Travel

This $97 Train Ride Shows the Stunning Beauty of the West Coast

By Published On 08/09/2017

If you're looking to absorb the scenic splendor of the West Coast, then you might as well forget about renting a car. Burning rubber on the Pacific Coast Highway is fine and all, but it turns out there's a better way to chart a course through all the towering Redwoods and majestic cliffs lining the Pacific, and it involves zero stops at the gas pump.    

Amtrak's Coast Starlight, which extends from the northerly reaches of Seattle down to Los Angeles, lumbers through some of the most gorgeous landscapes this country has to offer. What's more, the idyllic journey starts at the laughable, double-digit price of $97. The Coast Starlight will whisk you through Washington, Oregon, and the most dramatic stretches of California's coastline, passing through Oregon's Cascade mountains, Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, and the San Francisco Bay. It's a 35-hour trip through 30 destinations in total, with an observation car boasting floor to ceiling windows. Want to experience a hands-down standout among America's most gorgeous train rides? Here's your chance. 

Amtrak

Different accommodations are available and vary by price, but relishing the lush, ocean-lined landscape is ultimately the most worthwhile investment. Coach passengers get a daily meal offered by Amtrak and "big, comfortable seats," with "plenty of legroom." For the Business Class set, there's wine and cheese tasting and free WiFi, but combing through email probably won't cross your mind while you're sipping on that complimentary cabernet. 

While it's a shorter journey than Amtrak's $213 odyssey through the heartland plains, and a decidedly less boozy affair than the Napa Valley Wine Train, the Coast Starlight might just be in its own league among the country's most attractive train trips. 

[h/t Country Living]

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Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club, and Esquire. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster. 

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Travel

Airline Rewards Are Getting Cooler: You Can Even Learn to Fly a Plane

By Updated On 11/01/2018 at 04:21PM EST

There's a video of me successfully flying a Boeing 777 under the Golden Gate Bridge on one engine and then going into barrel roll somewhere over Alcatraz, but I’m not allowed to share it. Fortunately, I am clear to share this one of me landing that same B777 at SFO, because, without it, no one who knows me would ever believe I did such a thing without crashing (which I did also but only once and due to circumstances that were objectively not my fault).

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The Most Satisfying One-Season Binge-Watches

By Published On 10/22/2018

Forget baseball or football: Binge-watching TV is our true national pastime. Today’s technology means you have access to more hours of television than you could ever (healthily) watch, but not all bingeable TV shows are equal. You want a viewing experience that will leave you entertained, satisfied, yet still with remaining hours to do something else that weekend -- not the regret of spending your entire 48 hours off suffering through that sluggish drama your friend swears gets really good around season 3. Consider these your TV streaming one-hit wonders: From limited series, to very long documentaries, to episodic TV where each season can be enjoyed on its own, this is all the best stuff to watch in one shot.

Lake Waitaki Village | Courtesy of One Agency Real Estate
Travel

You Can Buy This Entire Scenic Village in New Zealand for Just $1.8 Million

By Published On 10/31/2018

Currently, you share an apartment with three roommates, two fixed-gear bicycles, a cat, and probably a small army of bed bugs living happily between the threads of your Craigslist couch. What's the solution? Purchase your own village. 

The apartment search will never be particularly rewarding, so you might want to consider taking up residence, instead, in Lake Waitaki village, located on New Zealand’s South Island. The township has been mostly empty for a full three decades, and now, the whole dang village is up for sale. And it'll only set you back $1.8 Million.

Once home to some 3,000 laborers hard at work building the Waitaki dam, the place was abandoned in 1989, when the dam became automated. Still, the stretch of land continues to offer nine garages, eight three-bedroom houses, one bar, a 6,300 square-foot lodge, and scenic mountain views, according to the listing.

It will not include roommates, hallmates, a bartender, or neighbors of any kind at all. The scenic, lakefront property is miles from the nearest town.