That's awesome. I recently took an Amtrak from Tuscaloosa, AL to New Orleans, LA for a weekend trip, and got some coding done along the way. Man was it beautiful, and working in the snack-car was perfect. I thought about doing something similar to what you just mentioned - but I need a little more money and a lot more time to do it haha. What were the best trains that you took? The Crescent line was pretty nice and looked like it stopped in some cool places further North than my journey.
I think the best was Houston to LA and sitting in the observation car across AZ. But also going through the Rockies, across Alabama, and side trip to Grand Canyon on an Amtrak bus.
Bear in mind this was 1990. No mobile phone, no laptop. Just rucksack, books, an AT&T calling card for when I saw a pay phone to call home, 1-800-USA-RAIL for reservations, and a copy of Let's Go.
