Day 331/365 - Choo Choo Ch'Boogeying

A couple weeks ago I decided to spend Labor Day weekend in NYC, so today during lunch I walked over to Union Station to pick up the ticket for my train ride north tomorrow morning. I had been waffling over whether or not to go until I got lucky and snagged a $159 a night rate at the Best Western at the South Street Seaport off Quikbook. When I looked into booking directly through BW, they were going to charge me over $300 per night. No, thanks. Then I found the same room at the same hotel for half-price on Quikbook. Yes, please. Damn, I sound like a commercial.

Anyhow, tomorrow I head up to NYC. The plan is to see the mariner's museum, Highline Park, the Cloisters, the City Museum, 125th Street (the 'main street' of Harlem), have dinner at Wolfgang's Steak House and a beer at McSorley's Ale House, catch "The 39 Steps" on Broadway, get some cheesecake from Junior's, go to a jazz concert at Birdland, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and spend some time sitting on the beach at Coney Island. And maybe squeeze in visits to the Met, Central Park, and the MoMA. All between 1 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Monday.

Ambitious, but do-able.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 238/365 - In Skagway, Alaska

Second stop of the cruise today -- Skagway, Alaska. It's a pretty cool little town. It's pimped out for tourists, of course, but it's still nice. Much better than Juneau, which was just sort of drab as cities go. I rode the historic White Pass & Yukon Route train up to Denver Pass and then went for a hike through the Sawtooth rainforest. This hike was shorter than yesterday's, only about three miles. I lollygagged it along the trail this time, too. The bulk of the excursion party charged on ahead, but I hung back with one of the other guides and a woman who had gone for a bike ride that morning and so wasn't in the mood for a power hike. I hiked a bit faster than she was going, so I was able to spend most of the hike on my own on the trail. It was great to enjoy the peace and quiet and calm in the woods. After the hike, we waited back down at the Denver Pass stop to catch our train for the return trip to town. The guides broke out the cooler and we sat there in the sun and drank beer until the train came to get us. It was running late, but I didn't mind that at all.

(Taken with my Nikon D90)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Glory Days

For this week's photo from my archives, we reach back all the way to my high school days. I took this shot of the old train depot in my hometown for my 11th or 12th grade photography class. They've restored the depot now, but I think I kinda liked it better when it looked more like a relic from the past than a museum piece.

(Taken with my first SLR, a Pentax K-1000)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Car vs. Train

This week's bonus photo from my archives is a shot of a mural on the side of a building in Bethesda. I really love this mural and I keep meaning to drag a friend there with me so I can have my portrait taken in front of it.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Iron Horse

This week's extra shot from my archives is a picture of an old steam locomotive I took when I visited Dodge City, Kansas last fall. I love old trains.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Merry Christmas

This week's bonus photo from my archives is a shot of a Christmas tree in the waiting room of the 30th Street train station in Philadelphia. I took this picture when I went up to Philly for the Army-Navy game in 2004. Merry Christmas!

(Taken with my old Canon PowerShot S400)

Day 58/365 - Flotsam & Jetsam

This is the shopping arcade at Union Station in Washington, DC. This, along with the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, is one of my favorite buildings in DC. Before they turned the train station into a mall and food court, this room used to be open at the ends and the trains used to pull into it like a carport. This is where passengers would board and disembark the trains that were taking them to or bringing them from the far reaches of the railroad.

I had to stop by Union Station after work today to pick up a train ticket. Tomorrow morning I'm day-tripping up to Philadelphia for the Army-Navy game (Go Navy, Beat Army!). I kinda wish they'd restore this part of the station back to its original use. The place where you catch trains now has all the dark, drab, concrete charm of an office building parking garage. Keleti train station in Budapest still uses the old carport style approach and I like it much better.

I really love train stations, airports too although they don't have quite the same sense of nostalgia and romance. I like getting there early before a trip and marinading in the excitement of going somewhere. It's just such a vital and vibrant place to be with people bustling to and fro like salmon swimming upstream, either rushing toward or pulling themselves away from someone they love.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 37/365 - Hi Ho, Hi Ho

This is my morning commute to work on the Yellow Line train going into DC from Northern VA. At this point the subway pops above ground and traverses a bridge over the Potomac River before ducking back down into the tunnel like a groundhog that spotted its shadow. I have a pretty short trip into the District each day -- I go 3 stops, switch to either the Blue or Orange Line, go one more stop, get off the train, and my office is right next to the Metro station. If I get lucky with the timing it's a 15-minute trip. If my timing is off, it's a 30-minute trip.

Either way, it ain't bad. I'd definitely rather have my commute than that of the poor saps who are usually creeping along bumper-to-bumper on the bridge you can see in the distance. Plus my agency gives me free train fare to encourage the use of mass transit, so it doesn't even cost me anything to go to work.

Even though I've been traveling this route for years without any problems, I still have a bit of an irrational fear that one day the train will derail and plunge into the river. The odds of that happening are probably astronomically remote, but I still worry about it a little bit in the back of my mind just about every time the train crosses over that bridge.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Day 5/365 - Columbus Day

This photo shows floral wreaths commemorating Columbus Day placed by various historic and cultural groups in front of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at the main entrance to Union Station in Washington, DC.

I took advantage of the Federal holiday and the great weather and went to the National Zoo this morning to shoot some pictures and then swung by Union Station to grab some Italian food for lunch in honor of Christopher Columbus -- patron saint of guys who refuse to ask for directions even though they don't really know where the heck they're going. Walked home from there afterward to burn off some of my pasta.

Grand total for the day -- 443 photographs taken and 7.9 miles walked. Pretty productive for a day off.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)