it.

Turns out, I was recently in the town that was the basis for the location. It's not exactly Garibaldi Oregon, but it's in the Tillamook Bay and is based on Garibaldi's map and most of it's features. This location that is so nostalgic for people who play the game, and I had no idea! I didn't know people went there for reasons other than crabs and trains, but turns out people do.

Another train I need to do is the Mt Rainier excursion route. I actually have followed the org for like a decade because they did this railbiking thing. They didn't used to have trains, but you could go out on the still stable bits of old track on a pedal-propelled thingie. I always wanted to do it, but you need at least 4 people and it's a hard sell. They are doing vintage trains on the track now! And FB didn't show me a single post until after the season was over. So, I need to manage that once they are doing more runs.

Post brought to you by the fact that I was going to post about my travel journal, to start posting some of my planner stuff, but my brain isn't organized enough