MGR Tour: Ideal Writing Retreat?
I love this month’s topic, because every once in awhile, I get to do my ideal writing retreat. Sort of. The only drawback is I have to take my husband with me, and that’s not a huge drawback. My ideal writing retreat is by myself. On a train. In a sleeping car compartment, either a roomette or a bedroom. By myself, I like the roomette, because it’s a cozy environment, but a bedroom would mean I didn’t have to shut everything down to go to bed. I could do that in a roomette if I used the upper bunk to sleep in. Of course, I’m talking about a long distance Amtrak route, not a commuter train.
On the train, in a sleeping car compartment, I have privacy, an ever-changing view, and meals are provided. Someone else cleans up after me, and I can just ride and write and think. I have an electrical outlet to keep the computer and cell phone and other electronic accessories charged. If I need to look something up on the internet, I can hop on my mobile hotspot and connect.
If I need a change of pace, I can go to the observation car or the snack bar. When my husband comes with me, I have to spend time with him, so I have that excuse not to be writing all the time.
What’s your ideal writing retreat?
How cool. I didn’t think trains did sleeper cars any more.
They’re more common on the West Coast routes. The East Coast has so many pure commuter routes, it’s easy to forget they also have the long distance routes.
I’m with conniecockrell. I had no idea these even existed anymore in the US. Awesome! I’m going to tell my husband. This sounds like something he would LOVE. Are there any stops along the way where you can get out and look around?
Yes! For a few minutes only, usually, but some stops have longer breaks (called smoke breaks for the passengers, but they’re usually longer for train administrative details). Explore http://amtrak.com to see what might be available. Also, tune in to my A-Z Challenge posts in April. My theme is Grand Tour 2015, where I talk about our latest trip.
That sounds like a lot of fun. I might have to give it a try sometime.