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Amtrak Travel Hacks
The Crazy Things I’ve Seen Passengers Do To Hang Onto That Coveted Extra Seat
A single woman should regard every train ride as an opportunity, for starting up a romance, I once read in one of those “How to Find A Boyfriend” books.
“When boarding the train, don’t take the first available seat,“ the author advised. “Walk through all the cars looking for a cute guy sitting alone, then sit next to him.”
This may well help you meet that cute guy, but it’s unlikely to get your relationship off to a good start. After all, nobody really wants to give up that extra seat. Sure, you’re only entitled to the seat you paid for, not the empty one next to it. But that doesn’t stop most of us from hoping for both seats anyway.
On Amtrak, there are frequent announcements telling you not to hog both seats. “This is a full train!” the conductor intones. “Don’t put your personal belongings on the seat beside you. We need every seat.”
I’m listening to this as I watch my fellow passengers busily piling backpacks, briefcases, shopping bags and gigantic suitcases on that extra seat, as well as employing a variety of other strategies to ensure that nobody will sit there.
On a recent Amtrak journey, the woman sitting across the aisle from me stretched out…
