Day 8 in D.C.: Train travel and departure!

Somehow this was the only photo we took with Josh! He and Zach have been friends since cross country days in college!

On our last day in Washington D.C., we had a 3 pm flight out. So we relaxed in the morning with our friends (This was the only day we did not get up and arrive at some site by 10 am, lol).  We are incredibly thankful for the Patterson family's hospitality. <3

We packed up, said our goodbyes and took an uber to Union Station so we could catch an Amtrak train to the Baltimore airport. It sounds crazy to take a flight from a different state, but when we were pricing flights, it was most economical to fly into Reagan and fly out of Baltimore, and the airports are about the same distance from Washington D.C. proper. We booked flights before planning lodging, so we didn't know we'd be staying in Arlington. No worries, just needed to give ourselves time to get to the train station, because it would be a long, expensive, traffic-filled Uber ride. On the Uber ride to the train station, I realized there was a train at 1 pm, which would get us to the airport on time, and one at 1:50, which would NOT get us there on time. And the Uber driver was not interested in taking us to BWI (plus it would take longer to drive than the train). So we had to make the 1 pm. 

This was our first time to take an Amtrak train. We arrived at the station at 12:45. I tried several times to purchase tickets on the drive, but the app wasn't letting payment go through, so I quickly went to the ticket counter. I really wish I had stopped to take a photo of the station, because it was so pretty! Covered in marble and so grand. Here is someone else's photo of the station.

Anyway! Got our tickets (Thankfully no line at the counter) and she let us know the train doors closed 3 minutes till departure, so 12:57. At this point, it's like 12:52 and we have to walk to the platform. We are all power walking with our luggage, trying to follow directions, not seeing signs of the train being the right one. The kids were absolute champs and kept up without any complaint while we basically RAN to the platform. We got on a train, fairly certain it was the right one, and found seats and places to stow our luggage. Zach and I were literally sweating. We did not find seats together, but the kids were across the aisle from us, across from an older couple. WE MADE IT. Future reference, I will definitely research what time the train leaves, plus build in the 10 minutes of time we waited for an uber, when planning what time to leave lodging!

Overjoyed at getting to ride on a train!

All that being said, I really love train travel, and the Amtrak experience was great. My own lack of time management aside, it feels much less stressful to travel by train than by an airplane, and more enjoyable than driving.

Plus, the older couple across from Wilder and Felicity were delightful. I was worried they would be annoyed because they had to move their luggage for the kids, but they were the kindest, most friendly grandparents from New Jersey. They engaged with the kids, asked all kinds of chit chat questions, and really hit it off with them. It made our send-off from Washington D.C. really nice!

Chatting with their new friends.

We made it to the Baltimore airport in plenty of time to fly out, and our trip home was uneventful. We spent time journaling and relaxing!

Thank you for taking the time to read my recap. I'm going to post the itinerary on the last post for this series, with links to each day. I enjoyed reliving our trip here, and hope that it is helpful, should you ever want to visit these places!