Jennica & Matthew Geddert's Ramblings

Apr 24 Three Days by Train by Jennica

I decided to go to Pasadena and Fresno to visit and for graduation at MBBS after all the seat sales Matthew and several friends from the Toronto area obtained suddenly evaporated leaving me travelling three days by train. Since the bus is inconceivable and the train a reasonable price, I secured a ticket to LA from Toronto on Amtrak. You know, the train is not that bad, but it's not that great either. The thing is it takes a really, really long time.

How do you pack for such a journey? Do you plan to wallow in your own 3-day stink and carry few enough bags to make the transfer cities fun to explore? Or do you bring changes of clothing and good food to make the train-riding part more pleasant? And why in the world do train stations not have coin-operated showers? I decided to opt for comfort on the train rather than at the stops and I was mostly satisfied with my choices until grocery shopping in Chicago added about 20 lbs to what I was lugging around the city. It was worth it to eat delicious fresh food at less than a quarter of the dining car prices.

Overall it was a pleasant experience. I saw some fantastic scenery and met some fun people. I enjoyed reading novels and watching the TV shows I had brought on the laptop. The ample leg room, comfortable chairs, and appropriate security (no invasive searching, all the liquids and nail clippers you want, and they guard your checked luggage until you provide a luggage tag proving it's yours) sure beat the airline industry's versions of these things. Even though it wasn't bad, I'd still rather fly in a day than ride the train for three.