Coast to Coast in the States...by train!

Listening to this while reading: Train - Drive By

So, I have travelled the West coast to the East coast of America, literally put a toe in the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and I traveled completely by train.

I received a message from my Four Square app the other day, telling me that my checkin at a certain train station meant I was a level 10 Trainspotter, it said:

"From the MTA to the Tube, the Shinkansen to the Trans-Siberian, you’ve ridden them all (or will someday)! Here’s to the beauty of public transit, and to always giving up your seat for the pregnant, elderly, and backpackers who haven’t showered in a week."

Well, I have ridden all of those trains. And I am that backpacker.

I had no idea I was such a train person, however it does make sense considering I hate to fly. But when it came to traveling across America, hiring a car was an expensive option , flying meant we wouldn't see anything, and walking, well, would take too long.

We did drive up the California Coast from LA to San Francisco, taking a week to do so, enjoying the unbelievable beauty of the state, but from then on, we took the train.

36 hours from San Francisco's Emery Station to Denver, Colorado, we thought we would spring for the sleeper, and, as nice as it is to have your own space - sleeping on the train is relatively impossible.  If it's not the rocking of the train tipping you off your bunk beds, or the commotion when the train stops at each station, the constant honking of the horn drives anyone crazy.
The actual journey itself was amazing though.  Some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring scenery.  When we came across the Colorado river as we were almost leaving the state of Utah, and the hills and rock formations started appearing on the horizon, it was like something out of a film.

From Denver, we trained to Omaha, Nebraska.  Downside there was that the train didn't arrive into Omaha until 5am. In the rain. That wasn't really a problem necessarily, it was more the fact that we were picking the same train up again 2 days later, at the same time. At 5am, when everyone has spread out for their evening on the train, there were almost no seats left at all.

After waking some people up and shuffling them around, we managed to find some seats together, and arrived into Chicago, Illinois 9 hours later.

After an amazing 5 days in the Windy City, we boarded a 17 hour train to Washington D.C without bothering with the sleeper this time. We took our own bagels with us for a snack and enjoyed watching a handful of states fly by.

From D.C., we actually trained North, hitting New York City on the way up to Montreal for the Formula One Grand Prix. The states we hit up were:

California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Nebraska
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Virginia
Maryland
D.C.
Delaware
New Jersey
New York

(I will actually post about what we did, etc, in all of these places separately!)