It's been a whole month since I've blogged. The main reason is this: It's the first time in about seven years that I've had a job with no social media or blogging responsibilities, so I've been online far, far less than usual. I'm enjoying this, but I've stored up a few things to write about.
Amtrak's Guest Rewards program is repeating its Double Days promotion now through May 18. Ride the rails and get double points; you can also get extra points through partners including Choice Hotels and LaQuinta, plus several car-rental companies. I may finally be taking that Yosemite trip I talked about last fall -- the waterfalls are at their peak, after all -- and I'll probably get another train trip in this spring, too.
I love it whenever I read that young adults aren't driving as much as previous generations. My perspective is usually that if people have access to good transit and can walk, ride or bike most places, they don't need to own a car. However, this article credits technology as the main force and reports that most teens would give up a car before they'd give up their phone or computer. After all, who needs a car when you can buy everything you need from Amazon and socialize via text, Instagram and Tumblr? Whatever the reasons, less driving is a good trend for the planet -- but I hope our always-online teens occasionally patronize local businesses and get together in person, too.
Finally, baseball season starts next week. I'm a first-time season-ticket holder, with the cheapest A's season ticket package possible, and it's a real Rickey Henderson: 20 tickets for $200, including $120 in concession-stand credit ($6 per ticket) since my tickets are in the Value Deck. I love the Giants, too, but you could spend $200 just getting into four games at AT&T -- and BART delivers fans right to the Coliseum ramp, too. Value-added Jumbo Tickets are available for single games, too. Play ball!
