How I Spent My Summer Vacation--Home to New England

July 14-15 -- Still Traveling

Headed for the Quiet Car, which is the very best idea Amtrak ever had.  It only happens at night, and there are times, like this night, wherein by the second stop there is enough room for the young woman with the laptop next to you to scoot out of her seat and claim a double, conveniently leaving you with a double as well.

I have lots of travel rituals.  For example, my first night at a hotel, whether I am there for one night or nine, I order in pizza and somehow or other get a beer.  Then, before bed, a shot of a decent gin, these days it's usually Bombay Sapphire, and some chocolate.  I always take a small bag of kisses, or M & M's.  Then I'm ready for bed.

Packing for train travel means traveling as light as possible, so I freeze two bottles of water, which keep the subs and the chocolate cold and provide drink over the 24-hours.  Not possible to pack a bottle of gin, plus which I'd prefer not to draw stares from fellow passengers, so a third water bottle gets a couple of inches of gin.

Once I settle into my seat in the Quiet Car, I take out my gin and chocolate, have my nightcap, and then settle down.

Settling down is a bit of an exaggeration.  No matter how comfy you thought the seats were when you were sitting, trying to extend yourself while contracting yourself within the short space is a challenge.  However, I once was the person who did not nap.  I did not sleep while traveling no matter how long the trip.

I'm older now.  I may have to readjust fairly often, but I do get my sleep.  I once had anxiety over all the trips I would need to take to the restrooms, but not so much anymore.  Sleeping on the train is infinitely better than driving those night-time hours, so I've learned to do it.

And by the time sunrise rolls around, 5:30ish, I crack my eyes open and get to see the most beautiful part of the trip:  the waters of Mystic Seaport.

Stock Photo -- too early for camera-wrangling

Now I'm content because I'm almost there.  First stop is Boston, scheduled at 8 a.m.  So I take out my eReader.  I remember my daily Diovan, so I take out a pill and my bottle of water.  I'm surprised I have that much left.  Swallow the pill with a mouthful of...

...Bombay Sapphire.

Well.  Quite a shock, but hey, it's summer vacation!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation--DC Reminiscences

July 14 -- En Route

Here I am back on Amtrak.  Every year I ask the all-important questions:  1) Will I ever ride on Amtrak again? and 2) If I don't, how will I ever get anyplace?

I rejected driving all the way to Boston and all the way back, due to memories burned into my mind of the trip I took in August three years ago to drop my son off at Harvard.  It was the trip back, stop-and-go from an hour outside of New York in Connecticut, with bouts of rain, a swerve and near-crash at a toll booth entering New York, hair-raising driving through New York and the Washington Beltway.  That did it.  Every time I try to tell myself driving isn't bad, I flash back.

Flying is just out of the question, until they stop scanning naked bodies looking for the retro-terrorist that's going to try something that's already failed.  Oh, and since they can't seem to take off and land a plane on time anymore.  Oh, and don't forget how much it costs to deal with this tortuous process.

So I packed my lunch and dinner and midnight snack, loaded a bunch of books on my new eReader, and headed for the Amtrak station.

I would say it was delightful, but I reserve that rating for getting two seats to spread out on.

The trip was, however, not merely uneventful, but on time.

I landed in D.C. with over two hours till my connection.  It was a beautiful though warm early evening, and I had cleverly stowed my luggage from Charleston to Boston, so I headed outside.  As much as I gripe about American politicians, I inexplicably love the Capitol.  But I walked away from the Capitol this night, since I had wandered around it the last time Amtrak left me a couple of hours to fill.

I hadn't planned on taking pictures, opting for a simple walk in the humidity.  But I reconsidered when I approached:

From a former life

My old stomping ground, kind of.  Way back in the days when I believed psychologists could make a difference, while fighting my way through the most competitive (as in hard to get accepted to) graduate education in the country, I actually had a student membership to the APA, and went to any events I could.  And conveniently, I was living in Maryland, ever-so-close to the pulse of the nation.  Wasn't I hot?

Without giving too much thought to just how long ago that was, I remembered the Kennedy Center, which to be honest I enjoyed far more than the museums and monuments.  For just a few years I "did the Capitol" with anyone  who came to visit me.

And then I backtracked to a picture I debated taking before I had been motivated enough to actually hunt for my camera:

While it's still there

Because who knows how much longer it will be there.  There must be a lobbyist or two with eyes on this piece of real estate.

But of course it was inevitable.  I ended up at the Capitol, taking hundreds of pictures in the beautiful sunset.

Never enough of it

My biggest disappointment, and something I just don't understand:  Why there is not a single ice cream truck sitting by Union Station.  Whenever I end up there the weather is hot and humid and I would think it would just be the best way for our Nation's Capitol to prove that they truly do have the pulse of the nation.


So, sans ice cream cone, I headed back to Amtrak for the night.

Ready for bed