On Nov. 9, 2016, I boarded the Lake Shore Limited, Amtrak’s overnight service from New York to Chicago. During this time, I had conversations with upward of 80 strangers, almost all of whom I met over meals in the dining car. Aside from what I was told by other passengers, I consumed no news in any form during my trip. But I wanted to write something that was at the very least framed by a personal journey, if not entirely personal in its content. So in early October, I bought a series of train tickets and decided that regardless of the outcome, I would set off the morning after the election.

Source: New York Times November 28, 2017 19:52 UTC