The train made progress as I slept, a bit fitfully - the sugar from the soda I don't normally drink wasn't sitting well with me but I did manage to get a decent amount of sleep. Just before sunrise, I made my way to the dining car to be able to enjoy it from there with some breakfast. We were stopping in Greensboro, NC around this time.
I spent the morning trying to read, blogging, and plenty of time just staring out the window. These Amtrak blankets are so soft on one side. It is really nice having my own room to disappear into.
They have the same menu for lunch and dinner so for lunch today I chose the Asian BBQ Glazed Salmon. It's not bad for a microwaved meal. I hear meals used to be really good on Amtrak before they removed the dining car from so many trains. It is way too much food though for my appetite so I am collecting the brownies they give you for dessert for another day and I left behind most of the rice.
About 1:45 p.m. we arrived in Washington, DC. the scenery as we entered the city took me back to my trip last year and made me excited for the days I will spend there next week. But what I was most excited about in DC today was being able to watch them switch over the diesel engines to an electric one. So I took advantage of the stretch break to get out and walk towards the front of the train.
Two diesel engines lead the train from it's origin in New Orleans until Washington, DC.
Goodbye Diesel!
A look back at the train yard while I waited for the electric engine
The front of the coach cars of my train next to another train that had just pulled in
Here comes the electric engine
Then it was time to get back on. I had about 3.5 hours left until New York City.
Arriving in New York City was a culture shock to say the least. It is a maze to get out of the train station and then when I finally did and stepped out onto the streets of New York City I stopped in my tracks at the vibe, the people, the smells, and the energy. It was a bit overwhelming.
I first made my way to my hotel which was about half a mile away, the Hampton Inn Manhattan/Times Square South. It is an older hotel but seems to be maintained pretty well. It is narrow and skinny with only six rooms per floor, 32 floors high. With how high all the other buildings are around it, I'm not sure any room has a view so if you stay here, don't worry so much about what floor you end up on.
After dropping off all my stuff, my next goal was to get to B&H before they closed. I have bought so much camera equipment, new and used from this company online that when I saw their physical store was just blocks from my hotel, I had to go visit them. It is quite the experience - two floors (plus I think there is a different entrance for selling your used equipment). There are lines everywhere with numbered stations to talk to people at counters and again at the cashiers. When I started to contemplate how much stuff is for sale on their website, I realized I should have expected no less. I didn't stay long. They were closing in 15 minutes and the lines looked longer than 15 minute lines and although I would have loved to shop for a couple of things I truly didn't need anything.
Then I headed back out to the streets to wander and hopefully find Times Square. I don't know what I expected of New York City, but I was not prepared for the sheer volume of people. They have even taken street lanes away from cars to create pedestrian lanes in some places (in addition to bike/scooter lanes) and it is still wall to wall people. And with wall to wall people comes some significant number of people with no self-awareness who suddenly stop, slow, turn, etc. right in front of others so you are always on alert to be ready to step left or right or pause.
There are hotdog stands (and other food trucks) on every corner.
A giant button, needle and thread?
Times Square - It's not really a square, more like a triangle.
By that point, my introverted self was so beyond overwhelmed that I desperately needed the quiet of a hotel room so I started making my way back and stopped at Lincoln Gourmet Deli, half a block from my hotel to pick up some dinner. I ordered some pasta with veggies, chicken, and marinara sauce which was really good although a huge portion (for a very affordable price). I was able to save half for the next night.
And then it was time for bed and I slept a solid 7 hours without waking.
Although I had set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. thinking I would be up early enough to watch us sail in, I woke at 3:00 a.m. and sensed that we had already really slowed down. In the distance I could see the lights of New York City. I found a robe in the closet as it was 47*F and my pajamas just weren't meant for cold weather plus I limited my time on the balcony just to when we were passing something cool, watching from the window inside the rest of the time.
We crossed under the Verranzzano-Narrows Bridge a little before 4:00 a.m. and then passed by the Statue of Liberty before making our way to our pier.
Pacific World - at one time this ship was the Sun Princess, sister to the Sea Princess which I sailed on when I was a lot younger.
There were no window tables for two available at breakfast so I ended up at this large table.
Holland's Volendam had pulled up next to us on the other side.
A little after 8:00 a.m. I finished packing and dragged my bags down 7 flights of stairs to disembark (I was not going to wait in the long lines for an elevator). The cruise was officially over.
Fortunately, I carried off my own luggage so didn't have to search for any luggage in this sea of bags. I figured if I was successfully lugging it all over Manhattan, DC, and on and off the Amtrak, I could handle getting it off the ship.
This cruise was a different kind of cruise. I never did explore the entire ship and didn't have any interest at all in trying to create a ship tour for my YouTube channel. As I walked out to disembark, I realized I was walking through spaces I didn't recognize at all. I kept mostly to the Haven and my cabin with a few moments on the Waterfront. I had thought I would join more activities but didn't. I think I have overwhelmed myself in these post-separation days of trying to build a social network and neglected my quiet time. My quiet time is also really hard for me right now so I fear I had also been avoiding it some but it is still very necessary as someone who is fairly introverted.
Service wasn't bad but it also wasn't anything special. I didn't like how in the Haven they didn't try and seat you with some of the same waiters as Celebrity tries to do in Luminae. So it felt like someone new each time.
I didn't drink much at all. Alcohol isn't sitting well with me these days and I didn't have a drink package so I didn't spend time in any of the bars as I would have done on past cruises. Maybe this was a good change.
I'm not a huge fan of the Haven menu that never rotates. It got old even on this short five night cruise. I imagine it would get even more tiring on a longer cruise. But the food was all very good. There were a number of dishes I didn't mind ordering a second time because I enjoyed them so much.
My cabin was spectacular and I thoroughly enjoyed the balcony. It was in a pretty good location and just three decks below the Haven area.
Overall, it was an enjoyable cruise even if it was difficult at times feeling so alone.
I walked a few blocks along this waterfront as I had 2.5 hours and only a 1.5 mile walk to the train station.
A neat residential street in the middle of it all
Look closely across the intersection and you will see cars parked at least three high.
Penn Station
This is the area where I would line up to descend to the platform once my train had arrived.
I took the Northeast Regional Train 119 which started in NYC and ended in DC. Because this particular train started in NYC (instead of Boston like many of the Northeast Regional Trains), the train was empty to start with making it easier to find a good seat. I managed to snag a seat in the Quiet Car.
The trains are all underground in NYC and when I emerged this is the view I had which surprised me quite a bit!
Free Wi-Fi and a three and a half hour train ride means time to work on my blog!
The colors on the trees have started to change in this area so the train ride hurried passed vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows. We arrived in DC just a few minutes late, a couple minutes before 3:00 p.m. These big train stations in large cities like DC and NYC are so interesting with tracks and trains as far as the eye can see, often underground or at a lower level and then you emerge into a beautiful train station. Union Station in DC is one of those incredibly beautiful buildings.
I made the 7 or 8 block walk to my hotel and it really felt like coming home. I had been here just over a year ago and stayed at this same hotel. I don't know if it was the foreign-feeling of NYC and then Bermuda that made the familiar feel so incredibly welcome. I hardly had to look at a map as my feet knew the way. And then I saw that Friendship Archway in Chinatown!
I checked into my hotel, the Motto by Hilton Washington DC City Center. The Motto chain focuses on larger common areas for mingling at the expense of room size. The idea is that it is for people who just want their rooms to sleep and want to be out socializing and touring otherwise. It also can be a bit cheaper since they can get more rooms in a hotel. Last time I actually stayed in a bunk bed room! This stay had been booked on points with the intention that my husband would join me so I actually had a queen bed but it takes up essentially the entire room. Small is an understatement. With no where to leave a suitcase open, I actually had to unpack what I needed for this three night stay so that I could stash my suitcase upright in a corner. But I'm not sure unpacking is really so bad. It's nice to have all my clothes so easily accessible. And once that was done, the room felt more comfortable.
As familiar as this all feels, I'm also seeing how much has changed in the 13 months since I last visited. I walked over to where Cava used to be just down the street from my hotel to find some food as I had not eaten since breakfast and was dismayed to find a note on the door that after 10 years in business they had closed in March. I had been really looking forward to my favorite fast casual restaurant with window seats to watch the people go by on the street. Seeing Potbelly a couple more doors down, I found food there instead.
Once I was settled, fed, and called my parents - it was nice to hear a familiar voice after being disconnected for so many days, I then headed out to find the best spot to watch the sun set over the monuments.
Walking past the White House (which due to construction, there really isn't a good view of currently), I continued on to the Mall and the Washington Monument. Last year I watched sunset over the Washington Monument and struggled to find the right angle for a good photo so I continued on down to the World War II Memorial and on to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Lowering myself to the concrete at the edge of the pool, I settled in to wait for the colors to change as I experimented with a few angles.
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
US Treasury Department
I wonder how many people even read this marker or the plaques for it. Whenever I visit, you find people setting their stuff on it or leaning on it to get a better photo of the White House. It's usually hard to get a photo of the marker itself unless you go at a time when no one is around. It never truly became a zero milestone like it had hoped to be, modeled after one in Rome but it was the starting point of several US Army Conveys to the West Coast in 1919 and 1920. Personally, it holds more intrigue to me than the White House does. I'll have to go back another morning before the rest of DC tourists are awake.
Washington Monument
The clouds and pre-sunset golden hour were lovely for photographs.
This was my spot where I watched the sunset and then the darkness overcome - and the chill of the air seep into my bones!
This female mallard came to say "hi" while I was waiting. I remember loving the ducks on this pond and the way they temporarily break the reflections of the monument and the sky.
After the sun set, I turned around to see these beautiful pastels in the sky, the full moon, and the silhouette of the Washington Monument before the monument lights turned on.
As it grew darker, I found something to set my camera on for a longer exposure using a pond in the World War II exhibit to capture a reflection.
The moon would disappear behind clouds and then re-appear. I'm not sure if I like this photo without much moon better or the one with the moon better.
This is why you don't pack up before the last colors of the sunset disappear. Often that is most beautiful part of the sunset. (The opposite is true of sunrises - the best colors are often well before the sun rises.)
As I continued to sit, it felt a bit like a meditation so I pulled out my notebook and began to write.
Cold hard stone supports me as I sit. The last light of the day dipping low behind the Lincoln Memorial. Light dances across the pond, Disturbed only by a gentle breeze and the paths of the mallard ducks. The crisp air chills, as darkness takes over. My eyes slowly adjust. Tourists and photographers hurry on their way, nothing much left to see. Yet I remain seated as the cold seeps in.
And then I made my way through the dark to the other end of the reflecting pool to check out the reflection of the Washington Monument and get a closer look at the Lincoln Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial
By this point, I was freezing and just over 2 miles from my hotel. I checked in by text with a friend. It's really nice to have people to check in with as I travel alone. It makes me feel a bit less alone and gives me a small piece of security knowing that there are people who know where I am. I joked that maybe the movement of walking would warm me up and then laughed later about how my distraction worked against me on that goal as I stopped more times than I can count and found myself kneeling or sitting at other places to get the right photo angle. Forty minutes later I had only traveled about half a mile, was no warmer, and I was focused on some long exposures of the Capitol Building with cars passing in front of it.
This was so intriguing. Spread out on the lawn in front of the Washington Monument were what looked like 3 or 4 games of glow-in-the-dark kickball. Lighted cones, a bright green ball that was lighted itself, and glow sticks worn by the players made this look like a ton of fun!
After the photos of the Capitol, it was time to put the camera away and leave the Mall. With less to catch my eye, my last 1.5 mile walk back went a lot quicker and as always, I was excited to see the welcome sign of the Friendship Archway.
By the time I got back to my hotel, I had walked 19,250 steps today and was quite tired. I took some time to edit some photos and then settled in for a very good night's sleep.
