Is The Train The Best Way To Travel?

Thursday, February 4, 2010

I have always thought of the train as the most romantic way to travel. Maybe it´s because you can sit back and relax, doze off without swerving into traffic. Maybe it´s because you get to see other paths other than the pavement. I don´t know what it is, but I love taking trains.

When I read Douglas Rogers´ article about his attempted journey from New York to Los Angeles, I was fascinated. Although he had a wife, a young kid and another baby on the way, he took a week off and tried to make the journey West. He stopped in a town that was the basis for the book, ¨Fried Green Tomatoes,¨ and Marfa, where “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” was filmed. These are towns that you don´t get to experience when flying from JFK to LAX.

However the towns and cities that he stopped in were nothing in comparison to the people he had met. Maybe that´s what is so fascinating about the train: you are surrounded by other people sharing the same, long ride. They busted out into songs and Douglas got to hear other people´s stories of why they decided to take the train.

Sounded, to me, like an unforgettable experience, one that he will get to share with his children for years to come.

By Brit Weaver

About the Author

Toronto born and based, Brit is an avid leisure cyclist, coffee drinker and under-a-tree park-ist. She often finds herself meandering foreign cities looking for street eats to nibble, trees to climb, a patch of grass to sit on, or a small bookstore to sift through. You can find her musing life on her personal blog, TheBubblesAreDead.wordpress.com.