24 hours on a train or the best way to travel
(excluding price, time, etc)
Visiting family in SF this week and I wanted to really decompress. I have a hatred of flying and this grew so much that the idea of taking the train down became more and more of a thing I wanted to experience. It was really good, I kind of just stared at the scenery going by, got up for meals, and chilled out in the observation car.
I sprung for a roomette, which is a small room with chairs that convert to a bed. I slept (kinda poorly) on the train. I ate with strangers and met some interesting people, saw some very interesting sights, and kept thinking how much it ruled to have a tiny room on a moving train. I wanna do it again, except travel time takes so long that it's impractical for getting around the US. A flight back would take like an hour and a half, this took 24 hours.
You kinda have to take the train because you want to, and have time for it. That meant that everyone on board was there because they wanted to be there.
I did get into a weird headspace near the end, I can see how fiction that takes place around trains forms the way that it does. After a while it feels like the train and everyone on it is it's own universe.
anyway, this was the most relaxed ive ever felt traveling.