In the spirit of the Argon Express, I’m taking the train to this year’s RubyConf.

I know a couple of other sd.rb people are going, so if you live near L.A. or one of the other stops on the route, hop on board!

WHEN:
October 18 - October 19.

Total trip time is about 1.5 days. We’re leaving from San Diego at 3pm. If you’re leaving from Los Angeles, you want to catch the 6:45pm Southwest Chief. We’ll arrive in Denver around 10:25pm the next day.

WHERE:
The Southwest Chief on Amtrak, heading from Los Angeles to Denver.

COST:
Using Amtrak discount code ‘H571′, one-way tickets from LA to Denver are $80. And roundtrip tickets are $160. (Airfare runs about $250 - $400, so this is a sweet bargain.)

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Hack out with other Rubyists before the main conference. (I’m planning to build a new Rails app from scratch during the trip.)

• Stay online with EVDO-enabled WIFI (where coverage allows)

• Check out the scenery from the observation car

RIDERS:

• Patrick Crowley
• Nick Zadrozny
• Kevin Clark

FAQ:

• Are you taking rail the whole way? Sadly, the last four hours of the trip is a bus ride from Raton, NM to Denver — but it’s a direct route with only two stops. (Hey, we didn’t build the rail system… there some places they just don’t go.)

• Are one-wayers welcome? Absolutely. I’m going roundtrip, but one way is cool too. Take the train out to RubyConf, then fly home in style!