Epic East Coast - Day 10

We've arrived in Washington, DC.  Today started off with our regular train schedule of up at 5:00am to catch a cab at 6:00am for a 7:00am train.  Except the cab was late and was a Prius hatchback instead of the minivan I requested.  There was a lot of panic and then we ***REDACTED TO AVOID LEGAL DIFFICULTIES*** and arrived at the train station.  Honestly, one of the things that bugs me about me is that I don't think straight when presented with a situation that must be solved immediately.  It's always 20 minutes later that my brain sorts through the options and comes up with the best one, though by that point, you've missed your train.

This train ride was much, much better, and not just because I had TV shows for the younger kids to watch.  The people on this train actually made noise, rather than everyone sitting in a library like silence, so it was easier to let the kids be kids.  Plus, the ride to Washington was shorter (7:00am - 4:20pm scheduled) and we were only 30 minutes late.  At Washington they switch engines because the route is electrified from here to New York, so there is a 20 to 30 minute wait, which meant there was no rush to get off the train.  We walked out of the Amtrak area into the main area of Union Station, and it is by far the nicest train station we have been in - a massive open area with a marble floor and statues of Roman soldiers surrounding the entire area.

There was a quite busy taxi dispatch area outside the station and as I checked it out, all I saw was just a long line of taxi cars, so I approached one of the workers about minivans and he said they came in occasionally, and that we should go through the line, which we did.  At the front of the line, they moved us to the side and it was only about five minutes before a van arrived.  The taxi dispatch guy loaded our stuff in the cab and I managed a faux pas as I started into the car without tipping him - just one of the things today that reminded me I'm from a different country - armed security guards in Safeway being another.

Our condo here was a short cab ride, made longer due to the fact that parts of the Mall were blocked by police cars due to a protest march, but we got inside and found a very large area for us to inhabit while we are here, which is great, because the small hotel rooms were causing problems.  After unwinding for a bit and realizing the kids were so tired and hungry that they were unmanageable, we headed out for a nearby Safeway to stock up on food.  We bought a bunch of food while fighting with the kids, then bought subs for those of us that wanted them, before heading back to the condo and making mac and cheese for the kids that wouldn't eat subs.  American KD is quite different from Canadian KD (in that it is a yellow colour rather than bright neon orange); it also has a much milder flavour and a different noodle shape, but both kids didn't seem to mind.  After that, we put the kids to bed.  Tomorrow we'll start our seven days in DC, though I don't know if we know exactly where we will head first - Alex and I both vote for the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.