So Happy Together: Day Four - Thursday, July 30

Itinerary

Travel to DC

This morning was our last one in Atlantic City. We had been up very late the night before so we took advantage of our lovely room and slept in. After getting up and packing up, we headed down to the buffet for breakfast. Since it was our last day there we checked out and then checked our bags so we could explore a bit before heading to the train station. After we ate, we looked around the shops in our hotel a bit. Most of them were way too expensive for us, but it was fun to look around. We have a tradition of picking up a magnet and/or an ornament from each place we visit. So, part of our shopping was looking for those. We found a couple of neat ones and then headed back to our hotel lobby.

Since we had never taken the train before we consulted our tickets and the info there said to arrive about an hour before your departure. So we picked up our bags and went out to catch a cab to the station. We had been told by the hotel clerk that checked us in that the most a cab driver could charge you to go anywhere in the city was $13.00 and we had seen several signs giving this information out throughout the city. So, as we got in our cab, Brandon told him we were headed to the train station. He said okay and started to drive. We weren’t exactly sure how far it was from the hotel, but we knew it was pretty close. After driving around for about 10 minutes or so, he asked, “Where are you going again?” Brandon reminded him of our destination and we both noticed that the meter said $13.00. The cabby said okay and we got to the train station about 2 minutes after that exchange. Obviously the plan is to drive around until the meter reaches $13.00 and then take tourists to their destination. It probably for that exact reason that cabbies have that maximum they can charge. We both got a little bit of a chuckle out of that one..

The train station was pretty empty when we arrived and we checked info board for our train. We noticed that the departure time was about 30 minutes later than what it said on our tickets. This made us (especially me) nervous since we had to catch another train in Philadelphia to take us to Boston. Brandon figured it would be fine, but of course I was anxious about it and made him check with the man at the information booth. He answered us quickly with “Yeah, it will be fine, you will catch the 4:20 in Philly.” He of course said this in a distracted, rather annoyed way. I am sure he gets tired of anxious tourists fretting about catching their trains.

We headed over to the benches and sat and waited. I read for a bit and Brandon surfed the net (or the web, or the information super highway). I think the highlight of waiting was listening to a Jersey couple argue about whether the husband/boyfriend should go back and get his wife/girlfriend’s cell phone. Now, I am sure it sounds silly that listening to an argument would be fun, but it was actually just neat to listen to their accents and expressions. Also, it is a highlight because we were sitting in a train station – there wasn’t too much else exciting going on. But, it wasn’t that great because when we got on the train and saw that they were on the same one – we chose to sit far away from them.

Our train ride was really quite comfortable and a cool way to travel. It was fun to get to see all the scenery and cites along the way. We could also really relax, neither of us needing to drive and having MUCH more room than an airplane. There were many stops along the way. For the first leg of our train travel we were on a New Jersey Transit train and then in Philly we switched to Amtrak.

Another random travel note – as I have stated before, we are traveling light. This means were are of course limited on space and therefore limited on the number of shoes I can bring. (I know this doesn’t mean much to guys, but the girls will understand.) On this trip we are both wearing tennis shoes most days, we know there will be a lot of walking and we don’t want to end up with blisters and such. All this to say that we are on most days wearing matching shoes. We both have New Balances. Noticing this led to a fun discussion about how we will soon be dressing alike, wearing matching track suits or cruise wear. So, I have included a picture of our matching shoes. Maybe in DC we will have to search from matching hats and/or shirts.

Our stop in Philly was a quick one. After checking the info board to see what gate our train left from, we both headed to the food court to grab lunch to take on the train. We weren’t hungry right then, but we wanted to have it for the trip. In true Philly form, Brandon got a Philly Cheesesteak. Heather in true Heather form got a turkey sandwich (I really am rather boring!!)

Upon purchasing our food, we got back to the main lobby just in time to hear the announcement that our train would be boarding at gate 5, so we headed down the escalator and boarded our train. On to DC!

The second leg was much like the first. We loved checking out the landscape as we traveled. Overall the trip took about 3 hours. Not too bad. After getting off the train we headed downstairs in the train station to catch the Metro (DC’s subway system) to our hotel. A very friendly and helpful metro employee was posted right by the ticket purchasing station. With his help we easily bought tickets and we were on our way.

Our stop was L’enfant Plaza. Our hotel was called L’enfant so were knew it would be close. Much to our delight the metro stop was in the basement of our hotel. This was going to make traveling around the city very easy. (The photo on the right is in front of our hotel.)

It was close to sunset when we checked in, so we quickly dropped our stuff off in the room and went out for a walk around the National Mall. Our hotel was about 2 blocks from the National Mall (area with the Capital, Washington Monument, reflecting pools, and Lincoln Memorial). What an incredible location! I have to take a moment to give a big, huge, shout out (I know I’m Randy Jackson) to Brandon – he worked many hours researching where to stay and he has done an outstanding job. We really couldn’t have stayed at a better location. So, close to everything!! Way to go Brandon!!

Anyway, we truly enjoyed our evening walk and our first glimpses of DC. There is something really special about hanging out in our nation’s capital. I know it sounds sappy, but I just felt really proud and in awe of what an amazing gift it is to be born here and enjoy the freedoms we have. We took quite a few pictures tonight, it was beautiful to see the sunset and then to enjoy the monuments at night. There was a Marine band doing a concert on the mall, so that was perfect background music. Since we were a bit tired we just walked over to the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, and the reflecting pool. We could see the Capital and the Lincoln Memorial from there. Sleepy and excited we headed back to our hotel to rest up for tomorrow.

We had hoped that we would see a restaurant when we were out to grab a late dinner, but we didn’t find one. After a quick search we realized we would just have to grab something at the hotel gift/snack store. Our choices were limited so we had the dinner of champions….Heather: cracker jacks & trail mix & Brandon: dried fruit and a nutri-grain bar. Oh well, we enjoyed our “dinner” and then headed to bed.