Michigan to North Carolina - September 2022, Capitol Ltd and the Carolinian

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Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
1,327
Location
MI
Oh it was one of those perfect fall days. Leaves starting to show off their colors and the weather had turned to light jacket comfort. Met up with a couple of old friends at the Michigan game and had fun reminiscing about the good old days. Later in the evening, got dropped off at the Ann Arbor station to wait for the bus connection that connects passengers with Train 30 in Toledo.
The waiting room was almost empty - either the last Wolverine had left for Chicago, or they might have still been on the reduced schedule. Still, I elected to wait outside in the nice weather, especially as one of the waiting patrons was clearly ill and I just didn't feel like taking chances. (What Covid immunity I would have had from July would have expired, and I couldn't get the bivalent booster then). The coach arrived late, which wasn't an issue as there is a good time cushion built into the schedule, and being on time just results in more wait time in Toledo, especially since the Capitol often incurs delays approaching Ohio. While boarding, I overheard the driver tell someone that he had been slowed by significant traffic, with home football games in both Lansing and Ann Arbor. Interestingly, this resulted in the shortest wait I've ever had in Toledo, as not only did the bus run late, but the Capitol Limited was right on time!
 
I didn't spend any time indoors, since it wasn't going to be much of a wait, and I enjoy the track atmosphere at Toledo. Soon, Train 30 pulled up and I took a left turn as instructed to look for Car 3000. What a joy it was to board and see my roomette ready. This was the first time I have ever taken a train trip without the kids, and had been feeling guilty. But they are adults and have their own busy lives, and it's time to get used to that concept. Anyway, I commenced wiping down the surfaces with Lysol wipes, and presently the SCA came along and introduced myself. I liked him and unfortunately don't remember his name. He described the meal setup, which turned out to be perfect. More on that in a bit. I love the late boarding time (if it's on time). Having already eaten, teeth brushed, there's nothing to do but change for bed. He left and I was too excited to sleep, so I curled up on the bed to watch the Ohio scenery - warehouses are always romantically illuminated at night - and sent texts to my kids and some friends until sleep overtook me.
 
A fun train night. Woke up once to take in the early morning scenery and then dozed off again. As the SCA explained, there is no lunch for this 1 pm arrival into Washington DC - but the breakfast hours are expanded, which was perfect. I got coffee around 730 and went back to get pancakes an hour or so later. Hard to say whether it's a better choice than the omelette, but either one fills the function. Plus I didn't want to eat too much, looking forward to getting takeout in DC. As with other trips, I had plenty of Lysol wipes to use for disinfecting the bathroom surfaces, door handles etc. which I recommend if you're not in the rooms with included toilets. After breakfast it was time to just relax and enjoy the stunning views. It was surprisingly peaceful alone, without anyone asking how long it would take or complaining about wifi reception. I liked seeing the beautiful forests, rivers and mountains, punctuated by interesting towns and stations. And wonder of wonders, the train was still running on time! Soon, the landscape became more urban as we got closer to WAS, and we arrived a little after 1, forgot exactly the time. I had basically the afternoon to spend in DC, before taking the Carolinian to Durham, NC the next morning. When doing this trip in the future, I'd like to stay a couple of days in DC to allow time for sightseeing.
 
Having really enjoyed the trip on 30, I took a few minutes to look around the station before leaving for the hotel. Most of the outlets in the food court were open. My personal favorite is Chipotle, so I decided to get an order to go and take to the hotel. It was quite warm outside and I thought of taking the subway to my hotel, then again a half hour walk seemed like a good idea after the train ride. With only a smallish rollerbag, it was easy enough to carry the paper bag from Chipotle with me, and I enjoyed looking around en route. That's about when I realized that future trips should include a longer layover! It's been so long I honestly forgot how much there is to see and do. I packed my jacket away before leaving the station and soon found my way to the Holiday Inn. The location was nice, near the Capitol and many museums, and I was able to use points to defray the room cost. Hotels in downtown DC are astronomical and another future note is to utilize the subway and stay in one of the surrounding areas. This HI was pleasant, the room clean, and I'm betting very popular with families when school is not in session. My room overlooked the train tracks, which was enjoyable for me but maybe not everyone. After the requisite room sanitizing, I had a late lunch and set out to explore. Well, the weather was not super cooperative. I was getting my bearings, and the rain would come and go, I didn't bring an umbrella, and did not make it to any of the museums. But I did explore on foot in between rain showers, and returned to the hotel in the evening pleasantly tired. I had forgotten just how pedestrian friendly downtown DC is - so many parks and walking paths. The traffic is busy but orderly - walk signals at crosswalks were observed by cars, and the many paths mean less intersections to cross. Anyway, it was a successful reconnaissance mission, and the lunch leftovers were waiting in the fridge.
 
Next day, up early and had breakfast and coffee from the McDonald's on the same block. Had a really restful night after watching football and a nice hot shower. Checked out and headed for the station at 930, taking a winding trail and detouring through the botanical gardens, which I had missed the day before. Still arrived at WAS with plenty of time to spare, and located the boarding area for the Carolinian. This trip, like the Cap, was booked using AGR points from the 40% off sale made infamous in a previous thread :) and it wasn't many more points to book BC on Train 79. We boarded right on time on a sunny Washington day, and the biz class car appeared to be about 3/4 full. Luckily I still had an empty seat next to me, although unluckily, the previous two occupants who had just detrained in WAS left all their trash, including a full cup of coffee, so I had some cleaning up to do. I quickly poured it out in the restroom sink before the train started moving, and threw out the rest of the food leftovers and such. Once again - bring those wipes!
The rest of the day was just as pleasant as the ride on the Cap, scenery and relaxation. Didn't interact much with the staff except for the trip to the cafe car for the (free) cup of coffee and later a bottle of water. It was a 7 hour train ride but really didn't feel like it. I had brought along some snacks and if needed, there were plenty of items for purchase in the cafe.
Will end this report here, as the train part of the journey is over, and I flew Delta back to DTW. It was fine... just far less fun than the train.
 
Nice report as always—thanks!

I have traveled by myself and with relatives and friends and enjoy both. The company is nice, but once you start traveling alone you’ll find the trade-off for no company is being able to do what you want whenever you want.

You might consider staying in Alexandria when you visit DC next. It’s not exactly bargain basement hotel rates but probably still cheaper than Washington. If you are there on weekdays, you could take Virginia Railway Express into DC in the morning and back to Alexandria in the evening—much, much nicer than dealing with the metro.
 
Not ignorant at all—there are lots of acronyms people use on here that I don’t recognize, and no reason why you would recognize VRE unless you lived in or near Virginia.

It’s my favorite commuter rail. You can sit downstairs or on an upper-level gallery, the conductors are polite, even the commuters are nice. And it’s an elegant-looking train.

The only unfortunate thing is it just goes to DC in the mornings and away from it in the evenings—plus no weekends. It truly is commuter rail, so as a tourist you would have to work with their schedule.
 
Alexandria is a great suggestion. I noticed too the airport hotels are on the Metro and inexpensive. Lots of research to do for future! You're going to laugh at my ignorance but I JUST NOW REALIZED what VRE stands for!!

Talking of ignorant, I forgot to post the quote I was answering — I keep doing that. My reply to your post is just above this.😊
 
One of the things that I enjoy doing when I am in Washington is to ride the Metro on its various lines from one end to the another. Easy way to do some sightseeing. (And, people watching.)
I'm glad to know that I am not the only one who enjoys doing this. Last time I was in DC, I rode several different Metro lines just to ride them for the same reasons you listed.
 
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