I’m on the train right now, chugging through the desert on my way home. Well, actually, I’m not technically on my way home to San Francisco. I’m on my way to LA and to my parents house, but that’s close enough for me to feel like this month-long tour is really truly winding to a close. Also, by the time you read this, I’ll be safely in LA, since West Texas has a lot of dirt and artists, but very little cell phone signal. Which is all as it should be. I’m due up for staring out the window.
I got on the train last night in Houston, and as we were sitting in the car waiting for the train to pull up, I was describing sleeper cars to my friend Kristen. At the end of my description, she just sighed, and said she wanted to get on the train with me. And it’s funny, after a month on the road, as I’m finishing up doing the whole loop of the United States by train, I was so happy when I got to my little train bedroom. Happy and tired, and I fell right asleep. I fell so solidly asleep, in fact, that when the train stopped moving for two hours in San Antonio and they connected some new cars, I didn’t even surface.
I feel like I fell into some sort of magical universe when I agreed to do the this trip by train. I’m traveling in this fantastic way that so few people my age seem to know about. At each stop, everyone has a million questions for me about Amtrak, and then they sigh dreamily, and go home to plan a trip. And as for me, if I’m still happy to see my sleeper car bed after a month, you know Amtrak is doing a million things right.
So today you’ll find me staring out the window, not working for once. I’m pondering the desert and thinking how much it looks like where I grew up. I’m thinking about this trip and how it’s changed me. I’m thinking about seeing my husband and my family in LA. I’m thinking about how I deserve at least a week of sleep when I get home, if not more. And I’m thinking about wearing a super cute dress I got in Austin at the LA book tour event, to bring it home with style. And I’m thinking of how I’m going to go to bed early on the train tonight, and how when I wake up, I’ll be in LA. Like magic. Thanks Amtrak.
Picture of my early morning LA arrival from Instagram, where I’m documenting the trip. Follow me on Twitter for more.
**This post was made possible by Amtrak, who is sponsoring my book tour. Thank you Amtrak!**
* If you haven’t entered the APW Amtrak Honeymoon Giveaway, you should! If you win, your tickets are good through 2013, so you can take the trip next year too! So go enter already. The odds are pretty amazing, given the enormity of the prize.*
