Seattle to St. Paul/Minneapolis Trip

In contrast to what most people have told me, the ride from Seattle to St. Paul-Minneapolis was the most uneventful and uninteresting one of all the ones I have taken thus far. This ride was supposed to be always full, and the scenery was supposed to be something out of a movie (in fact, it's one of the most popular routes). I could not disagree more. Except for the first few hours, out of Seattle, the entire trip provided nothing but plains, trees, and an occasional pond. The route from Kansas to Los Angeles was more interesting than this route (perhaps the beautiful scenery passed by as I slept at night).

After so much boredom and so many antisocial people in the coach compartment, I moved to the observation car in hope to find more gregarious people. I did not see people mingling, as I have seen in other rides. Instead, people just stayed in the groups in which they were traveling. Young and old read in the observation car as the trees zoomed by, families played card games, and young couples cuddled together. Yet, no one made an effort to talk to the person sitting on the next seat. This was no family of strangers; it was families of strangers.

Back in the coach car, a college student sat next to me. He wanted to travel by train so that he could relax, but the train proved nothing but a terrible inconvenience for him: he had a four hour delay, and was tired from the trip. I asked him how he liked the food, and he confessed it was terrible. “The chicken’s a little old.” (he is not talking about the food served by Amtrak. He is criticizing the food Amtrak picked up from a restaurant at one of the stops: dry and cold roasted chicken). At least five times, he also complained about the lack of Wi-Fi; I suppose the train is not what he expected.

The only breathtaking moment was the sunset, but that lasted for a few minutes.


Right outside Seattle.


Yes, I know this is beautiful. Now, stare at this for ten hours, and tell me how you feel :)


Sunset, which lasted for a few minutes.