Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Rail
Day 1
Sleepless in the Capital
Day 2
Sun Up - Sun Down
Day 3
The Play's the Thing
Day 4
A Little Bit of Mall
Day 5
Fight and Flight
Day 6
Full Circle
October 8, 2014 (day 6)
I'm home and, despite all of Amtrak's shortcomings, I rather enjoyed it
and won't rule out doing it again. This last day did go through some
pretty country even if the leaves were mostly still green and my vantage
point lacking.
October 7, 2014 (day 5)
Breakfast at an oldie and a stroll by the White House started a day filled
with monuments and really big flying things.
October 6, 2014 (day 4)
After starting the day with a little more Lincoln, I checked out a couple
of new-to-me places but had to postpone another until tomorrow.
October 5, 2014 (day 3)
I got the car back on time and I again was allowed to check in early. I
then walked a block and a half to get a good seat at a great play at
Ford's Theater. This part's looking good.
October 4, 2014 (day 2)
I continued my Union Station vigil a little longer then grabbed a rental
car and a short nap before wrapping up the day with a wonderful concert.
October 3, 2014 (day 1)
Starting four and a half hours late and losing another hour and a half in
route, riding the Cardinal to DC wasn't quite what I planned but I suffered
no permanent damage and I got stories.
Prelude - September 16, 2014
OK. I"m going to try it again. I've long wanted to take an autumn train
ride through the hills of Virginia. I almost did it in 2011 but the train
I'd booked to Washington, DC, was canceled thirty-six hours before
departure. A few months previous, I had seen Chuck Berry on a road trip
I'd named "Hail, Hail Rock 'n'
Roll". Plans for the train trip included a couple of concerts so
it got the name "Hail, Hail Rock 'n' Rail". When the train was
canceled, I made the trip by car after changing its name to
"Hail, Hail Rock w/o Rail" which
sounds stupider and stupider with each passing day. With a couple of
shows, including a repeat from 2011, planned for this trip, I've
resurrected the "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Rail" name although this
time I'm using the punctuation from the 1987 documentary rather than the
1957 song. Amtrak, don't fail me now.