You know your commute is crazy when…
I’m not 100% positive what came over me today, but I felt inclined to do a little bit of investigation into alternative commuting options. When I say “alternative”, I mean way the hell out there. I’ve already done by train and automobile. By plane is kind of out of the question, just because it would be expensive and time consuming (too much dealing with homeland security checks and all).
So today I researched…by water. It’s a little known fact that there is a waterway that leads all the way from downtown Sacramento all the way into the San Francisco Bay. I’m not entirely sure if it’s passable by decent sized watercraft year round, but it’s definitely there. So I wandered over to the Gmaps Pedometer and found myself a water route that would run from downtown Sacramento to the south end of the bay nearish to Yahoo!. It’s a little over 120 miles, which is actually about the distance on the freeway from my house in Folsom to Yahoo! in Sunnyvale. I have no idea how long it would actually take a boat to cover that distance since I’m not familiar with boat speeds.
Well, after I found a route, I had to look for a boat. More specifically, a house boat. See…if I’m going to have to pay for a slip down in the Bay Area, I might as well make it dual purpose and turn it into living space while I’m at it. So I turned to eBay and found a 1989 cruiser with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. It’s a bit expensive ($20,000+) and I really know next to nothing about owning a boat, so the chances of this leading anywhere is slim to none.
In any case, just wanted to share the lengths to which I’ve been researching commute alternatives. If you think of any good/clever/fun ways of commuting from Folsom, CA to Sunnyvale, CA…feel free to let me know. Who knows, it just might be crazy enough that I’ll try it. Just don’t recommend anything I’ve already tried (I’ve already done the Capitol Corridor train on Amtrak and I’ve done the drive in my truck more times than I care to mention).
June 19th, 2006 at 5:44 am
Personzal helicopter, check it out.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:05 am
I think the boat idea is a good one. Just look some more to find a cheaper boat that maybe isnt as nice as the one you are looking at. I also like the personal helicopter idea that scott listed.
June 19th, 2006 at 9:43 am
Yeah, I’ve actually checked out the helicopter thing. There’s a really nice school just up the road from me in Placerville. I think cost will be a big barrier to entry, however. I’ll basically have to win the lottery to afford the helicopter and the upkeep and, really, if I win the lottery…I’ll just move.
But yes, in my ideal world, I’d just purchase Airwolf and land at Moffet, right next to Yahoo!.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Believe it or not, I looked into what it’d cost to fly to work a while back.
The theory being that if you move far enough away, you save mega bucks on the house and can re-invest *most* (but not all) of that money into a decent plane, lessons, and maintenance.
It turns out that it works. You could do it.
It’d be killer if one could land at Moffett. But my plan was to land at Palo Alto or Reid-Hillview and keep a junker car (think “10 year old honda or toyota”) there to commute with.
I should really re-figure that and publish the numbers someday.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:16 pm
You must have been reading my mind, because I was going to ask you about exactly that. Flying from Folsom to Sunnyvale (well, near Sunnyvale) and then having a junker or even a bicycle on hand.
If you can dig up the numbers, I’d love to see them.
June 22nd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
The port of sacramento requires deep enough channel that I would be shocked if you could afford a boat with enough displacement for channel depth to become an issue.
What about a sailboat with an engine and cabin? Thats’s a lifestyle I’d have a hard time not endorsing. All you need is someone to add wifi coverage to the sacramento river and a “1st mate” to drive you home. Plus then you could could give the order, “Number 1, go take a number 2.” I love it.
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:16 pm
It’s true about the port being deep, but there’s also a “Deepwater Navigation Channel” that feeds the port. I’m not sure if I’d have access to that or not. Regardless, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be a huge issue if I didn’t.
That being said, one problem will be daylight. It’s going to take several hours to cover the distance, which means I’d have to leave Sunnyvale to get back to Sacramento before it gets dark (no way in hell I’m boating in the dark).
As for wifi, I figured as long as I have cell coverage I could just get an card for my laptop and use that. Probably more reliable and better at hopping from tower to tower.
June 23rd, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Hmm…as the crow files from Mather Field to Reid-Hillview is only about 90 miles.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Just found your site while Googling options for a Sac->Bay Area commute. I just took a job at a firm in SF and I live in West Sac– are you still making the commute nowdays? What was the least aggravating commute option? I’m looking for a balance between aggravating and cost effective. And yes, I’ll be telecommuting for a few days out of the week.
Kevin
December 6th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Actually, I moved to San Carlos back in October. So no, I’m not doing the commute anymore. Generally the least aggravating commute option for me was to drive. I drove 50 -> 80 -> 680 -> 237 to get to Sunnyvale. I’d leave around 8am getting down there around 10:30am. Then I’d leave around 7pm when all the carpool lanes opened up again.
The train’s a decent option for you. You can catch the train in downtown Sacramento and ride to Richmond where you can take Bart into the city. Or you can ride into Emeryville and take the connector bus into the city. Lots of good options there.