Aside from the usual airline options, a few travel options have come across my radar lately. This is all the more relevant when one gets to a constantly on alert airport and are confronted with ugly lines of disgruntled passengers, facing interminable delays and poking from the sluggish TSA . I understand that my country’s top professionals are doing their best to get suspicious old people with colostomy bags exceeding 3 oz of liquid waddling about barefoot without their walkers. But why is it not ok for me to take a simple donut or coffee cup across enemy lines or whatever?

After all , we know the TSA are highly skilled & adept at sniffing out threats, and I include an excerpt of a training video below, as well as a state department announcement pertaining to what enemies we will be bombing anytime soon…

But still, what about the alternatives?

Hey, how about $100 worth of booze credits to take a cross country train? or $1 bus rides via the newly launched Megabus service.

details after the jump…

First that TSA training video I mentioned above, and then details on travel options for the airport wary…

Perhaps it ain’t a laughing matter, especially when US congressmen are making public pronouncements about bombing the Islamic Holy City of Mecca. I was surprised to see that the actual US state department responded and denounced the 5 term Republican Congressman from Colorado who called for this, since I thought Condi’s crew essentially were of a like mind on these kind of forward thinking preemptive strike type of deals.

Anyhow, I was thinking how nice it would be to travel somewhere else to pick up on the pulse of America,,,

Somewhere, dare I say, beyond the East Bay,

So lo and behold, today I read that if I take the train, Amtrak will toss in $100 towards your onboard alcohol consumption.

I mean, that is if you take their top tier Grand Luxe ticket on a cross country train this holiday season between November and January. Of course the free spirits to boost holiday spirits comes at a price that might make a Scrooge wince, up to $1,599 or even higher for three days and two nights for travel to or from the West Coast.

A more budget option is Megabus, a Euro tour carrier that’s new in the states, which has offered promotional fares for as low as a $1. Their standard rates for a trip to LA’s Union Station from SF’s Cal Train station are just $10 or $15 depending on the time of day or night you want.

That beats the rates set by my fave small time bus service CA Shuttle Bus who’ve offered $45 trips that leave the downtown Hilton and take just 6 hrs tops on down the I-5 corridor to various LA hotels for several years. They run an efficient & friendly van service when a bus is too big, and it’s popular with foreign exchange students, backpackers, retirees, and of course the carless but never careless urban warrior. Plus you get to stop at a few truckstops, and the occasional fast food outlet for added excitement & restroom access…

…and , best of all, you can have all the liquid you want in your carry on…

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3. Man found dead underneath a BART train
4. Small Town, Big Town
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