Yeah, I am watching a bunch of YouTube of people who are riding on Amtrak for days at a time on coach. Good advice from some of them, such as:
1. bring a sleeping bag and pillow,
2. bring your own food
But the thing is I am actually learning more from people who comment on the YouTubes. Things that seem obvious like bring a change of clothes, small towel, change in the bathroom, etc. Since I already cut my own hair because I live in rural Alaska where there is no barber, I would simply cut my hair very short before starting my 30 day adventure.(10 legs). That would cut down on any hair washing needed.
I am thinking that I should do the traditional method of flying into New Jersey and renting a car in order to see the northeast states that I need to see to get closer to 50 states. The tough part is Michigan. Do I include Michigan in the car rental festival? Rent a car in New Jersey, Michigan seems like a very far drive. I guess I could lump Michigan in with Montana and Wisconsin? I might end up doing that, and forgetting all about the Amtrak thing.
The question is how quick could I do the rent-a-car thing. I am hoping for about 4-5 nights? I'm talking about starting in New Jersey, then to the other states such as Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania, then head west to Ohio, Michigan then back south to states such as Kentucky. I would have to fly in to Georgia to get Georgia and South Carolina. too far to drive there and then try to drive back to Jersey to turn rent-a-car in.
Then on a separate trip, probably summer 2025, I could hit the midwest states such as Wisconsin and go west to Utah, Idaho, Montana, and finish up with south Dakota and finally North Dakota and become a member of the "Save the best for last" club. T-shirt name on the wall, the whole bit.