Day 5 - Trip to NY - Return Home

As with all good things our trip had come to an end and it was time to hop on the train back home. Before heading to the train station the four of us grabbed breakfast at a diner around the corner where I had some awesome Egg's Benedict. Afterwards we hauled all of our stuff to Penn Station and patiently awaited our train. My experience with the train system is bitter sweet. I like the convenience of not having to worry about driving or the added stress that comes along with it, especially in the city, and the no nonsense of checking bags and waiting for luggage. However on both domestic train rides there have been delays and downtime that I did not experience with the European train system.

That being said, the ride home went fairly smooth other than the door to the end of the car not shutting and making the first hour of the ride quite chilly. Michelle and I managed to snag a four-seater that we had to ourselves almost the entire ride. We arrived in DC around 5:10 about 10 miles from our stop which was scheduled for 5:15. Amtrak changes engines in DC switching from diesel to electric which on the way there took about 20 minutes. On our return home the car in front of us had to be replaced to a problem with the brakes and we waited nearly an hour and a half, for what was supposed to be a "15-30 problem." Had we known that it was going to take so long we could have hopped on the metro and been home much sooner, but it was an experience, bitter sweet.


Some photos I snagged on the way home



It was a great trip and I hope to return to the big city before too long, maybe next time it'll be warm enough to ride some while I'm there!