Amtrak is easily one of the slowest ways to travel from coast to coast, but I did it anyway.

The journey was delayed by more than 24 hours thanks to a missed connection in Chicago.

Still, the sights were so beautiful — and the conversations with fellow passengers so enjoyable — that I'd repeat the journey every time I travel, if I had the time.

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Over 96 hours, I saw more of the US than I had ever seen before as I traveled through cities and towns of all sizes, across windswept plains, and through some of the most beautiful mountains imaginable.

But stepping onto my first overnight Amtrak journey, I thought I was a seasoned veteran. Mere hours into the four-day journey, I quickly learned that wasn't the case.

I've taken the train between New York, Boston, and Washington, DC, more times than I can count, and even ventured out of the Northeast Corridor for a few longer journeys. But compared with many other passengers on this trip from coast to coast, I was still a novice in every sense of the word.

My companions on this 96-hour, 10-state journey from New York to Seattle — especially my fellow sleeping-car passengers — were well versed in surviving a multiday trip by rail. Nearly every person I met had been on a sleeper before, and they were prepared to pass the time.

Unfortunately, I was not as ready.

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