Every spring my main hobby is working out my travel plans for the summer. Right now I’m seriously considering a travel plan that involves, among other things, the following.
- Bus from Providence to Boston
- Fly from Boston to London
- Train from London to Edinburgh
- Train/Bus from Edinburgh to St Andrews
- Train/Bus from St Andrews to Edinburgh
- Train from Edinburgh to London
- Fly from London to Boston
- Fly from Boston to Melbourne (via who knows where)
- Fly from Melbourne to Hamilton Island
- Boat from Hamilton Island to South Molle Island
- Boat from South Molle Island to Hamilton Island
- Fly from Hamilton Island to Melbourne
- Fly from Melbourne to Canberra
- Fly from Canberra to Melbourne
- Fly from Melbourne to Seattle (via who knows where)
- Drive from Seattle to Bellingham
- Drive from Bellingham to Seattle
- Fly from Seattle to wherever I’m living next year
And all that over 10 weeks or so. It should be memorable, but expensive. If we had approximately 27 planets worth of resources, everyone would be able to do something like this every decade without humanity running out of fuel, etc.
{ 16 comments }
chun the unavoidable 01.14.04 at 3:19 am
So, what’s an Ivy League assistant prof. of philosophy make nowadays? 80? 90?
eszter 01.14.04 at 4:36 am
I would hope for Brian’s sake that at least some of these are research/conference trips and so he gets to use some research budget for them. As for salaries, unless Brown has a really good summer-salary program (or philosophers get great consulting gigs:), those figures sound a bit high.
anon 01.14.04 at 5:05 am
No, take the train from Providence to Boston. It’s about eight bucks. Amtrak runs one, and MBTA runs another.
Brian Weatherson 01.14.04 at 5:21 am
Right now I make a lot less than 80, although a couple of big pay raises and I might be getting close :) The real financing trick is that I’ll be between leases for most of the summer, and often staying with friends or family while travelling, so I can offset the cost somewhat.
The trains b/w Boston and Providence are OK, but the buses leave from closer to my apartment, and they run more frequently. And there’s a direct bus to the airport which might be easier than lugging my luggage around the T.
chun the unavoidable 01.14.04 at 5:37 am
I think it’s shameful for a revenue-generating department such as philosophy to pay its professors less than 100K, especially in such fantastically expensive places as Ithaca and wherever in the hell Dartmouth is.
Maynard Handley 01.14.04 at 10:33 am
Visiting Australia and NZ is, IMHO, foolish for an anglo. Let’s face it, you pretty much know what’s there and aren’t going to be surprised much. Visit a place that really will surprise you. Thailand or Hong Kong are a very gentle intro to a different world. If you want to be more hard-core (ie language etc are more difficult), try Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia or even Myanmar.
Jeremy Osner 01.14.04 at 2:20 pm
Why not just take the Providence – Hamilton Island shuttle?
digamma 01.14.04 at 2:30 pm
I think it’s shameful for a revenue-generating department such as philosophy to pay its professors less than 100K, especially in such fantastically expensive places as Ithaca and wherever in the hell Dartmouth is.
The current weather at Dartmouth. 100K is almost enough to cover one month’s heating bill.
DJW 01.14.04 at 4:48 pm
What excitement brings you to the thriving metrop of Bellingham? I mean, I lived there and loved it, but is seems a fair bit less exciting than most of the rest of the agenda.
Ophelia Benson 01.14.04 at 5:15 pm
If you have time, make a detour on one leg of the Seattle to Bellingham or v.v. trip and take the ferry through the San Juan Islands.
Brian Weatherson 01.14.04 at 5:32 pm
I’m not really visiting Australia as much as spending my annual month or 2 back home. Spending more than 10 months of the year abroad starts to wear me down, so going back home is a wonderful change. (No NZ in the tour though – Hamilton Island is the resort off the Queensland Coast, not Hamilton, NZ.)
Bellingham isn’t the most exciting metropolis in the world, but it is the site of a very enjoyable (and educational) philosophy workshop. And it seems like a very attractive part of the world in early August. Admittedly the workshop is not one I’m yet on the program of, but I’m working on that :)
Last year when I was in Bellingham we detoured to the San Juans and the parts I saw were absolutely beautiful. Hopefully there’ll be a chance to do something similar this year. For anyone who’s in the Pacific Northwest I highly recommend this. The ferry rides alone are worth the trip.
Ophelia Benson 01.14.04 at 6:00 pm
Yep. One of the great ferry trips of the world. Vaut le voyage, four stars, etc.
Paul 01.14.04 at 7:22 pm
The San Juan Islands ferries are indeed tremendously pleasant.
harry 01.14.04 at 7:27 pm
Go on, do it before you have kids (if you ever do). Sounds like hell to me. I fyou do go to London tell me when and I’ll see if we coincide (no idea if or when I’ll be going right now).
DJW 01.14.04 at 9:20 pm
I attended some sessions of that Phil. as an undergrad way back when. Caused my head to spin, in a good way. It didn’t occur to me that it might be significant enough to attract a national audience/participation.
I addition to our wonderful islands and ferries, head East toward the mountains. If the snow’s melted (early August is usually about when it’s finishing up) take your car up the Mount Baker highway, a wonderful rural drive into the mountains, and hike some of the trails around the ski area at the end of the road (about 55 miles). The wildflowers should be in bloom around that time.
andrew 01.14.04 at 11:22 pm
Yes to the Cascades and yes to the San Juans, by ferry or kayak. There’s orcas there.
Me, I’m going to China. I bought some language tapes, I’m sure I’ll be fluent by summer. How hard could it be? ;)
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