Washington DC - Day One and Two

Linda B & I left Muskegon Saturday morning at 11:30 am heading to Kalamazoo.  The train/bus station is around the corner from the homeless shelter in Kalamazoo and I must say there were some interesting people hanging out in the station.  Our lovely travel agent led us to believe there was a lovely deli around the corner from the bus station.  Turns out the deli was accommodating but lacking....

The train from Kalamazoo to Chicago was almost an hour late leaving the station.  A little nerve wracking but we managed to arrive in Chicago and only have a short layover.  We took advantage of the rule to allow senior citizen to board the train early.  Our seats on the train were row two - the car directly in front of us was the lounge car where the windows basically go from the floor to the ceiling and snacks and drinks are served below.  The car in front of the lounge car was the dining car.

We shared out table with a lovely couple from out east.  Dinner consisted of vegetable lasagna for me and talapia for Linda.  Desert was a chocolate puff pastry for me and cranberry walnut crumb cake for Linda.  I was rather disappointed to find Amtrak no longer uses china and cloth table clothes but Erin, our server, assures us the practice will be reinstated soon.  Octavia was in charge of the dining car - she made it perfectly clear she was in charge!  My favorite line from her was "somebody's got to love you."





Highlight of the night on the train was when we used the bathrooms on the train.  I used the handicap bathroom and was slightly startled to find I could not unlock the door.  Fortunately, Linda was right outside the bathroom and rescued me.  Well, Linda didn't actually rescue me, she located Dan Kuhl, the assistant conductor who allowed me to escape.  Needless to say, I did not use the handicap bathroom again - for that matter, I don't think Linda did either.

Another highlight was our dining companion at breakfast this morning.  The gentleman wore a Chicago Bears sweatshirt.  I asked him if he was a big Bears fan.  He responded by telling us he played for the Chicago Bears - between 1966 and 1968 - Defensive Back.  Our lovely dining car attendant called him "Mr. Curtis".  I googled the Chicago Bears for that time frame and found Curt Gentry, Defensive Back - on the same team roster was Mike Ditka!  According to friend Joyce, this roster contained "royalty".  Hmmmmm, should we have asked for an autograph?


We arrived in DC - a little tired and yearning for a nice hot shower.  Both of us took showers and naps then set out to explore.  Dupont Circle was our destination - dinner was delicious.  As I posted our status at the restaurant I was pleasantly surprise to find the Peace Corps Offices were a block down and street and around the corner.  Of course, it is Sunday so the offices are closed but I took a series of photos of the pictures displayed in the windows.

I'm having difficulty posting the photos - will try again tomorrow. 

Tomorrow morning we are hopping on a bus and touring and city.  Tomorrow afternoon we are scheduled for a Supreme Court lecture.  Stay tuned for more details of our trip --- hopefully photos too.