I love to travel. To date, I've experienced over 40 countries and all 50 U.S. states, with many repeat visits. As a young boy, I enjoyed traveling from MI to AK each summer with my family. One year we took a train from Chicago's Union Station all the way to Seattle, a 2200-mile journey covering 7 states that afforded spectacular views of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain wilderness. From then on, I was eager to see the world -- much like George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" who said, “You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?... Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles!”
While enthusiasm for travel and trains is not needed for this crossword puzzle, paying attention to the scenery is always important for solving a meta.
Here's a tip to get you to your final destination: Certain sets of numbers (and a little help from Google) will prove useful, but no math is needed. ... Now all aboard! Enjoy the journey!
The answer to the meta is a 4-digit number.
(Shout out to Peter @Abide for his helpful advice and to @Joe Ross for the technical help in creating links, pdfs, and spreadsheets. Many thanks, guys!)
