It took me 96 hours to ride an Amtrak train from coast to coast. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Graham Rapier

October 16, 2019 10:43 PM

Graham Rapier / Business Insider

I departed Business Insider's headquarters on a Tuesday afternoon, loaded up with plenty of snacks, tons reading material, hours of podcasts, fully charged batteries, and high hopes.

Amtrak is easily the slowest way to travel from coast to coast, but I did it anyway.
The journey was delayed by more than 24 hours thanks to a missed connection in Chicago.
Still, the sights were so beautiful and the conversations with fellow passengers so enjoyable that I'd repeat the journey every time I travel, if I had the time.
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Over the course of 96 hours, I saw more of the US than I had ever seen before as I traveled through cities and towns of all sizes, across wind-swept plains, and through some of the most beautiful mountains imaginable.

But stepping onto my first overnight Amtrak journey, I thought I was a seasoned veteran. Mere hours into the four-day journey though, I quickly learned that wasn't the case.

I've taken the train between New York, Boston, and Washington, DC, more times than I can count, and even ventured out of the Northeast Corridor for a few longer journeys. But compared to many other passengers on this trip from coast to coast, I was still a novice in every sense of the term.

My companions on this 96-hour, 10-state journey from New York to Seattle, especially my fellow sleeping car passengers, were well-versed on how to survive a multiday trip by rail. Nearly every person I met had been on a sleeper before, and they were well-prepared to pass the time.

Unfortunately, I was not as ready.

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