During this trip to Virginia and the D.C. area, I had the well-rounded experience of riding in several modes of conveyances and I gotta say, it makes you appreciate your automobile - the freedom that you get from having your own vehicle where you are at any given time - well, nothing compares to that!
So, we flew into Norfolk and then I decided instead of renting a vehicle to get to D.C. I would try to save a $110 or so and train it into D.C. Yeah, okay- not fun. I think if the train operated normally and at full speed, they could get you to D.C. in 3.0 hours from Newport News, but no- there was some freight train derailment the night before so from Newport News, I was on a bus to Richmond. In Richmond, the train took off 1 hour late so I ended up waiting at the Richmond station for 1 hour and 45 minutes to board a train that got me into D.C. Union Station in exactly 2 hours. What a pain! But I gotta say, riding the train, once it got going was kinda fun. It was nice to relax, take a nap, watch a movie, and just get things done. It was also nice to see all the scenery - gorgeous views and I remembered why trains are so much fun when they work on time and right.
Riding the metro was fun too - it is so easy to get around the city in a metro but as I ride the metro in D.C. I did start to wonder about how lax security was in it. Of course, people riding it, I noticed were much more vigilant. For instance, a man put his briefcase down behind my suitcase and I noticed the woman I was sitting with immediately stood up and watched what was happening and then made sure the man exited the metro with his belongings. I think that helps but I am always fearful of riding in ground transportation nowadays because I think it is an easier target than airlines. In any case, my transportation woes aside, the trip was good and despite security concerns, I am still a huge proponent of public transportation if a city can install that type of infrastructure. Granted, for me, because time is an issue with the kiddos, I still prefer to get in my car and hit the open road....ahhh- freedom!
