I Rode Business Class on Amtrak
One of my bucket list items was to take business class on the Amtrak sometime. When I work, occasionally I have to train new people and I am not always a fan of it. After spending fourteen hours on the road with someone else that I don’t know or just met, I sometimes, depending on their personality, like to have a little bit of private time. My trip was to Baltimore, Maryland. Amtrak has a train from the Baltimore Airport to Washington DC then from DC to Chicago with an almost hour layover in DC.
I decided to get a $15 upgrade to Business Class on the thirty-minute Amtrak from Baltimore Airport to Union Station in DC. Unfortunately, the guy I was training decided to do the same so that was my bit of annoyance for the day.
The conductor for that car was super nice and helpful. I mean, I really didn’t need help putting my laptop bag up in the overhead, but she insisted. The seats were not as comfortable as those in First Class on American that I wrote about in I Flew First Class, but they were still REALLY comfy. Leg room was the same as coach on most Amtrak coach cars I have been on, but better than a few that were too close. Amtrak Coach is generally comfortable anyway, so Business Class isn’t a huge upgrade and for a thirty minute ride, I don’t know if it is worth a $15 increase, but it was only $15 and the two-hour Amtrak I take frequently is only a $25 increase for Business Class. I will upgrade in the future. It is a little more relaxed and more comfortable.
For more from Michael Beebe, please read his blog on TheMichaelBeebe.com.
Picture a young Michael Beebe, fresh out of La Porte High School in ’93, diving headfirst into the world of hospitality with a busboy gig at the old La Porte Holiday Inn. That hustle led him to an Associate of Science from Purdue-North Central in ’95 and a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from Purdue-Calumet in ’97 (those schools are now merged into Purdue-Northwest, by the way). Michael’s early career was a whirlwind—running a 140-room hotel in Indianapolis, where he learned the ins and outs of the industry but realized it wasn’t his true calling. What did spark his passion? Teaching. He found himself thriving in front of students at Ivy Tech Community College and Lake Michigan College, sharing the art and science of hospitality management. Oh, and he also moonlighted at WIMS radio in Michigan City, juggling both on-air and behind-the-scenes roles with his signature high energy.
Politics? That’s been Michael’s sidekick since he was 18, registering to vote with a fire in his belly to make a difference. He threw his hat in the ring for La Porte County Council in 2010, where he got a crash course in the power of social media marketing. Undeterred by not winning, he campaigned for Indiana’s General Assembly in 2012 and took another shot at the County Council in 2014 and 2016. Though he hasn’t clinched a seat yet, Michael’s relentless drive to serve shines through. Lately, he’s been pouring that energy into helping other candidates who champion personal liberty, amplifying their voices with his knack for strategy.
Here’s a twist: Michael once co-owned a tattoo shop, despite having no ink himself. As the business manager and marketing guru, he leaned hard into low-cost, social media-driven campaigns to put the shop on the map. That experience fueled his love for digital marketing, and now he spends his free time crafting websites and boosting businesses online—a true labor of love.
These days, Michael’s living the dream as an independent contracted transporter, crisscrossing the country while getting paid to soak up new places and cultures. When he’s not exploring, he’s parked somewhere scenic, laptop open, building his digital consulting company, Spark Plug Strategies, or penning his thoughts. He even wrote a few books.
Based in La Porte County, Indiana, Michael’s embraced a “decentralized laptop lifestyle,” blending work, travel, and passion projects into a life that’s as dynamic as he is.