The View from the Amtrak Adirondack Line

It’s my one year blog-iversary here on The Wayfarer’s Book! That went by really fast. There have been lots of adventures, uncountable donuts, and more pictures of the New York skyline than probably any of you have ever wanted. I have some amazing plans coming up in the next six months (which is as far into the future as I can ever plan). In six weeks I have a solo trip to St. Petersburg, Tallinn, and Oslo. I’ve been getting the hang of exploring and enjoying New York on a budget. And let’s just say that I still can’t believe where I’ll be for my 30th birthday (more on that later). I’m really excited for all the upcoming adventures! But until then…

When I decided to go to Montreal over Memorial Day, I was having trouble nailing down how how I was going to get up there. Flying was going to be a bit expensive, and I wasn’t psyched about the overnight bus. I opted instead for the unhurried pace of train travel — the Amtrak Adirondack line goes straight from New York City to Montreal. I fell in love with train travel when I was living in England, and it’s stayed heavily romanticized in my mind.

But to be honest, I was a little nervous about it. I used to take Amtrak between Ann Arbor and Chicago to visit my sister, and whenever it got delayed it got really delayed. Still, I really enjoy train travel and decided that the 11.5 hour trip was part of the relaxation and do-nothing fun that I was craving.

So how was it? Well, the views were stunning, even though it was rainy on my return trip.

Better viewing than Netflix, almost!

But how was the actual trip? On the way to Montreal, not so bad. You get plenty of legroom with pop-out footrests, and there are outlets at each seat. We were delayed a little at the border because the Canadian agents took someone off the train, but overall we made decent time. The worst thing about the trip was the loud-mouth woman behind me who answered her phone calls on speaker (really??), but I had packed earplugs.

The trip back to New York was less impressive. Just like my old Midwest trips, one delay seemed to turn into another, and another, and another… There had been a storm that morning which apparently had caused signal problems. We ended up rolling into Penn Station 3.5 hours late. It was a big problem for people who missed connecting trains, but it was just a mild annoyance for me.

Still, my train trip was (almost) exactly what I wanted it to be — unhurried, comfortable, relaxing. I find train travel completely romantic and, even with delays, will consider it again in the future.

Have you traveled a lot by train? What were your experiences?