(no subject)

[olivermoss]

So right after GW2's expac full of airship battles came out A new breed of airships seeks to take flight and provide a greener solution for both luxury travel and heavy industry.

Airships are back, baby!

Okay, maybe it's a co-incidence... if you believe in that sort of thing.

The expac came out on Monday and I am slowly wrangling my time in game down. But right now that will be easy. On weekends, player skill level tends to drop and frustration level goes through the roof so I am doing some deep cleaning of my place instead. It's understandable. The FOMO levels in gaming communities can be intense. I am not immune. But I don't need to put up with it. Of course, I can't say that because it's ~toxic for vet players to avoid the weekend players. Without us, the map events are more likely fail. But I don't care. If I am on it's going to be some chill materials farming. I might also see if I can get some good screenshots of my toons to post.

Comments

[mistressofmuses]

Airships!! *_*

And I very much feel like you should play a game in a way that means you get the maximum enjoyment out of it... and it seems understandable to me that that means avoiding weekenders, haha.

(I don't know that I could ever get into an MMO... I for the most part don't want to play with other people, and I'm fully aware that I'm often not very good, haha.)

[olivermoss]

Lots of MMO players aren't very good. I'm not terribly great myself, but I don't need to throw myself into the storm. This weekend is going to be spicy.

I would love to travel by airships.... once. I think I'll always prefer trains.

[mistressofmuses]

Yeah... weekend pretty soon after the release of a pretty big expansion? I don't blame you for noping out of that one!

I feel like airship travel would be pretty damn cool. I'd love to do it at least once. I would also really like to do a train trip again... I went on a long one when I was a kid, which I absolutely adored, but haven't ever gotten to go on one as an adult.

[olivermoss]

I love train travel, even though trains in America can be a bit of an adventure. Is there any trip or route you want to do?

[mistressofmuses]

I don't have a particular trip in mind. When I was a kid we took a train from Raton (pretty sure... I know we didn't start in Denver) over to the west coast, through California and up to Oregon, visited the grandparents, then went west into Montana and back to Colorado.

I'd kind of like to go up the coast again, because what I remember of it was very pretty. But there's also appeal in heading somewhere I haven't been before. Typically we've traveled by car if we've traveled at all, which has the benefit of leaving us easily mobile once we get to our destination... but also those trips have been very destination-focused. Very "let's drive through most of the night and then nap for a few hours and start driving again so that we get there as fast as possible."

[olivermoss]

The Coast Starlight is very popular for the views from the train. That's the one that goes up the west coast. It's the Zephyr that I most want to do.

That's a long train journey you did as a kid. Nice! Maybe Zephyr to Coast Starlight to Empire Builder? My most ambitious train trip was Starlight to SW Chief to Grand Canyon Railroad. I took the train from Portland all the way to the south rim.

[mistressofmuses]

Yeah, it was definitely the Coast Starlight that we rode for the stretch up the coast, which is the part I remember the best! (Though I was... 11? A little younger? So my memories are hazy.) That was the one big Family Vacation that we went on when I was a kid. I'm not sure what other routes we were on (or if they may have been different 25 years ago, ha.) It may have been Southwest Chief for the first bit? I know we drove down into New Mexico to catch the first train. I think you're probably right about Empire Builder being the one we took into Montana.

It sounds like the Zephyr would be a great trip. I didn't realize it went all the way to Chicago!

Taking it down to the Grand Canyon would be very cool - that is an extremely impressive trip, getting all the way from Portland down to AZ!

[olivermoss]

I really want to take the Zephyr, stop in Donner Pass, etc. But plans... they keep exploding.

Taking the train to the Grand Canyon is nice. A lot of rooms inside the park are put aside for train guests. So, you don't need to have a car and drive an hour or more in and out of the park. I also liked having a spot to hide indoors during the hottest part of the day.

I really like the Empire Builder even if it's a bit bleak and cold... Actually I kinda like that it's bleak and cold. They just replaced the cars which has been the oldest rolling stock in the Amtrak fleet. You used to have to pretty much stop outside to get between cars. In winter, at night in Montana... that was a lot. But they just took delivery of new cars so, no more roughing it.

Ah, I miss trains so much. The staffing issues right now mean I am not even going to plan anything. It's just a mess. There are still ongoing cancellations.

[mistressofmuses]

It seems like it would be a real struggle to plan a train trip right now. Staffing issues (and potentially broader supply line issues as well) have to be having a huge impact.

Zephyr seems like a really cool line to take.

That's nice to know about the Grand Canyon! Because that would be a huge hassle, having to deal with car rentals just so you could get to a hotel, ha. And yes, especially in the summer, having somewhere to get out of the heat is a very good thing.