On my Amtrak residency trip, I met a Japanese man, a recent retiree, who sat in the observation car and smiled the whole way across country from Chicago to Portland. It had been his dream to come and do this. It's pretty great.
Opening this post in an app-switching fit of anxiety, racing to catch a flight on the Deutsche Bahn at 200mph was ironic. Slowed things down to an American daydream so… success! Sounds like an amazing trip
oh i love this. i've always wanted to take this route. And the one up the Pacific Coast to Vancouver. This is a good reminder for me to make some time to Train & Chill.
Well, this was a real blast for me; I once took an Amtrak from Rhinecliff, NY to New Orleans: 32 hours in the seat IIRC. I was with my girlfriend at the time, a Bulgarian, and we spent a lot of time smoking menthols in the smoking car. It was 1998.
This is such a good example of how sad it is that we spend so much time on ideas and concepts in our writing; your descriptions are so alive and fun, could read this forever.
no more smoking cars now! they reminded us (CA to CO, I suppose) that marijuana is also banned because the train is federal property 😭, though drinking was still very much allowed
also wow I have not seen that DFW interview, excited to read
Starlight or zephyr would be a dream vacation for me. The first time I took an Amtrak it was like 4 hours to Pittsburgh instead of 2.5 but worth every extra second. Lovely essay—thank you!
My Amtrak experience beat pretty much every California breakfast spot: better views, more peace and quiet – and incredibly good (and cheap) mimosas! ;-)
from the trenches of someone who was also seeking conventional journalism work in the summer of 2020 - and got it, in spades: this Amtrak writing retreat idea sounds lovely in theory, but smelly in practice? Thinking of a recent LAT travel piece about taking a similar route.
not that this is relevant to the true point of the piece, but "best thinking on planes" is no longer true for me - idk what happened!!! I tried to do a "we have writing residency at home" on the flight from vienna (i think at the exact time y'all were actually doing it) and it simply did not work
On my Amtrak residency trip, I met a Japanese man, a recent retiree, who sat in the observation car and smiled the whole way across country from Chicago to Portland. It had been his dream to come and do this. It's pretty great.
So lovely!! And thank *you* for the genius idea / inspiration
And thanks for the name-check!
Opening this post in an app-switching fit of anxiety, racing to catch a flight on the Deutsche Bahn at 200mph was ironic. Slowed things down to an American daydream so… success! Sounds like an amazing trip
lol that is funny - hope european efficiency (surprising) is a blast!!
oh i love this. i've always wanted to take this route. And the one up the Pacific Coast to Vancouver. This is a good reminder for me to make some time to Train & Chill.
yes! coast starlight is next on my list. def recommend
Well, this was a real blast for me; I once took an Amtrak from Rhinecliff, NY to New Orleans: 32 hours in the seat IIRC. I was with my girlfriend at the time, a Bulgarian, and we spent a lot of time smoking menthols in the smoking car. It was 1998.
This is such a good example of how sad it is that we spend so much time on ideas and concepts in our writing; your descriptions are so alive and fun, could read this forever.
Since you mentioned him, and with apologies for self-linking: https://www.quora.com/Was-David-Foster-Wallace-mocking-real-people-in-his-essay-A-Supposedly-Fun-Thing-I-Will-Never-Do-Again/answer/Mills-Baker
no more smoking cars now! they reminded us (CA to CO, I suppose) that marijuana is also banned because the train is federal property 😭, though drinking was still very much allowed
also wow I have not seen that DFW interview, excited to read
Starlight or zephyr would be a dream vacation for me. The first time I took an Amtrak it was like 4 hours to Pittsburgh instead of 2.5 but worth every extra second. Lovely essay—thank you!
This is lovely! Wish I had done this when I was still in California!
I really enjoyed reading this—so vivid and fluid. The pictures were the perfect complement.
thanks so much! I had writers block and went with this topic bc you suggested it in the chat 😅
Very glad that I did!
Damn adding this to my bucket list
My Amtrak experience beat pretty much every California breakfast spot: better views, more peace and quiet – and incredibly good (and cheap) mimosas! ;-)
Love this piece!! Beautiful writing.
thank you for reading!
Good to see and hear you on the CB and Mills podcast. Your folks must be proud!
This is such a lovely idea!
highly recommend!
from the trenches of someone who was also seeking conventional journalism work in the summer of 2020 - and got it, in spades: this Amtrak writing retreat idea sounds lovely in theory, but smelly in practice? Thinking of a recent LAT travel piece about taking a similar route.
not that this is relevant to the true point of the piece, but "best thinking on planes" is no longer true for me - idk what happened!!! I tried to do a "we have writing residency at home" on the flight from vienna (i think at the exact time y'all were actually doing it) and it simply did not work
omg noooo
Your name is so beautiful but I like how you send cool things