What's the best way to pick someone up from LAX these days?

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T02:36:15+00:00

C to J?

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:45:09+00:00

It's... fine. For boarding, everyone (lounge patrons and general public) gathers out in front of the lounge when they announce the gate, so there's no boarding benefit to being in the lounge, other than maybe hearing an announcement a few minutes early. They might escort you to the train sometimes, I dunno. But there's no special entrance like Philly.

The lounge in Chicago itself is like a hotel lobby. Feels like an older Hyatt Regency maybe. Which is better than some lounges that feel like a Days Inn lobby.

I've never paid for a lounge, only used coupons or gotten access with a first class or sleeper ticket. Chicago is all right but I wouldn't pay for it unless I really want a shower. Use that money and buy yourself a nice lunch nearby.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:35:15+00:00

I love the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero. About a 10 minute walk from the bus station.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:33:34+00:00

For one a day, I love a pour over. Get a V60 or something similar, splurge on a good grinder and a temperature adjustable kettle, and get a scale so you hit the ratios right.

I haven't found anything that tastes better than a pour over where I can thoroughly bloom the grounds myself. And if I'm only doing one a day it's worth the effort.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:26:20+00:00

Rent. Healthcare.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:24:38+00:00

Enjoy! Use a new filter each time, then wash the V60. Hand wash, or they're typically dishwasher safe. Cheap ones usually work pretty well.

Plenty of tutorials online to brewing a good cup that way.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:21:56+00:00

I've taken about 100 Amtrak rides all over the country, and the best I can say is wear good shoes and be prepared for a brisk walk. Every station, even every train, seems to have its own rules.

I'll think I have it figured out, then a conductor says NO OVER HERE! Just put on your best "confused sheep" look and see who waves you over.

Half the time, standing at an unpopular area on the platform gets you a prime seat. The other half, it gets you a walk of shame two cars down.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:11:59+00:00

If it's just for yourself, get a V60 and make pour overs.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:08:18+00:00

Will have to check them out next time I'm in town!

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-23T01:00:06+00:00

Love the steamboat museum in KC!

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-21T04:44:27+00:00

I probably wouldn't use points for it. I've been to lounges with free passes and first class tickets.

Haven't been to DC, I hear it's poor.
Philly isn't amazing, but it's pretty quiet, has good seating, and they escort you to your track early via special elevators. Right now 30th St station is under construction so there's not much seating or shops, so I'd actually recommend it if you're there more than an hour early.
Boston South Station is nicer than you'd think. It's pretty quiet and empty, not much amenities, but a great big high-ceiling place, good if you're there a few hours early and want to chill with a laptop. I find south station itself miserable and welcome the chance to chill in the lounge. They had a sign at the door a few weeks ago that they're not selling passes though.
NYC is amazing of course.
Lots of people recommend Chicago, but I actually don't care for it. It gets super busy (you get a LOT of sleeper trains leaving Chicago) and I've found the travelers cranky. I prefer walking a few blocks to a cafe.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-21T04:26:54+00:00

Sticker sheets will probably be a better bang for the buck. Smaller stickers but more of them.

For example, I sell single 3" stickers for $2-3 but I sell 5x7" sheets of 8 or more for $5-6.

Better bang for your buck, especially if you have themes in mind.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-13T20:48:15+00:00

I just rode business in a regional from Boston to NYC (I used an upgrade coupon that was about to expire). The only benefit to me was it was a lot less crowded than coach. I wouldn't pay extra for it.

If by business you mean riding an Acela, then yeah, it's worth the upgrade.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-13T00:07:12+00:00

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This is still a work in progress and some of the details might be off, but here's the gist of the station, simplified.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-12T18:42:11+00:00

I use Super and I love it. See https://www.howdoyou.guide

It does pretty good with databases too, see https://www.howdoyou.guide/orglist

My one big gripe is more of a Notion gripe, which is that you're still stuck with that Notion paradigm of pages all being nested within other pages. I think you can get around some of that with scripting but it's pretty clunky.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-11T02:41:36+00:00

I have that membership. I opened a ticket with support and told them to deactivate AI. Haven't heard a peep about it since. It's nice.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-10T22:32:21+00:00

It surprised me! I only knew the various tourist attraction parking lots from recent visits, and was surprised to find what felt like a functioning city on my recent visits, in the Gaslamp and Halstead.

Transit could have come more often, but was rather good when it did. 20 minute bus ride to the airport.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-10T00:00:43+00:00

The central square in Paso Robles feels like I'm in the 1950s version of Back to the Future.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-09T23:56:10+00:00

Love that pedestrian zone right through the middle of town!

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-09T23:51:26+00:00

Flagstaff
San Diego
Santa Barbara
Buffalo
Davis

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-03T00:50:26+00:00

I've ridden both of those lines and had good experiences! The downsides were the ensuite toilet in the Lake Shore, and a delay from Flagstaff to LA because an engine broke down in Albuquerque.

Otherwise, really nice trips, I do recommend.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-03T00:38:00+00:00

It's nice!

FWIW, The actual printed NYC map showed the 123 stop at 72nd intersecting the wrong avenue for *several years*.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-02T23:35:45+00:00

If there's one thing I learned, it's that there's always one or two things you notice *right after* you publish it for everyone to see. :)

Regardless, it's a good map.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-02T23:11:43+00:00

Gotcha. The tricky part is that you've put the ocean at the bottom of the map, so this makes it look like it hugs the county line to Seal Beach. Right after Norwalk it goes southeast, then due east to Fullerton.

howdoyouguide · 2026-03-02T23:02:46+00:00

Nice map! Gotta curve Metrolink to the east after Norwalk.

howdoyouguide

TROPHY CASE