Only a few short days after driving back down to Florida, I found myself driving to MCO at 4 a.m. to fly right back up the coast I had just spent HOURS traveling down!
A lot of my friends were confused as to why I was going back home after being back at school for less than a week, as I’m sure you are. Well, my cousins from Washington (state) were visiting for the FIRST time since we had moved out east, an event I COULDN’T miss. As for traveling back down, my school decided to start classes a week earlier than most, which I also had to be at.
My alarm went off at 3:45 and I was out the door and on the road by 4.
It was a chilly morning in Florida, as evidenced by the cloudy windshield.
It turns out that the only time I-4 is clear is before the sun comes up. I took a picture while driving, you can feel my exhaustion radiating from this photo.
Parked and on the shuttle, the terminal was D E A D. MCO is always a hit or miss, you can either breeze through security or face a two-hour wait and miss your flight.
After a miserable hour of reading my textbook, it was time to board.
The flight was okay, especially for Spirit. We were on an older plane, before they started cutting the cushion for more space. I was on the aisle, so much of the flight saw me struggling to sleep. I literally can’t fall asleep ANYWHERE outside a bed, something that inhibits me as a traveler. At one point, I caught a glimpse of the stunning sunrise on the opposite side of the plane, until it blinded me.
After what felt like seven years, we started the descent into Baltimore.
When we started deplaning, people were literally sprinting off the plane. It was so odd, I have never seen the process move so fast. Our record de-planing meant I had a chance to make an earlier train into Washington. It was about 8:30 a.m. and the Northeast Regional departed at 9:05 a.m. I ran through the terminal to the bus station that took passengers to the trains.
The blurriness of the photo can be interpreted as actual footage of me sprinting through the terminal.
I was disheartened to find that the next shuttle was 15 minutes away… until one pulled up.
It wasn’t even nine in the morning and I had already traveled halfway across the country. I took this photo to document my insanity.
A quick six minute ride around airport grounds brought me to the MARC/Amtrak station serving BWI. With Union Station a stop south and Baltimore immediately north, this station easily serves both cities with airport access.
The small station has a bathroom and a stand selling snacks.
The train was delayed about fifteen minutes, so all the stress from deplaning was pointless.
It was COLD in Baltimore! The air was about 40, but there was a wind BLASTING that made the temperature about fifteen degrees cooler.
If it had been warmer, I would’ve explored this cool little trail right behind the station:
Here’s some photos from when I took the trail over the summer, last time I was at BWI.
I love the stark color difference between the two seasons. The short trail is a nice way to kill time when waiting on a train.
Going back to winter, my train came right on the projected delay time.
It was a nice ride, very standard for Amtrak. The seat had a power outlet and free Wi-Fi. I used both to take a quick quiz, only for the wi-fi to cut out halfway through! Thankfully it restored itself just in time for me to submit.
After about twenty minutes, we were pulling into Union Station. The trip cost $9 to get into the center of the city.
Union Station has to be one of the prettiest train stations in the country. The towering domed ceiling, the reflection on the tile, it feels like you’ve stepped into the gates of heaven! The Shake Shack inside the terminal only furthers this feeling.
Plus the view of the capitol after walking outside can’t be beat!
Into the city and down to the Metro. Somehow, I had already been awake for six hours and not had coffee yet!
One of my favorite bakeries in the world is Tatte. Founded in Boston, the small shop has expanded to include a few locations in the DC-metro. The pastries are to DIE for, and the coffee is equally as delicious.
I mean, just LOOK AT THEM!!!!
The design of the shop is beautiful too, reminiscent of an Italian subway station I have yet to visit…
I grabbed my favorite, a Chocolate Rose!
And made my way down the street with the most beautiful bag in my hand.
Other amazing Tatte things include the Kouign Amon, the Shakshuka and the ‘Egg in a Hole.’
While on the train, I had made a quick search to find a highly rated coffee shop and found Dua Coffee. I made the chilly half-mile walk through the city munching on my Chocolate Rose.
I was disappointed to find the shop was not based off Dua Lipa, a Pop Star bearing the same name. Citing themselves as the first Indonesian coffee roaster in Washington, the chocolatey undertones were especially evident in my Mint Mocha. Their beans are also sustainably roasted!
As the sitting area is quite small, this very nice woman offered to share her table with me after she saw me weirdly squatting on the ground.
Soon after, I was exhilarated to see my family’s car park outside. Living on the other side of the country, I rarely get to see them and it was so cool to see them in the flesh in my city.
We wasted no time in driving down the Mall to the Lincoln Memorial.
We parked along the Potomac, so the walk to the Memorial was very short.
I gave my sister the honor of a photoshoot on top of the memorial:
It was FREEZING outside. The wind gusts were cutting through my coat, so we took asylum in any place possible, including the visitor center below the memorial.
We crossed the road and went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. It happened to be MLK Day weekend, so the memorial was a very fitting place to pay tribute.
The wind blowing across the Tidal Basin was no joke as we made our way around.
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial is a much better experience in the summer, when all the water is active. However, even with the fountains off, one had created an icy backdrop straight out of ‘Frozen.’
This Pagoda was a gift from Japan, but was sent over in pieces without assembly instructions. No one knows how it is supposed to look.
The bridge crossing the basin towards the Jefferson Memorial had this weird statue:
I’m not sure who it’s supposed to be, but I really want a full brief on the history of this.
Finally making it to the Jefferson Memorial, we were mortified to find that the location on the basin created a wind tunnel!
Starving and desperate to escape the wind tunnel, we booked it back to our car and made our way to lunch.
I saw this cool sign on the way back:
We decided to go to now defunct Farmbird, a fast-casual chicken restaurant.
Here is there menu, focus is on the plates.
I got the Avocado Basil bowl and it was SO. GOOD.
Everything about the meal left me speechless, from the juicy chicken, rich macaroni, and the basil-avocado sauce.
The decor of the restaurant was pretty cool, but the real standout was the wallpaper in the bathroom:
I would 10000% recommend visiting Farmbird whenever you’re in the district, and will be looking forward to returning.
After lunch, we made our way to the museums, but not before stopping at Compass Coffee.
Coffees in hand, we took a walk around Chinatown.
I love the friendship arch so much.
We moved onto the Natural History Museum. Earlier, the line stretched around the block but we hit the sweet spot and walked right in.
I was so excited to see the renovated dinosaur exhibit. With a ten-year renovation and COVID, I hadn’t seen the Dinos since the late 2000’s! The new exhibit was BEAUTIFUL. It was definitely worth the wait, however long it was.
Being the latter half of the day, we took a quick stop in the (very fitting) infectious disease exhibit before heading out.
Driving home saw a beautiful view of the mountains framed with the clouds:
Exhausted after a busy day traveling between four states, I crashed as soon as I got home! Stay tuned for the following day, where we went BACK to DC and were even COLDER!
Turquoise Skies 