Anniversary Surprise On Amtrak's Coast Starlight: A Deluxe Bedroom!

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (March 31, 2016). We used to take these trips every year. At least, until we moved to Florida and my new job didn't give me a month's vacation (plus) every year.Show more

We lived in Niagara Falls, Ontario and had already been to New York City, Miami, Washington and Chicago before making our way out to Los Angeles. We were on our way up to Vancouver to see my grandmother and my aunts and uncles and cousins up there. It's a 6-day train ride from Miami to Vancouver. Up until this point, we had been traveling in Roomettes (formerly Economy Bedroom).

But, with our anniversary being April 1, this was a particularly special segment of the trip, so I sprung for the deluxe room.

As the slide says in the video, the rail fare for the entire trip was around US$6,000, with this L.A. - Seattle segment costing US$1,000. It's a lot of money, but you only live once.

The best part about Amtrak is you're safe from the thieves, pedophiles, perverts and other assorted autistic savants employed by the TSA (Too Stupid for Arby's).