Traveling with Michelle: Start speading the news, I'm leaving today!

April 6, 2022

New York/Washington

Subway art at "my" subway station

Today I woke up early (despite going to bed so late last night) so that I could shower and pack my bag to go to Washington DC for the rest of my spring break to visit my son who goes to school there. He is at George Washington University. I left on time, taking the subway to Penn Station. I then followed the signs for Moynihan Hall which is below Penn Station where the Amtrak trains depart from. It took awhile, but I finally found a seated waiting area hidden behind some pillars, offices, and signage. So many people! Another passenger and I took turns watching each other's bags to use the bathroom, then 15 minutes early I went to the Starbucks counter to get a bagel and a bottle of water for a meal on the train (I hadn't eaten yet). They announced my train and they burned the first bagel when toasting it, so they had to make a new one but I got to the train in time. You are allowed to sit in any Coach car, so I got on one at random and found a seat. I ate my bagel, then spent most of the three and half hours alternately reading and looking out the window.

I saw this posted on one of the doors at my hotel!
What happened here, it was only a few doors
down from my door. A death, smallpox??

Once at Union Station, I followed signs for the bus area in the parking garage to board a Circulator bus. I arrived just as one was leaving, so I had to wait for the next one. There was one there, open, with its lights on, but no driver. A large group of people arrived while I was waiting by the sign that said to queue there for the bus. One man approached and asked about the bus. I told him what I knew. They were a tour group from Germany. When the other bus returned, I asked the driver if his bus went to where I needed to go, but he said he was finished for the day and to get on the other bus. Well, the ride costs $1, but the machine read out of order, so I just got on and found a seat. The tour group got the same message from him, so they all boarded the bus as well. So we sat there, and they didn't know where the other driver was. Eventually some other guy was called in to drive and just got in the bus that had just gotten back, so we had to change buses. As I boarded, I asked the driver if he went to my address and he said yes, to get off at 13th and K and walk there (about 5 blocks). The german group had filled the front of the bus with their suitcases so the seats weren't available there, so I made my way to the back of the bus, stepping over people and bags in the aisle. On the bus route, we crossed a street leading directly to the Capitol--perfect view. All of the tourists gasped and said Oh! Very cute! When I got off at my stop, the entire bus of tourists said good-bye to me--it was very sweet!

I walked to my hostel, then checked in. Turns out that they also own a building two doors down and my room is in there. So I got there and found that I had been assigned to the top bunk of a rickety bunk bed set. The other person was not there, but pajamas on their bed were pink, so I think they are a woman. The rooms are mixed sexes which is why I reserved a two-bed room, thinking that I would be less likely to have a man as a roommate in that situation (as opposed to a dorm bedroom with several beds in it). The only thing in the room is the bunk bed and a garbage can. The closet door does not have a doorknob, but I was able to get it in and the other occupant already had her things on the shelf, so I put mine on floor of the closet. Then I decided to go out walking to get acclimated. It was so humid that I left my sweatshirt in my room! I wandered aimlessly, then decided to walk to the Capitol Mall. All the rest of my pics today are the things that I saw as I walked around.

I eventually made it back to my hostel and met my roommate, Joy. She is a teacher from California, visiting here for her spring break. Her husband doesn't like to go anywhere, so she always travels during her spring break on her own. Her teenage son is in DC with a school group, so she has been being very careful not to go to the places where they were going to be! This was her last night before heading home tomorrow.

Joshua and I had texted earlier on the train and we were planning to meet in Foggy Bottom (where his university is located) at 7:30 for dinner. So I decided to walk there too. I grabbed my sweatshirt because it seemed to be getting slightly chillier now that the sun was going down. it was also less humid. I walked there (another half hour) with my sweatshirt tied around my waist. It was getting dark and there were very few people out, which is kind of creepy. Atlas once told me that they felt safe walking around late at night in New York because there are always people out late on the streets, but did not feel as safe walking at night in Minneapolis, because there are fewer people out--and I totally agree. Though now that place was DC. I texted Joshua several times as I was walking asking where we should specifically meet, but he didn't respond. Finally I reached the middle of campus, sat on a bench in front of a dorm and called him--he answered the second time I called. He had fallen asleep! I put on my sweatshirt, but I was cold, tired (from being up late the night before), and hungry--so I was crabby. His dorm is on the Mount Vernon campus, so he had to take the VEX (the bus connecting the two campuses) and it wasn't coming until 8:30!!! So I waited outside on the bench until he finally arrived. We went to a restaurant right there and caught up. I got a delicious spinach salad with apples, candied walnuts, goat cheese, olives, etc and an apple vinaigrette. Yum! We were both pretty tired, though, so we split and went to our separate lodgings, though I took the subway (called the metro) to make my walk a little shorter.

A mall area had pink lanterns strung up to celebrate spring

Peter is a character from the book "The Snowy Day"
by Ezra Jack Keats. This is a drawing from the book.
It is part of a program to encourage reading and going to
the library for children. I love this book!