I am usually fairly sad to leave a hotel, and this one here in the leafy suburbs of Washington is certainly no exception.  Inadvertently, I arrived hungry, and, out of hours, a delicious substantial Caesar salad was produced.  Unusually for America, breakfast was part of the deal, and reception kept me supplied with much needed cold bottled water.  Breakfast was also included at the Hyatt Regency, a substantial saving over the first six days. And probably, I shall enjoy a seventh included breakfast on the train if I am up in time.  I debated with myself whether to 5 the luxury of an Uber from Bethesda to Union Station or go by public transport.  It’s too hot to drag heavy luggage around. Against my better financial judgement, I shall send for a car!   I have checked several times that I have left nothing of importance in my room. (So help me God!)

Checking my regular credit card account, I find that I have been charged for a hotel booking I did not confirm.  I wondered why I kept receiving by e-mail reviews.  Somehow, I shall have to ascertain how this came about.  I would have loved to have stayed at the hotel prior to my flight to Washington! 

My Uber transfer from Bethesda to Union Station went perfectly and was not overly expensive.  I could have sworn that I saw the Pentagon and appreciate that, in fact. the taxi journey on 3rd August was not as detoured as I had allowed myself to be led to believe.  I arrived in very good time for The Capitol Limited, the 16.05 hrs service from Washington Union Station to Chicago. I checked in my large suitcase, keeping any necessary overnight and next gear in the small wheeled carry-on bag.  We depart in four minutes.  My bedroom has seen far better days and does not do much for the image of Amtrak!

We are late away. That bodes well for a lie-in tomorrow morning!  We left at 16.25 hrs.  Chicago, here we come!   The 20-minute late departure was due to awaiting a late running Silver Meteor Amtrak No.98 by around 8 hours.

I regret not taking photographs yesterday when travelling from Bethesda to D.C. on the Metro. Fortunately, today, the Metro was clearly visible for the first few miles out of Union Station, and I was able to capture a few images.

  Now that I am settled in, I am very content, being once again, on an Amtrak long-distance train.  Local commuter trains were let go (on time) in front of our train, reducing our average speed by around 15 m.p.h. 2025 hrs.  We are now awaiting clearance through freight areas (which I don’t quite understand).  Cumberland?  I do appreciate that freight still has priority over passenger services, and that has always been a feature of North American railroads.

If travelling in a sleeping car, meals throughout the day are included in the fare.  I was pleasantly surprised by tonight’s menu.

While certainly not like the elegant days of crystal and linen, the pre-packaged and heated on board meal was adequate. I chose to eat in the dining car where my dinner, in a huge paper bag with my cabin number, was waiting at my allocated table.

Perhaps dinner on the train was not the special occasion it once was, but I was far from disappointed with this pre-packed offering. 

At around 9 o’clock, the steward came round and converted my private compartment into a decent bedroom.  For one person, these are magnificent as far as space is concerned.  The smaller roomettes are OK, but there’s little room to manoeuvre.

Once out of Washington’s built-up districts, the scenery was suddenly dramatic with wooded hills, cuttings, rivers, and a general impression of being a million miles from humanity.  It was a privilege to be able to see the lovely countryside we were trundling through. As I write, we are around 90 minutes late. I have no problem with that. I assume Chicago is in a different time zone, although nobody has said anything.  Perhaps we are expected to know already.  Although it’s a bit early for me, I shall get my head down as Day 7 of 30 approaches.

To be continued.