Alexandria, VA - Old Town. This was where we stayed in the DC metropolitan area. The hotel we planned to stay at was about a block's walk from the Metro station, and had been chosen for easy access to Washington DC. I figured that if we could easily commute into the city from a nearby suburb, we'd be able to avoid the need for a car while in the city - and I was right.
But first....
Since I hadn't heard back from one of my TG friends and that the other was at a Cosplay Convention, I decided that I would make this trip as Mario. This would be an advantage for me, because it was too cold (save for the last 2 days of our trip) for me to wear the skirts and dresses I love wearing when presenting as Marian. So I packed my bag only with Mario's clothes and stayed the night with RQS the day before our trip to DC.
Thursday morning came, and we were off to DC. We took an Uber to Penn Station, but the driver didn't know enough to drop us off on West 33rd Street, in the designated area for Uber/Lyft pickups and drop-offs. So we ended up getting out of the car on 8th Avenue - something I dislike when dealing with baggage. Our next stop was the Amtrak waiting area, but we didn't have long to wait. We were able to board the train within 20 minutes of our arrival.
Those who take Amtrak know that most trips tend to take longer than scheduled - save for trips along the Northeast Corridor. This section of the national railroad network is controlled (mostly) by Amtrak, and has a reasonably high number of on-time trains. For a 11:35 am departure, we knew that we'd be in DC around 3 pm - and we were not disappointed. But then, it was time to find a cab to take us to Alexandria. Unlike the outside chaos at New York's Penn Station, things at DC's Union Station are calm and reasonably organized. It was easy for us to find a cab to get us where we needed to go. So we headed to our hotel, checked in, and relaxed for a while.
Around 5:30, we departed the hotel and walked 1 block to the Metro. We met RQS's cousin (and his wife) at Hot 'n Juicy Crawfish in the Adams-Morgan section of town, and had a great time. But all too soon it was time to go back to the hotel. It was nice for the cousin to offer to drive us back - and we got into a friendly, animated, but not agitated conversation. (When talking about the GOP and its attacks on our freedoms to control what is done (or not) to our bodies, I mentioned where I stand on transgender issues. Luckily, both RQS's cousin and his wife lean left of center.) When we got back to the hotel, the cousin's wife made sure to give us an extra friendly hug - as a way of telling us that they really enjoyed our company, and want to see us both again soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment