Moving from Florida to Los Angeles may have put me three thousand miles closer to where Apple holds most of its press-oriented events in San Francisco, but I’m still far enough away that while driving is now an option, it may not be the best option. When I first made the move I realized I’d face this scenario eventually, but after pondering it for awhile and not being able to reach an answer, I figured I’d just deal with it when the situation arose. And now that iProng has been invited to Apple’s presumably iPod-oriented press event next week (thanks Apple!), the situation has officially arisen. I can live with flying or driving, either one will get me there, but since I have a choice let me see if I can break this down logically…
The four hundred mile drive one-way from LA to San Francisco is something that I’m told would take roughly seven hours by car. In contrast the flight is just barely over an hour. But add an hour getting to LAX, arriving two hours early, and another hour to get from SFO to the hotel, and you realize that it’ll take almost as long to fly as it would to drive. Flying means dealing with idiots who want me to take my shoes off, carrying my allergy eyedrops in a plastic baggie, and riding both MTA and BART in the same day (I’m not one to waste large sums on cab rides when there’s a train handy). Driving means seven hours behind the wheel, dealing with idiot drivers along the way, traversing roads I’ve never traveled (I want to drive the LA-SF corridor sometime, but not when I’m under a time constraint), and figuring out what to do with the car once I get into town. Cost of gas is about the same as cost of a flight.
Advantage: flying, just barely, simply because there’s no driving involved.
Although I’ve done it when absolutely necessary, when traveling this kind of distance I don’t care for arriving at the last minute, attending the event, and then heading home immediately thereafter. It’s a little tough to do any timely reporting immediately after the event if you’re behind the wheel or on a plane. So no matter what I’ll be arriving the afternoon prior, staying in a hotel, attending the event that morning, heading back to the hotel to do that “journalist” thing for the rest of the day while also lunching and dining with friends and associates in town, spending that night at the hotel, and departing the next morning. Whether I fly or drive doesn’t really impact the hotel situation.
Advantage: call it a draw.
The day before the Apple event will be a busy one for me; the day after far busier. iProng is an iPod-oriented publication and this is an iPod-oriented event hosted by the company which makes the iPod, so being busy before and afterwards just the nature of the beast. If I drive, I get to spend a combined fourteen hours sinking my teeth into the latest Collective Soul album. If I fly, I get to spend most of those fourteen hours (at the airport, on the train) getting work done while listening to said album.
Advantage: flying.
Okay, flying it is. I’m not sure if the equation will be the same come Macworld Expo in January, but it seems pretty clear what I should be doing this week. Now where’s that plastic baggie?
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