Do the locomotion

It's still January and I'm getting pumped out over spring break early this year.\nEvery March, carloads of undergraduates caravan to Panama City, or max out a parent's credit card on Cancun plane tickets. Maybe everybody else knows something I don't. Maybe they're going down there to meet the fun bus. I doubt it though. You can drink anywhere, I say. No use spending all that cash on travel when there's plenty of beer at home.\nSee, my budget doesn't allow me to go too far. So I try to see something I've never seen before, but will keep me under $300. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. \nLike, dude, check it out: three years ago? Went home. Hung out with Mom, which was an abject spring break failure. I love Mom, but I've seen Valparaiso before.\nTwo years ago, my roommate and I surprised my cousins in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. And believe me, nothing says "relaxation" like the role of the unexpected house guest. Regardless, this wielded better results.\nThen last year, I drove to Vegas. Alone. You wouldn't know this by looking at a map, but it's a long way across the plain states and there's plenty of stuff to do along the way. I saw the International UFO Museum in Roswell, N.M., and Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation. And yeah, granted I slept in my car a night or two, but I still saw the Southwest on the cheap. \nEach year, I've tried to up the ante. But I've hit a roadblock. What if there's nothing better to do than load up my car with non-perishable food and drive to the point of no return? A friend of mine just bought a ticket to France. My sister is going to Alaska. You can't do France or Alaska on 300 bucks. If you're cheap, and I am, you've got to find a viable solution.\nWell, turns out, there is a viable solution running right through campus, between 12th and 13th streets at about 30 mph.\nThis year, everyone, I'm going train hopping. \nTrain hopping is pretty much what it sounds like: finding a train, "hopping" on it, and riding it to a not necessarily determined destination. Kind of like being a hobo, only for recreation. \nBut as simple as it may be, it's quite an involved endeavor. First off, it's dangerous: riding aboard a freight train that's sole purpose is to transport freight (not bored youth and transients) can get a little dodgy. Secondly, it's illegal. Union Pacific doesn't exactly invite train hoppers along, and they do prosecute. \nBut most importantly, it has the propensity to be very fun. Seeing America from an open boxcar (which I'm told is the luxury suite of the freight train) could provide for a trip that most won't experience. It involves camping (fun), travel (fun), and mildly illegal activity (fun). I like all of these things. The rails call to me.\nSo armed with a sleeping bag, 50 in cash tucked in my nether regions, and a warm change of clothes, I'm setting off this March. I will consult a map, and I'll call home to Mom. But no one will say I won't have a spring break worth remembering. And it'll be fiscally responsible, if I manage to avoid any court costs.