NYC to LA BY TRAIN (Youtube) -- My nomination for best Amtrak-related video (Youth Category)

[Manny T]

Have people seen this cross-country by Amtrak video by these two young Brits?

3,000 miles of no-complaints enjoyment and total awe and wonder that communicates beautifully:

 

[MARC Rider]

Have people seen this cross-country by Amtrak video by these two young Brits?

3,000 miles of no-complaints enjoyment and total awe and wonder that communicates beautifully:

You will notice that they enjoyed the trip while riding in coach and did appear to utilize on-board food service, except, possibly, a trip to the cafe car on the Coast Starlight. They also broke up the trip a bit and stayed in beds along the way. And who advised them to take a Greyhound from New York to Washington?

 

[Manny T]

Right, these kids took the budget options all the way -- no on-board food purchases except coke and 1 veggie burger apiece.

For the Greyhound segment, I'm guessing it was a price issue. They had to get from NYC to DC and the Greyhound was probably their cheapest option. They hated it -- and it kind of set the tone for their enjoyment of Amtrak.

Nice touch -- they purchased a "duvet" (comforter) in DC to use on Amtrak coach, and then when they got to San Francisco and didn't need it any more, they donated it to a charity for the homeless.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

This video showed up in my watch list too. I didn't see any masks or distancing so I guess this was from before the pandemic. Did "Matrix 4" ever come out? I've noticed there are a lot of Amtrak vlogs over the last few months. I guess people have more time to edit and upload now but some trips are during the pandemic as well.

3,000 miles of no-complaints enjoyment and total awe and wonder that communicates beautifully:

I did not hear much communication. Muffled comment this, bucket item that, someone points at a map. Was the girl actually talking? I could not hear a thing. I wish they had boosted the dialog and quieted the soundtrack.

And who advised them to take a Greyhound from New York to Washington?

They said Americans warned them to avoid Greyhound but they took it anyway. They also said they now understand why Greyhound was a bad idea but did not elaborate during the ten seconds they spent discussing it.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Enjoyable video. They seem to like visiting our country. Thanks for posting the link.

 

[Manny T]

No masks -- it was Jan-Feb 2020, before the pandemic.

 

[niemi24s]

I wholeheartedly second your nomination!

What a pleasure to watch 43 minutes of video with only one minor quibble (about Greyhound being late) with no whining, sniveling, whimpering, carping, bellyaching, grumbling, bitching, moaning, ranting, raving or foaming at the mouth.

(But we know better, don't we?)

 

[Chris I]

This was a wonderful video. It's great to see people approaching travel from a more bare-bones and realistic perspective. The music selection was spot-on.

 

[trainman74]

Did "Matrix 4" ever come out?

Filming was shut down in mid-March 2020 due to the pandemic, but it later resumed. It's currently scheduled to be released on December 22 of this year.

 

[MARC Rider]

They said Americans warned them to avoid Greyhound but they took it anyway. They also said they now understand why Greyhound was a bad idea but did not elaborate during the ten seconds they spent discussing it.

I seem to remember the narrator saying something about not having their $90 NY-DC ticket accepted, so they had to buy a new one. Not sure the $90 was for each person, or just one of them. My recollection is that one-way NYP-WAS tickets on the Northeast regional start at about $75 and can go up to $140, depending on how busy the train is.

 

[mcropod]

Enjoyable video. They seem to like visiting our country. Thanks for posting the link.

Too right - many thanks for the link and recommendation.

And good on those two youngies for making the trip. It's always the best time to take a leap into the unknown, so good on them!

 

[20th Century Rider]

A really nice account that communicates the excitement of visiting a country for the first time. The music was well placed... and enhanced the message communicated.

Very nice!

 

[Manny T]

Yes, the music was "spot-on" (as the Brits say).

Glad people enjoyed watching -- it's a bit of a commitment, at 40+ minutes.

 

[user 1215]

I wish most Americans would appreciate our country, culture and history as much as this young lad does.

 

[Shortline]

One of the better travel vlogs I have seen in a while, well done. I used to travel like that. Spent many nights in coach, staying in cheap hotels (Did we even have many hostels then?) and just walking around on the cheap! Was honestly a lot of fun, and being young, and bullet proof, and never having anything to compare it to, didn't think twice about it. Now? Man, I don't think I could do it. Which, means I've probably missed out on some things!