I have been to Prarieville every one of the last few years.
For most of my life, I did not visit very often. Prarieville is hours away from Mountport by train, and I did not turn my life to Train Conducting until somewhat recently. In fact, I largely Avoided trains as they tended to distract me from my other ambitions. This has changed, obviously. Now, I lead a more nomadic lifestyle than I once did; what was once very occasional business trips in my life in The industry has been absorbed by my passion for Over-Ground Transportation.
The trains around Mountport run on unique schedules. Most of the time, a train or bus will move all day through its route. This is the Norm in most major cities. In this area, however, we make changes. In the spring, the Mountport-Palm Springs train makes one round trip that lasts a whole Week. The train waits at Palm Springs and returns to Mountport at the end of the week, as it has for years. Several people take the opportunity to have Spring Vacations or Spring Trainings. Some might say that this is inefficient, which is true.
Prarieville is in another direction from Mountport; while Palm Springs to the southwest, further inland and further south, Prarieville is up the coast. Prarieville and its surrounding area is larger than Mountport and Palm Springs both, Economically and Geographically. Prarieville has a burgeoning subway system (which is not my passion, but I still know Some Things about underground transportation) in addition to its buses and the train line. And finally, Prarieville expects trains to run daily, which is the More efficient method.
We're passing the outer suburbs of Prarieville now. The Train has not hit its top speed, so lights are not quite streaking past. I can see that it is a sharp city; in the winter, it bites harder than it would further south, and in the summer, it is more Metal and Concrete absorbing heat than a smaller city. More people decide that the sharpness is for them to live and work in than other towns in this area. I think that I am obligated to respect their mettle.
I sometimes think about Mountport, between lazy Palm Springs and rushing Prarieville. Perhaps it is Liminal in Nature, caught between mountain and sea and coated in fog as a result. Mountport has no trains that stop for a whole week there, and yet sends trains off that So So. Somehow, Mountport walks that Line, and is Truly beautiful in the process.