New York City, Penn Station. What a weird place! I spent a few hours there waiting for the next train. I did not go out and tour as there was no place to leave luggage late at night. Instead I spent the time observing some of the oddest humans on the planet. Back in Chicago Union Station, I noticed that the overwhelming impression of people there, was that they all moved waaaay to fast. Those people needed to slow down a bit and live life. I walk fairly fast, but those people were amazing… they felt like a bunch of hyper busy insects with no idea of what to do, but they were gonna get there right now.
Back to New York. There the people were over all more normal in their speed, even when moving from train to train and through the terminals. What was really weird to watch was the yellers and screamers. I noticed that about every 10 minutes for the 5 plus hours I was there, there was some weird/high/strange dude going off on someone about something. You know, those very incoherent or incomprehensible rants with the strangest logic in them. . . The police would go deal with it and most of they would end up laughing at them along with every one around them…. What weirdos… but very entertaining!
At 3AM I headed out for Washington DC. to arrive at 7AM. I scheduled it this way to be able to tour DC for the day. I arrived a bit tired, with only 4 hours sleep on a commuter Amtrak train… read here… no bed! Union station in DC is a huge train station. Massive old building with over 100 ft ceilings. It felt more like an airport than a train station with a huge food court ,and high end shopping.
Once off the train, I had some breakfast and headed into town. I decided to use the subway for touring and got a all day pass for 5.00 Then the trick was to get where I wanted to go on the first try. I rode the subway out to the pentagon and looked at the newly finished 9/11 memorial there. It was very impressive to see, especially where the plane hit. It was about a 300’ section that was fresh new material on the walls. I got back on the subway, and headed for the Washington Mall. I wandered over to the Washington Memorial and found out the tickets were all sold out to go up in it, so I didn’t. But it was very cool to see.
Then I headed for some of the museums. I first came too the Holocaust museum and went through it. Very interesting and informative museum. I enjoyed it a lot. Then I went to the Smithsonian Air and space museum, which was beyond cool, and finished up with the Native American Museum, which was pretty good too. Then off to find a hole in the ground that lead to a subway. I managed to find my way back to Union Station in plenty of time for my train, which was the Crescent, headed for New Orleans.
That was a very nice ride on a view liner again (the 1 story train). The first half of the trip was in the dark, so I did not see much of Virginia, or the Carolinas, waking up in Georgia before we got to Atlanta. Going through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana was beautiful. We spent hours and hours going through the back country, through thick woods, rolling hills, crossing on trestles over rivers, flying through tiny country towns. We approached New Orleans from the NE, and crossed the huge Pontchantrain Lake just outside of NO, pulling into the down town station just a few minutes late.
Back to New York. There the people were over all more normal in their speed, even when moving from train to train and through the terminals. What was really weird to watch was the yellers and screamers. I noticed that about every 10 minutes for the 5 plus hours I was there, there was some weird/high/strange dude going off on someone about something. You know, those very incoherent or incomprehensible rants with the strangest logic in them. . . The police would go deal with it and most of they would end up laughing at them along with every one around them…. What weirdos… but very entertaining!
At 3AM I headed out for Washington DC. to arrive at 7AM. I scheduled it this way to be able to tour DC for the day. I arrived a bit tired, with only 4 hours sleep on a commuter Amtrak train… read here… no bed! Union station in DC is a huge train station. Massive old building with over 100 ft ceilings. It felt more like an airport than a train station with a huge food court ,and high end shopping.
Once off the train, I had some breakfast and headed into town. I decided to use the subway for touring and got a all day pass for 5.00 Then the trick was to get where I wanted to go on the first try. I rode the subway out to the pentagon and looked at the newly finished 9/11 memorial there. It was very impressive to see, especially where the plane hit. It was about a 300’ section that was fresh new material on the walls. I got back on the subway, and headed for the Washington Mall. I wandered over to the Washington Memorial and found out the tickets were all sold out to go up in it, so I didn’t. But it was very cool to see.
Then I headed for some of the museums. I first came too the Holocaust museum and went through it. Very interesting and informative museum. I enjoyed it a lot. Then I went to the Smithsonian Air and space museum, which was beyond cool, and finished up with the Native American Museum, which was pretty good too. Then off to find a hole in the ground that lead to a subway. I managed to find my way back to Union Station in plenty of time for my train, which was the Crescent, headed for New Orleans.
That was a very nice ride on a view liner again (the 1 story train). The first half of the trip was in the dark, so I did not see much of Virginia, or the Carolinas, waking up in Georgia before we got to Atlanta. Going through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana was beautiful. We spent hours and hours going through the back country, through thick woods, rolling hills, crossing on trestles over rivers, flying through tiny country towns. We approached New Orleans from the NE, and crossed the huge Pontchantrain Lake just outside of NO, pulling into the down town station just a few minutes late.
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4 comments:
ya know, that train station sounded a little bit like highschool...
Steve: I was in the Pentagon April of 1957, also got to go to trip the top of Washington Monument at night awesome views.
The Holocaust Museum was the most sobering Holocaust experience I've ever had-- I've done a LOT of reading on the subject and seen a LOT of pictures, but the museum was something else.
And the Air and Space Museum-- well, cool. Duh. Cannot WAIT for the US History museum to be up and running again...
ur lucky again i have been wanting to go to the Holocaust Museum
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