Union Station, Kansas City
Spring Break 2015.
Too poor (and too anxious) to fly, and too dumb to drive alone, I waited in Union Station until 10:45 p.m. to hop on a train to Albuquerque to spend a week with my aunt Cheryl and my cousin Sara. Aside from one trip from Sedalia when I was very young I had never been on an Amtrak train before. After spending the weeks prior working myself into a fit over what to pack, traveling alone for the first time, and why the hell I was embarking on an 18 hour journey by rail,
WHAT TO PACK
I checked a bag because I was going to be gone for more than a few days and you know, you can't go someplace new without 20 pairs of underwear and 15 outfits so my "carry on" bag was used for things to occupy my time and that could help me if I lost my bag somehow.
Snacks, but avoid anything messy. I chose Goldfish Crackers, Beef Jerky, Peanut M&M's, water, and a gatorade.
Two Books (A Farewell to Arms and The Book Thief. On the way back, Yes, Please! and Bossypants)
Extra socks, sweatpants and a sweatshirt
Laptop and charger
Phone charger
Two changes of clothes (leggings and t-shirts, mostly)
Headphones
Also, people don't really give a shit what you carry on with you, so bring a blanket and pillow if you're on the train for a long haul.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Train travel isn't like any other type of travel. In a plane, you get to your destination fast. In a car, you have the freedom to stop when you want and stop as long as you want. On a train, you're at the mercy of a very. long. trip. You stop everywhere, and I mean everywhere. You have designated hop off stops, but make sure you get back on in time.
It's also very noisy. While this isn't an issue for me and I put my headphones in anyway, but there were several crying and very small children, loud families, and chatter throughout the cars. The train itself is also very loud. So if you are noise sensitive, make sure you have the ability to adjust to this.
As a side note, I got really motion sick on the train. Because of the rocking of the car, the starting and stopping motions, and everything in between, I spent 30 minutes with my hovering around a train toilet-- not ideal. Bring your dramamine or benadryl.
WHAT TO DO
There's not a lot to do on a train. In my opinion, it was rather boring and 18 hours was too much for my attention span and inability to actually occupy my time alone in a confined space. But there are things "to do" on a train. These were my favorites:
Read in the observation car and take in the scenery.
Make a friend. I shared my Goldfish with a cool ass three year old who had an iPad and a really fun mom.
Take a nap.
Cherish your phone signal.
Sit in the observation car and watch the sun come up.
WHAT TO WORRY ABOUT
Delays. DELAYS DELAYS DELAYS. Amtrak does not own their own rail system so they are at the mercy of freight trains. Coming out of Albuquerque, I was delayed for 5 and a half hours because of a freight derailment.
Make sure that you take time to enjoy your surroundings, have conversation if someone is speaking to you, and be polite. Also, widen your stance when you're walking through cars or you'll eat shit.
Picture of the Albuquerque train station for attention that I took during that awful delay.
Ciao,
Courtney
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