Train Dreams

So the one thing I haven't done on a train that I've always wanted to is stay the night, sleep on a train, not in my coach seat, not in my business class seat, but in a room, in a bedroom.

For a minute, a Pullman car, like one of those really old fashioned ones, was refurbished and was running between Chicago and New Orleans.

And I bought a ticket about two years out.

That's how far you had to book it in advance.

That's how popular this train was.

It was an overnight trip from Chicago to New Orleans.

And then before my turn came, they stopped running it.

So that was a real bummer.

But this summer, I booked a roomette on Amtrak.

Now you can get a roomette, which is just a tiny one for one or two people.

Then there's like one bedroom and then not really two bedrooms, but like enough bunks and stuff for a whole big family.

So I got the tiniest, cheapest one.

And It was about $1,500 to go from California to Michigan.

So you get on the train and they walk you to your room.

And it's like, I'm telling you, it's like a hotel.

The room is like kind of small and janky.

There's not a lot of room for anything but sitting there and looking out the window, which is fine by me.

It's just me.

There's a couple of lounge chairs.

And then your porter, you get assigned a porter who's with you the whole trip.

They do a turndown service at night and like turn the two lounge chairs into a bed and then there's also and they like bring nice pillows and sheets and everything.

And then there's also a bunk in the room and I just use that for my luggage because I didn't have another person with me.

There's not much else in the room.

But there is a bathroom like right across the hall.

And then there's also a shower.