Got busy and figured it was better to enjoy the sites rather than spend the time here.  Now I was up late and accidentally slept in, thinking that it was really early and going back to bed, only to look at a clock that had read past eight.  Our room faces the interior of the hotel with no light, due to a protest at the Madison hotel next door.

The last full day in NYC involved a trip to the MoMA where my camera battery died and I’d foolishly left my spare in my bag… which is totally what I bought it for.  We also visited my Aunt in Brooklyn, where it started to drizzle, then turned into a full on downpour with strong winds about two blocks from her place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got up early yesterday to head to Penn Station to take the Amtrak to DC.  First we had the issue of weekend construction closing up all of the stations near us.  It sucks trekking a couple dozen extra blocks when breakfast places are closed that early and you’re lugging bags and it’s below freezing out.  Finally making it, we had enough time to grab some Tim Horton’s before boarding the train.  I would generally say that it’s a good way to travel, barring the length of time and cost.  Our plane tickets to NYC were cheaper than Amtrak and we didn’t want to kill a whole day traveling, but it was perfect for about three and a half hours to DC where we got to cross through a few states and had to arrive only a few minutes before it left with no security screening.

Unfortunately, it was still cold out and we chose to sit near the back of a train car, where the door kept opening for people with cold air rushing in.  This was manageable until we stopped in Wellington and our train just lost power.  Being diesel, it could still drive, and we didn’t need power to use it, and I was not waiting 45 minutes for the next one out in the cold.  Still, it did drop the temperature in there quite a bit, and I arrived in DC numb.  Also, it’s not as scenic as you might picture.  Maybe it was because it is still winter that it was pretty blah out, or maybe it was the fact that everything was covered in trash and it seemed that every city that we passed through was directly in the crappiest, most run-down part of town.  Amtrak in Orlando runs right through scenic Winter Park.  Amtrak in Baltimore runs through an area where apparently every building was at one point on fire and never repaired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course I took a few obligatory shots of the monuments and buildings that we passed by, but I did that last time too, so I’ll stop before I crash anyone’s browser with this.

 

Day 2 of DC ahoy!  More relaxing and random site-seeing, then Bon Jovi tonight

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