I spent $2,200 for a private bedroom on a 53-hour Amtrak ride. Here are 7 reasons I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

How often do you get to spend 53 hours not being in a hurry? As a reporter and a drummer living in NYC, it’s a rare experience for me. I spend my days working and my nights practicing or playing shows with my band. Every time I go outside, I can feel the rush of the city around me. Even if I have nowhere to be, the hustle energy is infectious.

That’s one reason I love long train rides. Although you’re traveling far, there’s nowhere to go as the country passes you by. Taking the full California Zephyr route solo meant 53 hours with no WiFi, no familiar faces, and no plans.

This was my first time spending two nights on the same train, and I found that with more time, I was able to settle into this slower pace of life more deeply than on, say, a 30-hour trip.

It was so refreshing, and I’d jump at the chance to relax into the long journey again.

The California Zephyr has coach seating and sleeping accommodations.

The lowest tier of overnight cabins is the roomette, a roughly 25-square-foot enclosed space with two chairs and two bunks inside. Roomette guests have access to multiple bathrooms and a shower shared with the sleeping car. I booked the second tier — a bedroom, which is twice as big and includes a full, private bathroom.

Spending $2,200 on the larger bedroom accommodation was worth it for a trip this long. There was plenty of space to stretch out (for me — I’m 5-foot-3), and having my own bathroom with a shower made me so much more comfortable than sharing would have.

After experiencing this ride in a bedroom, there’s no way I wouldn’t splurge on it for my next trip.

Sleeping accommodation tickets on Amtrak trains include meals cooked on board. Passengers can eat in their rooms or in the dining car.

I was impressed by how good the food was. There was a different menu for each meal, so I never had the same dish twice. I especially enjoyed the French toast breakfast, the Caesar salad with grilled chicken for lunch, and the flat iron steak dinner. My favorite thing I ate on this trip was a coconut shrimp appetizer.

But there were more menu items than meals served on this trip, so I’d love to take the trip again to try the other options, like the grilled patty melt and the breakfast quesadilla.

Socially, the California Zephyr felt kind of like how I imagine the first two nights in a freshman dorm might feel. We had our own rooms, but we were strangers sharing this confined space, and we had one thing in common — we all had somewhere to go, and we all chose this slow pace of getting there.

Just like college, we had communal spaces where we could get to know each other, from the lounge car to the platforms where the train stopped long enough for everyone to get some fresh air.

For me, the easiest time to get to know people was during meals in the dining car. Amtrak seats four people to a table, so strangers ate together. And nothing gets you talking to people you don’t know like sitting across from them while you wait for your food.

I enjoyed practicing my social skills on the train and learning about people I wouldn’t have otherwise encountered. I’d love to meet a whole new crew of travelers on my next California Zephyr trip.

The California Zephyr route feels so immersive because the rails run deep into the wilderness, offering grand natural views.

Rolling through the Rocky Mountains, I wondered what the bare shrubs looked like when lush with leaves. I wondered what the dirt, rocks, and trees looked like underneath the snow. I wondered how the light hits the scene on a sunny day. “Next time,” I thought.

To me, the most amazing thing about the California Zephyr is the variety of natural landscapes it passes through. From plains to mountains to deserts, I spotted snowcapped forests, red canyons, alpine lakes, and waterfalls.

There’s no other way to see all of these defining landscapes of the American West in just two days.

This train trip was so awe-inspiring for me, and I want to share that feeling with someone close to me.

If I’m fortunate enough, I’d like to take loved ones on the California Zephyr throughout my life and try to see it for the first time through their eyes.