The Rest Of The Week

Hypothetically speaking, let's say you arrive late evening in Baltimore after a long day of fun flying that began a few cities ago in Boston. Let's say you are forced to pay $124 for a La Quinta because everything else is sold out. That's right...a La Quinta in Baltimore costs that much! Just for kicks and giggles, let's say Boss wants to leave early tomorrow morning but changes his mind at the last minute and decides to stay until about 5:00 PM. Consequently, you now have three whole hours near our nation's capital. What do you do?

You hop on a train and head south to Washington D.C. If that isn't what you answered, shame on you.

It was an absolute blast. I certainly didn't have enough time to see all I wanted. No doubt, I could easily spend weeks there and still not be bored. Prior to today, I have been to D.C. so many times without any chance to visit the sites. That all changed today. We caught the MARC train from the Baltimore Airport, barely catching the 11:05 AM departure. After about forty minutes and beautiful city views along the way, we pulled into Union Station just a few blocks from all the action. It was incredible! Is it wrong to get butterflies over visiting a city? We first walked past the Capital Building and the House and Senate Office Buildings. It's so fun to think about all the history that stems from inside these walls. Then we turned our walk south and visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Believe me when I say the museum deserves its own post. It literally took my breath away. After seeing a bunch of neat airplanes, I grabbed a nasty lunch at the food court. I still hate McDonald's but thought it would be my only chance for a quick bite. We then walked to the Archives Building to see the original documents that started this great country over two centuries ago. The Revolutionary War time period is certainly one of my favorites, and I felt as if I stood on hallowed ground to see those documents in person. Unfortunately, I had to battle half the middle school kids from Minnesota to see it. This required a great deal of patience, and not just because of their awesome accents. I didn't want to be so close and not see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. So I waited, while a bunch of kids kept butting in line to be close to their friends. What an awkward age that I don't miss one bit! I finally got to see the documents up close. For some unknown reason, they are carefully protecting them and wouldn't let me take pictures. You'll just have to believe me that I got to see the pieces of paper that began everything. I love those Founding Fathers! Do you think I could get away with naming a kid George Washington?

After the Archives, we hoofed it back to Union Station in time to catch the train departing at 3:25 PM. We pulled into Baltimore Airport Station a little after 4:00 and ran to the Signature Flight Support where our airplane was ready. While waiting for my passengers to arrive, I got to watch an airplane carrying Bill Clinton pull up. Unfortunately, I never saw him de-board because we left towards Knoxville, Tennessee. That's right...we are faster than a former president.

I feel so blessed to be able to witness such an incredible city for $12.00 (round-trip train tickets). Hopefully I will have more time than just a few hours during my next visit. But it was such a treat to see such historical entities to our country! God bless America!